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Rosberg X Racing takes second victory of Extreme E Season 2 in Island X-Prix II

Following the first round of the NEOM Island X-Prix on the island of Sardinia in Italy last week, the second round of the same event this weekend saw Rosberg X Racing (RXR) taking a with a late overtake to secure their second victory of Extreme E Season 2. X44 finished second and Genesys Andretti United Extreme E third after ABT CUPRA XE were disqualified following a safety infringement.

With team owner Nico Rosberg watching his team’s progress, a superb pass by Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky on ABT CUPRA XE’s Jutta Kleinschmidt sealed the win. Ahlin-Kottulinsky, and team-mate Johan Kristoffersson, who headed the standings prior to the double-header on the island off the coast of Italy, now have a lead of 37 points ahead of their nearest challengers No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing, with X44 now up to third.

RXR also scored maximum points from Round 3, with the quickest combined time in the Continental Traction Challenge adding 5 points to their tally, bringing their total overall to 80 points.

“It is such a pleasure for me to work with this team. It reminds me of my F1 days. It’s been a great team effort with everyone giving their best and being at the height of their game. Both drivers have been performing at an incredibly high level. Johan was the star of Race 1 in NEOM. Mikaela was the star of this weekend with her speed and incredible pass for the win through the water during the last lap. I couldn’t be prouder, said former F1 world champion Rosberg.

“It was a phenomenal weekend for us, starting with a good qualifying and we were also very fast in the super sector. The car felt amazing all week and we have got to thank the team for that. They worked very hard, and it paid off. My run was smooth, but Nasser was incredibly fast, so I just tried to stay as close as possible to him to give Mikaela the best possible basis for her run, and she made good use of it with a fantastic move. It’s a team achievement that we can all be proud of,” added Kristoffersson.

The scene was set for a thrilling climax to the double-header as ABT CUPRA XE’s Al-Attiyah lined up in the favoured number 2 spot between Timmy Hansen (Genesys Andretti United Extreme E) and Sebastien Loeb (X44). On the other end of the start line, Kristofferson was joined by Carlos Sainz (ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team), following their dramatic collision in last round’s Final. In that incident, RXR received a 30-second penalty that pushed the team from first to third.

As the teams set off, Sainz (father of the Ferrari F1 driver) experimented by taking his electrically-powered ODYSSEY 21 down the furthest possible lane on the right, away from Kristofferson’s car. The Spaniard’s gamble did not pay off, and he came out at the back of the pack as the cars merged into the single lane.

Meanwhile, Al-Attiyah stayed on the preferred line which proved the better one as he surged to the front of the group. Kristofferson kept the ABT CUPRA car in sight, followed by Loeb. After the 3 leading cars was Hansen holding fourth as he chased them along the rough and muddy course.

The ABT CUPRA XE driver picked his lines well and opened by a gap of 5 seconds, which was the same gap that Kristofferson had with Loeb. Further back, Sainz’ car had a problem and the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE car dropped off the back of the pack and eventually come to a stop out on track.

It was still a 4-way battle as the leading cars entered the Switch Zone until disaster struck for ABT CUPRA XE. During the mandatory driver switch, Jutta Kleinschmidt failed to properly buckle her seatbelt as she entered the car. This would later lead to the team’s disqualification from the Final, after they finished second on the course. ABT CUPRA’S loss of the lead occurred when an incredible overtake was done by from RXR’s Ahlin-Kottulinsky in the closing stages of the race.

ABT CUPRA XE’s disqualification also promoted X44 into second and secured Genesys Andretti United Extreme E the third place, their first top three finish of the season. It was a huge boost for both teams after a difficult start to the Sardinian double-header.

No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing scores first victory in Extreme E series in Italy (w/VIDEO)

F1/Round 11: Provisional results and highlights of the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

During the drivers’ briefing, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel walked out of the room and officials deemed that he had ‘left without permission’ and therefore committed an offence under the regulations. As a result, he was handed a suspended fine of 25,000 euros which will be held for the rest of the 2022 season. Vettel’s action was prompted by frustration as drivers sought explanations for inconsistent decision-making by race officials.

Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton also had a worrying moment 15 minutes before the start of the 71-lap race as there seemed to be a problem that brought mechanics running to his car as it was parked on the starting grid. But they managed to get it fixed (believed to be the brakes) in time.

