The 2022 Extreme E Championship concludes in Uruguay

This weekend saw the conclusion of the second season of the Extreme E Championship with the first ever event in Punta del Este, in Uruguay. The Energy X Prix, the name of the fifth and decisive stage of the 2022 championship, saw the 10 teams racing electric SUVs on November 26 and 27. Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team, featuring rally legends Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez, took the world title, with a total of 86 points. This electrifying event was powered by Enel X Way, the Official Charging Partner. 

There were various twists and turns, especially at the top of the standings. In spite of having finished the stage in third place, coming in behind the ABT Cupra and NEOM McLaren teams (which were, respectively, first and second), the X44 team managed to take home the rainbow title. This was thanks to the disqualification of Nico Rosberg’s RXR team which had previously been leading the standings. RXR was not in fact allowed to take part in the final race on Sunday, the last stage of the Energy X Prix. This was as a penalty for having exceeded the number of mechanics allowed in the Switch Zone, the area where the drivers (two for each team) hand over control of the steering wheel. X44, therefore, reached 86 points, two points ahead of RXR on 84, while Acciona Sainz came third with 66.

As can be imagined, over the two days of racing at the weekend, the focus was on enjoyment and sustainability. The drivers of these extraordinary electric vehicles were racing just a few steps away from the immense Atlantic Ocean, which helped keep the focus on global risks to the environment. In actual fact the Extreme E Championship is the brainchild of Alejandro Agag, patron of Formula E, who created it with the main goal of raising awareness among e-motorsport enthusiasts about the risks to the environment that have had a significant impact on various parts of the globe. As with the inaugural Extreme E season last year, 2022 turned out to be a great success, with numerous moments of breath-taking excitement and pure adrenalin that saw male and female drivers alternate at the wheel for each team in the race, in another win for gender equality.

As with every stage of the competition, there were a total of 20 drivers taking the wheel of the muscular electric SUVs. Each team uses the Spark Odissey 21, which is capable of climbing 130% gradients. It was created using Williams Advanced Technology, and the teams are allowed to personalize the carbon-fiber bodywork. The cars are equipped with two 340 CV electric motors each, for an overall system capacity of 550 CV and maximum torque of 920 N m. This is enough to achieve an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

 

The 40 kWh lithium batteries are charged thanks to our specially developed infrastructure, the Enel X Way JuicePump 50 Race Edition. Ten of these were used in Uruguay, one for each team, while a further two charging stations were located in the control tents, helping make the event fully sustainable. After all, sustainability is at the heart of the Extreme E championship, which leaves nothing behind at the end of each race, recycling or repurposing what is no longer deemed necessary. Examples of this attention to ecological issues include the Explorer Lounge, a non-invasive structure built mainly of wood and recycled materials, which is assembled and removed without damaging the environment. Then there’s the St. Elena: this de facto mobile mega paddock is actually a fully reconditioned ship that has been developed to be more efficient and environmentally friendly. It’s used by the organization to transport all of the vehicles and the facilities needed for the competition.

The choice of Uruguay as the venue for the fifth and final X Prix of the season, which included two events in Sardinia in June, was no coincidence: 98% of the country’s energy is actually generated from renewable sources. That is why in recent days the organization visited one of Uruguay’s large wind farms. The country is strongly reliant on farming and its low-lying coastlines make it even more susceptible to extreme weather events and rising sea levels. And, speaking of marine waters, in this part of the world the Extreme E Championship has chosen to support the Organization for Cetacean Conservation (OCC) as part of its awareness-raising initiatives for the general public and schools. The support for this new legacy project will help improve the OCC’s photographic ID catalogue, which is essential for tracking and monitoring whales in Uruguayan waters. Maintaining biodiversity is equally important for other species, such as seals and sea lions, whose largest breeding colony in the southern hemisphere happens to be situated just south of Punta del Este on the island of Lobos.

While the event in Uruguay marked the end of the 2022 season, attention is already turning to the third season of the Extreme E championship, the calendar of which has just been unveiled and is set to include a new stage in Great Britain. These are the stages planned for the coming season, the third featuring electric rally racing:

• March 11-12 – Saudi Arabia (Desert X-Prix)
• May 13-14 – Scotland (Ocean X-Prix)
• July 8-9 – Italy (Island X-Prix)
• July 16-17 – Brazil or USA (TBC X-Prix)
• December 2-3 – Chile (Copper X-Prix)