2023 Extreme E

[NaBUru38]

2023 Extreme E calendar:

• March 11-12: Neom, Saudi Arabia
• May 13-14: Scotland, United Kingdom
• July 8-9: Sardinia, Italy
• September 16-17: Brazil or United States TBC
• December 2-3: Antofagasta, Chile

[NaBUru38]

Entry list so far:

• Veloce: Kevin Hansen / Molly Taylor.
• Rosberg: Johan Kristofferson / Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky.
• Andretti: Timmy Hansen / Catie Munnings.
• Sainz: Carlos Sainz / Laia Sanz.
• McLaren: Tanner Foust / Emma Gilmour.
• Hummer Ganassi: RJ Anderson / Amanda Sorensen.
• Abt Cupra: Nasser Al-Attiyah / Klara Andersson.
• Carl Cox: TBC
• XE Sports Group: TBC

Carlos Sainz got injured at the Dakar Rally, so Mattias Ekström will replace him at Saudi Arabia.

[NaBUru38]

The weekend format has changes. On each Saturday and Sunday, there will be two heat races, where the top 5 teams will enter the grand final, and the other 5 teams will enter a redemption race.

[BertMk2]

Is it just me or has coverage of Extreme E dropped off the radar a bit? I haven't seen much (any?) promotion of the upcoming season.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Is it just me or has coverage of Extreme E dropped off the radar a bit? I haven't seen much (any?) promotion of the upcoming season.

Is it not live streamed on Youtube?

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Is it not live streamed on Youtube?

Not sure - I just haven't seen or heard much about it recently. Coverage was on the BBC for the first season, not sure if that's still the case now either. I used to see quite a lot of social media promotion for it but I've not noticed anything recently.

[NaBUru38]

Have a look here: https://www.extreme-e.com/en/broadcast-information

It's not on free to air I think, but hat's not unexpected.

[FIRE]

Don't know how to say this but for me this series feels artificial.

[NaBUru38]

It's a show, and I like it.


Last year at Punta del Este, several drivers flipped in corners. These cars aren't easy to drive.

[ArnageWRC]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Is it just me or has coverage of Extreme E dropped off the radar a bit? I haven't seen much (any?) promotion of the upcoming season.

To be honest, most off road series, both 2 & 4 wheels don't get the coverage they deserve.

Both The Race & Autosport cover MotoGP, but completely ignore MXGP, Enduro, etc, in fact The Race don't even bother with rallying......

[NaBUru38]

Outside the Dakar Rally, pretty much nobody covers FIA rally raid. Dirtfish doesn't cover baja racing.

Most "motorsport" websites actually only cover car racing, and maybe MotoGP.

There's motorcycle websites, and they are often split between asphalt and off-road.

I like Racer because they cover several disciplines, even of half of them are just press releases.

[Akrapovic]

So I watched the Hydro Xprix, primarly because it's just down the road from me. I have some observations.

- not allowing fans doesn't help the brand. I was going to go spectate it but you're not allowed
- race control was abysmal. Perma-slow zones that they didn't notify drivers about. Faulty lights systems. Drivers penalised for infractions that didn't happen. Drivers removed from races for "causing" the red flag when in reality they were innocent victims. It was frustrating to watch
- the cars are still unable to cope with the mud. If you lead out of T1, you won. Nobody could see anything
- the cars are far too fragile. Both in terms of hits and in terms of reliability
- the tv coverage is poor. 2 hour show has 30 minutes of action and 90 minutes of climate preaching. I'm all for saving the climate, but the show made it not fun.
- despite all this it was a lot of fun.

There's a good racing series under the mess there somewhere. But it's still failing at the fundamentals.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

So I watched the Hydro Xprix, primarly because it's just down the road from me. I have some observations.

- not allowing fans doesn't help the brand. I was going to go spectate it but you're not allowed
- race control was abysmal. Perma-slow zones that they didn't notify drivers about. Faulty lights systems. Drivers penalised for infractions that didn't happen. Drivers removed from races for "causing" the red flag when in reality they were innocent victims. It was frustrating to watch
- the cars are still unable to cope with the mud. If you lead out of T1, you won. Nobody could see anything
- the cars are far too fragile. Both in terms of hits and in terms of reliability
- the tv coverage is poor. 2 hour show has 30 minutes of action and 90 minutes of climate preaching. I'm all for saving the climate, but the show made it not fun.
- despite all this it was a lot of fun.