The starting positions for the race were determined by the finishing order of the Sprint Race yesterday and of the 19 cars that took part (Alpine’s Fernando Alonso retired before the race started), the top four finished in the same order as the Qualifying session.This put two Ferraris behind poleman and championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. It was going to be interesting seeing if the Ferrari team had decided to continue letting their two drivers fight each other if the situation arose (as it did during the Sprint race).

Verstappen got a clean and smooth start but Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) left the track at Turn 3 and that allowed Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell to slip ahead. But at Turn 4, the British driver came inb contact with Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez and the Mexican’s car slid into the gravel although he was able to keep going but dropped to the end of the field. The incident had the attention of the Stewards who would review it and later give Russell a 5-second time penalty.

The contact caused damage to Russell’s car and he was having understeer. Vettel too reported damage on his car. Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher again tangled with Hamilton and took his seventh place – which might mean the world champion would go through the same frustrations he had in the Sprint race. Meanwhile, at the front, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was right on Verstappen’s tail and looking to displace the Dutchman from the lead.

Leclerc had DRS but the Red Bull Racing car was superior in straight line speed. But without Perez nearby, Verstappen would have to stay focussed against two Ferraris right behind him as Sainz had also closed in.

Russell came in on lap 12 to serve his 5-second penalty and during that time, he also got a new rear wing. But it costs him many places and he was down to 19th when he rejoined the race.

On lap 13, Verstappen came in to switch to hards and Leclerc took over the lead. When the Red Bull driver rejoined, he was down in fifth, behind Hamilton and about 20 seconds behind Leclerc. But as drivers ahead began to also come in, Verstappen was able to move upwards quickly and was in fourth (still behind Hamilton) by lap 17. The gap to the front was still a double-digit time.

By lap 20, Verstappen was able to get past Hamilton easily into third place, though still 19 seconds behind Sainz who, in turn, was 4 second behind his team mate. Further down, there was a battle for sixth place between Yuki Tsunoda (Scuderia Alphatauri), Zhou GuanYu (Alfa Romeo) and Alonso as well as his Alpine team mate, Esteban Ocon.

On lap 25, Leclerc left the track to enter the pits, along with Perez whose sidepod damage forced retirement at that point, Sainz was in the lead when Leclerc rejoined just ahead of Hamilton. Then Sainz came in and it was Verstappen in the lead again but Leclerc was closing in fast too.

When Hamilton finally came in, he was delayed by a problem with the wheel, and when he rejoined, he was behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Ocon. He had to work hard again to get back his original position but that’s what he’s paid such a huge salary for anyway. Meanwhile, team mate Russel was duelling with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo for ninth place.

Lap 33 saw Leclerc finally getting past Verstappen who (from radio exchanges) seemed to be having some issues with inconsistent tyre grip. And the Dutchman had also to watch out for Sainz who was coming up from behind as well. Not taking chances, Verstappen quickly headed to the pits on lap 36 to change tyres and managed to get back into the race in third place, with a 25-second gap from Hamilton.

Lap 40 saw yellow flags coming out as Vettel went off into the gravel after a collision with Scuderia Alphatauri’s Pierre Gasly (for which Gasly would get a 5-second penalty). But the Aston Martin was able to get out although Vettel was down to 17th.

The Stewards were obviously keeping a close eye on the cars in the corners and many drivers receive warnings and penalties for going over the track limits. At the front, Leclerc was clearly the faster of the two Ferrari drivers, with Sainz about 5 seconds behind and then a gap of 17 seconds to Verstappen. 24 laps remained.

Both Leclerc and Sainz gave up the front positions as they came into the pits, allowing Verstappen to lead the race. But it was not going to be easy to stay there because Leclerc had been quick to get back out and was right on the back of Verstappen within half a lap – and one lap later, he recaptured the lead.

Hamilton was fourth and came in on lap 52 for medium tyres, retaining his position as the next car with Ocon in it was some distance back. With 17 laps to go, what was the strategy for Sainz? It was uncertain if he would pit again so the Ferrari man stayed within striking distance.

Sainz was pushing hard to catch Verstappen when, on lap 55, his car was on fire and he had to quickly come to a stop. The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was activated as he managed to park in a safe spot, and many cars quickly shot into the pits. Lap 60 was coming up and Hamilton was able to move up another position and look forward to standing on the podium. Behind him was Russell so the team could get another chunk of points today. The VSC was turned off with 11 laps remaining.

