RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Extreme E Thursday named the third of its five race locations, confirming that the Desert leg of the new electric rally championship being developed using electric SUVs, will take place in Saudi Arabia, with a number of potential routes currently being examined.
Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO of Extreme E, made the announcement alongside Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki AlFaisal Al Saud, chairman of the Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority and Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdullah AlFaisal, president of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, at the King Abdul Aziz Conference Centre in the Saudi capital during the Future Investment Initiative forum.
“One of the major cornerstones of this revolutionary championship is that we will race across terrains and environments that will push the world’s top drivers, teams and engineers to their absolute limits,” said Agag.
“For our Desert location, we are taking a real leap into uncharted territory. Heading to Saudi Arabia, home of the world’s largest continuous sand desert among a multitude of extraordinary environments in which to race, gives us unbelievable scope to create an unprecedented challenge for our competitors.
“The kingdom’s terrain is stunning and unforgiving, while the heat and conditions will be intense. There is no question that the winning combination of driver and machine will be a deserving one.”
Extreme E’s five-race global voyage aims to highlight the impact of climate change and human interference on some of the most remarkable, remote locations in the world, as well as serving to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the fight to help preserve the environment and protect the planet.
The exact desert location in Saudi Arabia will be determined in the coming months. The main priority is to race in an extreme desert environment, where electric SUVs can show their capacities to race under the harshest conditions.
The race is the latest event to join Saudi Arabia’s suddenly busy sporting calendar, seen by critics as an attempt at ‘sportswashing’ its image.
The Saudis have faced intense diplomatic fallout over the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi which took place in the ultra-conservative kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Saudi rulers, also under fire for the war in neighbouring Yemen, have utilised sport as a tool to try and soften their international image and to provide a showcase, they claim, for reforms inside the oil-rich state.
Saudi Arabia is the third confirmed Extreme E location, with Greenland set to host the Arctic stage and the Amazon Rainforest in Para, Brazil, the Rainforest round. An Ocean location and a route in the Himalayas are currently being scouted, with Season 1 to get underway in February 2021.
Extreme E events will take place over three days, within an area no larger than 10 km2. Track designers have been tasked with carefully selecting course options, which provide the most challenging, exciting racing action whilst crucially generating no negative impact from either environmental or social perspectives. Routes will be designed to incorporate existing obstacles and features with elevation changes and jumps, without the need to adapt the environment.
Carlo Boutagy, CEO of CBX, which is the Official Promoter of the FIA Formula E Diriyah E-Prix, will also be the Official Race Promoter of the inaugural Saudi Arabian Extreme E event.
Further announcements on teams, locations and drivers will be made over the coming weeks and months.