There's a good racing series under the mess there somewhere. But it's still failing at the fundamentals.

I must admit I've not seen any of this latest season - it's pretty much dropped off the radar here. They really should have the reliability issues sorted out by now - they've been there since day one. It's a spec car - why isn't someone hammering it in testing somewhere and getting all of the glitches ironed out? I thought EVs were supposed to be simpler with less bits to go wrong? Why can't they get on top of the reliability?

[MissClarrpz]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

They really should have the reliability issues sorted out by now - they've been there since day one. It's a spec car - why isn't someone hammering it in testing somewhere and getting all of the glitches ironed out? I thought EVs were supposed to be simpler with less bits to go wrong? Why can't they get on top of the reliability?

I think the main issue is the regular racecar hardware. Spark aren't used to making cars, let alone race cars for extreme terrain. Would have been better to get a proper manufacturer to make the car then get someone to add electric power.

Extreme E needs to rethink their tracks. Hydro was the worst course for racing yet. Super narrow, no overtaking spots so everyone was desperate at the start which caused even more accidents. The action can be great, they need to focus on that and then people will keep watching

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by MissClarrpz

I think the main issue is the regular racecar hardware. Spark aren't used to making cars, let alone race cars for extreme terrain. Would have been better to get a proper manufacturer to make the car then get someone to add electric power.

Totally agree - it seemed an odd choice to start with but the lack of progress has been really poor. The same issues seem to come up over and over again, they haven't solved any of the root causes.

[MissClarrpz]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Totally agree - it seemed an odd choice to start with but the lack of progress has been really poor. The same issues seem to come up over and over again, they haven't solved any of the root causes.

Well they went with Spark because it's run by one of Agag's friends
At least they solved the suspension issue that plagued season 1. Power steering needs beefing up still, and suspension could do with another upgrade

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by MissClarrpz

I think the main issue is the regular racecar hardware. Spark aren't used to making cars, let alone race cars for extreme terrain. Would have been better to get a proper manufacturer to make the car then get someone to add electric power.

Extreme E needs to rethink their tracks. Hydro was the worst course for racing yet. Super narrow, no overtaking spots so everyone was desperate at the start which caused even more accidents. The action can be great, they need to focus on that and then people will keep watching

I agree with all this. But honestly, I find the qualifying time trials more fun than the racing. Maybe it should just be that, honestly? You could make the tracks more technical and difficult and have cars setting off at 30 second intervals, and a split screen of them all.

I honestly think racing them makes it worse.

[NaBUru38]

This weekend it's round 3 at Sardinia, Italy.

The race clashes with the Italian Baja in Venice, which features Al-Attiyah, Al-Rahji, Holowczyk and Van Loon.

Sébastien Loeb will drive alongside Klara Andersson in place of Al-Attiyah.

Lia Block, daughter of the late Ken Block, will drive alongside Timo Scheider in place of Christine GZ

[NaBUru38]

Round 4 is this weekend. No United States, Brazil or Argentina, it's Sardinia again on a new course.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

No United States, Brazil or Argentina

Why not?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Why not?

Summary of the situation here - https://racer.com/2023/08/29/extreme...-fall-through/

'Extreme E will remain in Sardinia for the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2023 season on September 16-17 after plans for an event in Argentina fell through late on, RACER can reveal.

Originally slated for the Amazon or the United States until the location was changed due to local funding issues, the fourth event of the season was then set to take place in Argentina. However, local elections complicated matters, delaying the arrival of crucial local funding once again and leading the series to find another replacement at the eleventh hour.

The series was presented with the option to leave equipment at the Pisano Barracks in Capo Teulada, Sardinia, which hosted the Island X Prix in July and has been a mainstay on the schedule since the series’ first season in 2021. With the offer on the table, the decision was taken to remain there for another event, minimizing the financial impact on teams and the series’ environmental impact as a whole, while maintaining a 10-round, five event schedule. The vast, open location will also enable the series to devise an entirely new track at the same site.'

[FIRE]

Thanks

[NaBUru38]

This weekend it's the final round at Antofagasta in Chile.