Leclerc was in the lead when the VSC was turned off with 11 laps remaining. However, one lap later, he was on the radio reporting that the throttle felt like it was sticky and the engineers quickly looked at the data. They assured him that all was well; his engine was fresher than the one in Sainz’ car so he did not have to be so worried though he had to watch his foot pressure.

With 6 laps remaining, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas put in a stronger effort to get into the top ten for points and managed to grab it from Williams Racing’s Alex Albon. The Thai driver then dropped another place as Alonso also swept past him in Turn 5.

The final few laps must have been very tense for Leclerc as his throttle was not working properly and then he found that downshifts were not being executed. Could the power unit hold on just a little bit more, even as Verstappen was pressuring him? Verstappen got within 2 seconds just as the finish line came into sight and it was Leclerc who took the chequered flag to win the Austrian GP this year.

The Airline Seat Specification in the Bentley Bentayga EWB

In the 1960s, Volvo drew attention to the importance of a car seat being designed for a correct posture to provide not just comfort but also promote driving safety. Its seat designers consulted specialists on a subjected that would come to be known as ‘ergonomics’ and developed a revolutionary seat that would set new standards in the industry.

The carmaker’s pioneering work encouraged other companies to also give more attention to car seats and not treat them as just a place for the occupants to sit on. In the years to follow, many more new ideas (some by Volvo) would be introduced in seat design which would increase comfort as well as safety.

New benchmark in wellbeing
In 2022, the new Airline Seat Specification of the Bentley Bentayga EWB represents ‘the most advanced seat ever fitted to a car’. It demonstrates a new benchmark in wellbeing features, providing the most comfortable experience possible for those travelling on extraordinary journeys. 50% of the customers who are buying the longer version of the Bentayga have specified this seat to go with their purchase.

Along with the systems to deliver Auto Climate and Postural Adjustment, the Airline Seat has a suite of technology beneath its handcrafted leather surfaces. An array of no less than 12 electric motors operate silently to deliver 22 ways of adjustment in the seat alone. This allows the user to shape the seat to suit their body shape and also to work or rest. The motors are joined by three intelligent pneumatic valve electronic control units, and the combination of motors and valves is overseen by a master Seat Motion & Wellbeing ECU.

Studies have shown that actively supporting body weight in a dynamic way relieves strain, which can prime mental stress and create lack of focus. Natural supported postures have been shown to alleviate stress from tensed muscles. The postural adjustment system automatically makes micro adjustments to the passenger’s seating position and pressure points, using an algorithm developed in collaboration with a chiropractor.

The system can apply 177 individual pressure changes across 6 fully independent pressure zones over a 3-hour period, improving comfort and minimizing fatigue throughout a journey. By subtly changing the shape of the surfaces of the seat over time, no single area of the body endures pressure fatigue for an extended period – meaning the occupant is always comfortable.

Postural Adjustment System
While many fatigue recovery system exist (seat massage, for example), the Postural Adjustment system is the next step further providing a proactive anti-fatigue system. By subtly adjusting the contact pressure between body and seat through soft pneumatic activation zones, the system goes beyond the 2D motions typical of adjustable seats, and employs a 3-dimensional twist to relieve pressure points. These motions are controlled by complex algorithms that have been developed in collaboration with a chiropractor who deals with clients who experience discomfort on long car journeys.

Working with specialists Comfort Motion Global (CMG), Bentley has developed a scientific, pneumatic postural adjustment system. CMG has been working in the field of fatigue prevention for several years, conducting medical-based research trials that highlight the benefits of changes in posture for comfort and wellbeing.

By creating subtle changes in the seat surface contact zones, body tissues that have been under pressure are relieved, and other areas, pressure is then applied. This allows the body a chance to locally recover naturally. The postural motion creates small changes in back and limb angles and can increase blood flow. Particularly in the lower back and lower limbs reducing discomfort, therefore passengers remain more alert and focused for a much longer period.

Seat surface sensing system
Many premium and luxury models have ventilated seats nowadays, with fans within that blow hot or cool air onto the body. The Airline Seat offers even more with the world’s first seat surface sensing system for thermal comfort. It uses a suite of sensors that constantly measure both passenger contact surface temperature and humidity level, to an incredible accuracy of 0.1°C every 25 milliseconds.

The passenger defines an optimal surface temperature target from 7 settings. Sensors measure and produce live data to determine what seat heating, cooling and ventilation levels are required to achieve the best comfort temperature for the passenger. The system then maintains the optimal thermal comfort throughout the journey with micro adjustments to the seat thermal system to maintain the setpoint.

In trials, it was observed that a human can only notice a change in surface temperature between 1° -2°C, but the system is constantly monitoring actual temperature to a much more detailed level, so it knows what the passenger is going to need before they would know themselves. This live data allows the system to activate before the passenger even knows it is required, providing an intelligent and autonomous experience where manual control is no longer needed to maintain comfort.

Auto Climate System
The auto climate system, which has 7 set points) uses existing seat heating technologies, but a new seat ventilation fan has been developed that can move approximately 80% more air than the previous system. Less power is consumed than the current seat climate system and, in Auto Climate mode, the overall power consumption of the complete system is around 40% less than being manually activated by the passenger.

The EWB Airline Seats have optimized seat contact profiles as well as a complex seat interlayer construction, tuned to work in perfect harmony with the chassis of the car. Working together the ride comfort is smooth and passengers are isolated from road vibration.

The adjustable profiles can morph to suit different customer shape and build. The adjustable leg and footrest feature allows customers to achieve a seated posture that is individually comfortable to them for longer periods.

The Airline Seat Specification also adds further cushion and backrest bolster adjustment, cushion extension, electric headrest height adjustment and a deployable footrest to the back of the front passenger seat. The rear seat passenger on this side of the car can also move the front passenger seat forwards via a ‘VIP mode’.

F1/Round 11: Preview & Sprint Race Results of 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Austria/9 pm in Malaysia

After the dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone last week, the F1 teams crossed the English Channel to head to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, Round 11 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. For this round, a Sprint Race has been included which will be run on Saturday. This is the second Sprint race of the year, following the one at Imola in April.

The short race with a 100-km distance proved popular with drivers and spectators when it was first run at the British GP last year. Being run over a shorter distance, drivers will be flat out from start to finish, with no pit stops needed during the 24 laps. The best effort will be necessary as the finishing order will determine the starting positions for the main race (not the positions in Qualifying), so there is a chance to improve on the position gained in Qualifying. There are also points for the top three finishers of the race. There are also points for the top 8 finishers which are added to the overall championship points.

Although Austria has had a World Championship Grand Prix 35 times since 1964, it has not always been held at the Red Bull Ring. The Red Bull Ring was originally known as the Osterreichring and hosted the Austrian GP continuously from 1970 to 1987, as well as from 1997 to 2003. It was later bought over by Red Bull’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz and, after being renovated, renamed as the Red Bull Ring in 2013. From 2014, F1 rounds were held at the track as the Austrian GP and last year, the Styrian GP was also held there.

Each lap of the 4.318-km circuit is covered in two distinct sections. The layout has just 10 corners, so it is short and sharp and also a rollercoaster as it is on a hillside with constant elevation changes. Though it is not the shortest track, the Red Bull Ring has the shortest lap time of all the circuits in the 2022 calendar. The faster drivers will be crossing the start/finish line in just over minute. This allows them to do more laps, both in the practice sessions and in qualifying – provided they have enough sets of tyres.

“The asphalt at the Red Bull Ring offers reasonably low grip on a low-severity circuit, which makes it possible to bring the softest tyres in the range. This helps us in putting the focus on entertainment, at a venue that has often delivered exciting races in the past, thanks to a busy and compact lap that’s essentially a series of short corners. Our tyre nomination makes a variety of different potential strategies possible,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director.

The track puts huge demands on a car’s handling while, at the same time, demands good mechanical grip at low speeds and excellent performance at high speed. Ultimately, the engineers have to find a compromise when setting up the racing car and dial in the right amount of downforce.

*Gear positions and cornering speeds of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS cars.*

There are 3 very hard braking zones in succession on the approaches to Turns 1, 3 and 4, and the brakes are unable to cool down sufficiently over the rest of the track as the lap is relatively short. This impacts the maximum pressure and general wear and tear experienced. For that reason, teams have to apply as much cooling as possible to the brakes, so the front tyres hardly get warmed up at all.

The Red Bull Ring is also notorious for its aggressive kerbs and is considered to be one of the toughest tests for the suspension. This applies especially to the kerbs at the exits of T1, T6 and T7, which take an exceptionally high toll on the cars because of their frequency (ie the gap between the highest and lowest points of the kerbs) and the speeds at which they are taken.

THE SPRINT RACE
There was a bit of confusion as the race was about to start and there was a short delay which meant another formation lap for the cars. In that time, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso had his car pushed back to the pits and he would not race, while Alfa Romeo’s Zhou GuanYu had engine problems that saw him having to start from the pitlane.

