Breaking news
Extreme E Desert X-Prix
Rosberg hails "inspiring" Kristoffersson, Taylor after XE win
Nico Rosberg has hailed Johan Kristoffersson as “inspiring” and thanked Molly Taylor for joining his Extreme E team as the duo scored a dominant win in the maiden desert event.
Matt Kew
Edited: Apr 5, 2021, 12:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Rosberg X Racing driver Kristoffersson started from an effective second on the grid and swept by rivals Sebastien Loeb of X44 and Andretti United’s Timmy Hansen into the high-speed opening corner to command the first lap on the 5.48-mile course in Saudi Arabia.
He then handed over to 2016 Australian Rally champion Molly Taylor, who said she “was taking it really, really easy” and “driving at recce speed”, to score a 24-second victory.
RXR founder and 2016 Formula 1 world champion Rosberg joined his drivers in the post-race press conference and praised Kristofferson’s run to an initial 32-second lead.
He said: “Johan's performance was really inspiring and amazing to watch. I'm proud to watch from the outside.
“Damn stressful on one end, but very proud on the other way to see that amazing action on track.”
Rosberg also thanked Taylor for joining his team, saying: “I'm just so thankful to Molly for driving so fantastically throughout the weekend. Not a single mistake out there.
“I'm very thankful, Molly, that you accepted to join for our team.”
Read Also:
- Rosberg's team dominates Extreme E's Saudi opener
- Hurtgen/LeDuc XE crash "not accident waiting to happen"
Taylor, who joked the victory had given her ‘grey hair’, told Motorsport.com there was no point in trying to build on Kristoffersson’s lead, despite having beaten the time of nearest chaser Munnings in qualifying by 14 seconds.
She said: “I was just like, 'get through each waypoint’ and then you're crossing the line.
“’Did everything work?'… I was running through everything in my head again.
“For it to all work when you put that much into it, I feel I have so many more grey hair!
“When you have a 30-second lead, there's no point to try and set a lap time because you gain literally nothing.
“After all Johan's amazing job to do that, I needed to do my job and not necessarily try to go out and prove how fast you can do a lap.”
“That’s the thing about the track, it's just so rough. Even when you're taking it easy, it's still moving around, I was just trying to at least give myself the margin that if it moves around, the speed wasn't so high that I couldn't react and control it.”
When Rosberg was asked if he had messaged former Mercedes F1 teammate, long-time rival and fellow Extreme E team owner Lewis Hamilton about the victory, he said: “No, no.
“I haven't thought about anything like that at the moment.”
10
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Rosberg's team dominates Extreme E's Saudi opener
Next article Agag: Inaugural Extreme E event created "motorsport gold"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Matt Kew
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
More from
Johan Kristoffersson
The stars Trackhouse should target for its NASCAR Cup plan
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
The stars Trackhouse should target for its NASCAR Cup plan
Kristoffersson to defend World Rallycross title with Volkswagen
World Rallycross
World Rallycross
Kristoffersson to defend World Rallycross title with Volkswagen
Kristoffersson's team commits three cars for first electric WRX season
World Rallycross
World Rallycross
Kristoffersson's team commits three cars for first electric WRX season
Latest news
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 18 min
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
Bourdais, Moss headline second batch of Sebring's 75 all-time greatest drivers
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 36 min
Bourdais, Moss headline second batch of Sebring's 75 all-time greatest drivers
IndyCar driver and Fox Sports reporter Jack Harvey announces cancer diagnosis
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 45 min
IndyCar driver and Fox Sports reporter Jack Harvey announces cancer diagnosis
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe