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MOLLY TAYLOR WINS INAUGURAL EXTREME E ROUND

By Dan McCarthy

Australian Rally Champion Molly Taylor and reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson dominated the inaugural round of the all-electric off-road Extreme E championship.

The first ever event took place in the desert of Alula in Saudi Arabia and saw 18 drivers sharing nine all-electric machines.

Each must be driven by one male and one female, and the true off-road nature of the series enticed some world-famous drivers to the grid.

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, former World Rally Cross champions Timmy Hansen and Mattias Ekstrom, two-time WRC champion Carlos Sainz, W-Series winner Jamie Chadwick, and even former F1 Champion Jenson Button were a few of the names to jump onboard.

Despite all these legends, from the word go Rosberg X Racing drivers Kristoffersson and Taylor were almost untouchable over the course of the weekend.

Quickest in the first qualifying session and would have been again had it not been for a penalty in the second session, the duo went from strength to strength.

The former WTCR race winner started both the semi-final and final and each time handed the car over to Molly Taylor in the lead.

Out front Taylor was comfortable, untroubled and crossed the line to become the first Extreme E event winners.

 

“What an amazing start to the season,” Taylor said.

“It feels a bit surreal, with so much anticipation and preparation leading into the weekend, and we all came here not really knowing what to expect.

“It was definitely extreme. It was the first time we had experienced terrain like that, and on every lap, the course was changing – there were so many different variables to deal with. We just wanted to make the most of the little time we had in the car – every single kilometre.

“We had a small issue in the pit-lane during Qualifying, but aside from that, we were the quickest in every session.

“You have to be fast when it counts, be smart when it counts and take the big moves when it counts, and for it to all come together when it mattered was really special.

“Huge thanks to Johan – his opening laps were just insane – and the team has done such an incredible amount of work behind-the-scenes.”

As an inaugural event there were a couple of hitches..

Dust proved to be a major issue with visibility but as Taylor said, this championship is meant to be extreme and a real test the drivers.

“It’s pretty cool to be part of this journey at the start of something that I think has an amazing future,” she said.

“This series is really throwing the traditional rule book out of the window and starting afresh, and I think everyone will agree it was spectacular to watch.

“The male drivers we have here are the best in any motor sport category in the world, so it’s an awesome opportunity for us female drivers and a real investment in the development of female racing talent.

“This is just a dream come true all-round.”

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