So 18 cars were on the starting grid when the lights went out, and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen – starting from pole position, got ahead of the rest. In the first few corners, the two Ferrari drivers exchanged positions with Carlos Sainz taking second initially and then losing it to team mate Charles Leclerc.

Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull, had cut through traffic to move 5 positions up from starting at 13th place. Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton had a poor start and dropped back to 11th behind Williams Racing’s Alex Albon. However, the other Mercedes-AMG driver, George Russell, was taking on Sainz.

By the 7th lap, Verstappen was pulling away, taking advantage of the duel between the two Ferrari drivers for second place. Russell was watching and watching for a chance to slip past as well. On the same lap, at TuRn 3, Albon caught the attention of the Stewards as he pushed McLaren’s Lando Norris off the track and he was given a 5-second penalty.

Perez was working very hard to move forward, passing Hass F1’s Kevin Magnussen to get to sixth and having Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in his sights.

On lap 11, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel slid into the gravel at the exit of Turn 6 after coming into contact with Albon’s car. Fortunately, he was not stuck and was able to get back onto the track but had dropped way down to 19th.

Down in ninth place, Hamilton was trying hard to overtake Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick, was who in the Haas F1. But the young German driver was able to hold off the 7-time world champion who must be finding it a new experience having to challenge youngesters.

With 3 laps remaining, Hamilton was still stuck behind Schumacher and complaining about it. Finally on lap 21, he managed to take over Schumacher’s position but the race was nearing the end anyway. But at least he would get one point at the end of the race which saw Verstappen taking the chequered flag.

Production of the BMW i3 EV has ended after 8½ years

BMW’s experience making electrically-powered vehicles (EVs) goes back 50 years when it replaced a number of 1602 cars with an electric motor. The 1602e was developed specially for use during the 1972 Olympics that were held in BMW’s home city of Munich in Germany. Its main role was to lead long-distance runners without blowing unhealthy exhaust fumes in their faces.

*The 1602e produced for use at the 1972 Olympic Games was BMW’s first EV.*

In the years that followed, the company continued with R&D on EVs with a number of models shown to the public, run on public roads and largely used in real-world testing. The urgency to ‘electrify’ the range was not evident yet so attention was instead given to developing other technologies like EfficientDynamics.

In 2013, BMW began its era of electrification that continues to this day when it introduced the i3 as the first volume-produced model with a fully electric drivetrain. The i3, manufactured at the Leipzig factory, was a pioneer in many different ways. It had an independent architecture consisting of a drive module as an aluminium chassis, which carried the e-drive, the suspension and the high-voltage battery pack as well as a passenger cell made of carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP). This module was referred to as the ‘life module’.

BMW’s fifth generation eDrive technology that is used in the latest BMW and MINI EVs can trace its origins to the i3. The high-voltage battery pack developed for the model has also undergone continuous development since 2013, doubling its storage capacity while retaining the same installation space. In its final form with a cell capacity of 120 Ah and a gross energy content of 42.2 kWh, the final version of the i3 could travel up to 307 kms on a single charge.

In addition to its electric drive, the i3’s eco-balance stemmed from the choice of materials fully geared towards sustainability and resource-conserving production. It was the first BMW Group model to receive an ISO certificate issued by independent auditors at the time of its market launch, confirming its optimised environmental performance throughout its entire life cycle.

Partly recycled raw materials were used for its outer skin made of thermoplastics. The plastic used in the interior contained 25% recycled material. The textiles used for the seat surfaces were made entirely from recycled fibres, with the door panels of kenaf fibres. Eucalyptus wood from certified cultivation in Europe served as the raw material for parts of the instrument panel.

After a production run of 250,000 units (sold in more than 74 countries), production of the i3 has ended, bringing an era to close. But the farewell is also linked to the start of a new chapter in electric mobility. In a seamless transition, further e-drive components will be manufactured at the Leipzig factory and from 2023, the next generation of the MINI Countryman will be manufactured at the same location.

In the 8½ years that the i3 was on sale, it achieved a significantly higher market share in the EV segment in many markets than the BMW brand in the area of conventionally powered cars. It also succeeded in attracting additional target groups in the premium mobility offers from BMW. In the early years, more than 80% of all buyers were new customers for the BMW Group.

Many i3 owners were ‘early adopters’ and reported being impressed by the reliability, low energy and maintenance costs. They reported that the brake pads did not need replacing even after more than 250,000 kms – because a large part of the deceleration power was provided by recuperation. The long-term quality of the battery pack was also praised as there was only a negligible reduction in range even after long running times. The BMW Group took this positive experience as an opportunity to increase the maximum mileage associated with the 8-year warranty period for the battery pack, extending it from 100,000 kms to 160,000 kms at the beginning of 2020.

BMW i3 EV 2022 — To commemorate the end of i3 production, BMW produced a HomeRun Edition (below) with extra features and a Frozen paint finish from BMW Individual for the first time. Only 10 units of this special edition were produced, making it a very exclusive i3. Customers who had bought the HomeRun Edition were invited to witness the completion of their cars in the assembly hall.

BMW’s new i3 is a fully electric 3-Series sedan only for China

No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing scores first victory in Extreme E series in Italy (w/VIDEO)

Last year, the Extreme E all-electric off-road series was largely dominated by the Rosberg X Racing (RXR) team owned by former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg. This year, in its second season, the series may see stronger rivals although it was still RXR that won the opening round in Saudi Arabia in February.

The second round – dubbed the NEOM Island X Prix – was held on the island of Sardinia in Italy. This is a double-header event which marks Extreme E’s European destination for Season 2. Sardinia provides a completely contrasting landscape to the other rounds, providing a harder compact surface with many rocks and bushes plus riverbeds, meaning drivers have many natural obstacles to navigate.

No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing took a maiden victory as the RXR team was penalised for Johan Kristoffersson’s collision with Carlos Sainz Snr. that took the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team out of the race.

Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price inherited their first win in the stop-start event final that also saw XITE ENERGY Racing claim a first top-three finish. During the race, a red flag was waved following a big accident for ACCIONA | SAINZ as RXR’s Kristoffersson collided with Sainz Snr. in the early stages.

It was the Spaniard who managed to edge in front of the pack from the start as the teams’ racing lines merged. But as the course narrowed, Sainz Snr. collided with Kristoffersson and was sent into a roll. This brought out the red flag at the end of the first lap and, ultimately, a 30-second penalty for the championship leaders.

Sainz Snr. managed to walk away from the accident, while Kristoffersson continued in the race despite substantial damage to his ODYSSEY 21. He received a full check-up in hospital as a precaution and was cleared and released the same day.

Amongst the chaos, LeDuc found himself in second place on track for No.99 GMC Hummer EV, ahead of XITE Energy Racing’s Timo Scheider and the trailing Hedda Hosas in the JBXE car as the teams entered the Switch Zone.

In similar fashion to the Desert X Prix Final, the race restarted for a 1-lap shootout, with the 4 teams released at intervals that matched how they had entered the Switch Zone. No.99 GMC Hummer EV’s Price began her chase of RXR’s Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky in pursuit of that elusive maiden victory for her team.

Despite missing bodywork from the front of her purpose-built vehicle (which is the same for all the teams), Ahlin-Kottulinsky extended the lead given to her by teammate to cross the line on track in first. However, following a Stewards’ investigation, RXR was demoted to third, giving victory to No.99 GMC Hummer EV, while XITE Energy Racing has their best series result to date.

Even with the penalty, Nico Rosberg’s outfit still leads the championship with 50 points after two rounds. His drivers once again secured the extra 5 points for going quickest in the Continental Traction Challenge. No.99 GMC Hummer EV are now their nearest challengers, 13 points behind.

“If you look at the numbers, we went from first in practice, to last in qualifying – and back to first as the race winners. It was a rollercoaster ride… I don’t know how to put it into words… but we all did our job today. We have a great GMC HUMMER EV team where everyone works so hard. We’re ready to take this success and apply it to the next race this weekend.” said LeDuc.

GMC is a division of General Motors and is participating in the Extreme E series with Chip Ganassi Racing to showcase the all-electric Hummer EV which was unveiled in October 2020. The Extreme E championship is for vehicles powered only by electricity and a specially-developed all-electric vehicle inspired by the Hummer EV will be used.

GMC’s association with Chip Ganassi Racing will be for a number of years. The event regulations specify that there must be one male and one female member, and both must also perform driving duties. To meet this requirement, the team has off-road racers Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price.

“I can’t think of a better fit than showcasing the look of GMC’s HUMMER EV in Extreme E with Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors US Vice-President, Performance and Motorsports. “Both GMC HUMMER EV and the Extreme E series are designed to be revolutionary – to challenge perceptions of electric vehicles and to showcase their true capability.”