Breaking news
Extreme E
XE reveals Saudi Arabia as desert round host
The Extreme E electric off-road SUV racing series has revealed that it will hold its desert round in Saudi Arabia during its inaugural campaign in 2021.
Alex Kalinauckas
Edited: Oct 31, 2019, 4:04 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The event’s exact location in Saudi Arabia – which will also host the 2020 Dakar Rally – will be determined in the coming months, as per an XE statement.
The desert round is the third XE location to be revealed, following the Artic round that is to be held in Greenland and the Amazon location set to be in Brazil’s Para state.
“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 XE founder and CEO Alejandro 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.”
Read Also:
- Newey, Vergne join forces for new Extreme E team
- Lotterer, Chadwick and Ogier join Extreme E driver programme
XE’s statement explained that the “main priority” for the desert round will be for the cars to “race in an extreme desert environment, where electric SUVs can show their capacities to race under the harshest conditions”.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki AlFaisal Al Saud, chairman of the Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority, said that hosting an XE event – which will be promoted by Carlo Boutagy, the CEO of the CBX company that also promotes Formula E’s Diriyah E-Prix – was part of the country’s Vision 2030 reform plans.
“Welcoming Extreme E to Saudi Arabia is the perfect opportunity for the country to strengthen the sporting pillar of its Vision 2030 – delivering world-class electric motorsport to the desert.
“I am a racing driver myself, so the notion of contributing to the growth of the sport – and its electric future – is a source of great pride.”
XE’s ODYSSEY 21 prototype was fully tested for the first in its development process at the Chateau de Lastours test venue near Narbonne in southern France – the same facility used by Peugeot when the manufacturer had a works Dakar programme.
The locations for the remaining two rounds of XE’s first calendar – set to be an “Ocean location and a route in the Himalayas” according the championship’s statement – are currently being assessed.
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 Extreme E reveals race location in Amazon rainforest
Next article Piquet interested in Extreme E entry
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Kalinauckas
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Latest news
Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 6 h
Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”
How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
6 h
How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
7 h
Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
13 h
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
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