Kiwi Emma Gilmour, along with some of the biggest names in motorsport will partake in the first motorsport event to ever be held in Greenland – Extreme E’s Arctic X Prix – which takes place this weekend (28-29 August) in Kangerlussuaq.
“It is hugely exciting to be stepping into the car for the first time in Greenland, but it’s also going to be a test of my skills and experience,” commented Gilmour. “I’m going to have to get up to speed very quickly, but luckily each event is a bit of a reset for all of the drivers as no one has any experience of the next venue, so I think that works in my favour.
“I’m really grateful to Veloce for giving me the opportunity and I hope Stéphane [Sarrazin] and I can get another great result for the team after that amazing podium in Senegal.”
After a close fought weekend of racing in Dakar, Senegal, RXR took victory for a second time following the teams stand-out performance at the Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia in April. The driver pairing of Swede Johan Kristoffersson and Australian Molly Taylor are sitting pretty at the top of the table on 71 points.
Lewis Hamilton’s X44 is in second spot with 57 points and Jenson Button’s JBXE sits third on 44 points. With only seven points separating the remaining six teams, it really is all to play for as the series enters round three of Season 1.
“We have incredible momentum coming into the Arctic X Prix and I couldn’t be prouder of the team’s performance in the first two races,” commented Nico Rosberg, Founder of Rosberg X Racing. “However, we do not take anything for granted and myself and the entire team are motivated to continue the hard work. The race is in a spectacular location and I am as excited as any fan to watch our ODYSSEY 21 race car compete in such an extraordinary setting as Greenland.”
Kangerlussuaq is situated in the west of Greenland and is home to the once mighty Russell Glacier, which will provide the backdrop to an epic weekend of wheel-to-wheel racing. This area was chosen as it highlights the climate crisis, and part of the course itself was previously occupied by the glacier, but has sadly melted due to accelerated temperature rise.
Measuring eight kilometres, the course will provide a very new challenge to drivers with the surface made up of glacial sediments, rocks and sand dunes, although not like those seen in Saudi Arabia. The course is wide open in areas allowing for various racing lines, as well as technical sections around various rocks. The full layout will be revealed later this week.
Not only will Greenland provide new terrain, the X Prix will also follow a slightly updated format, including an opportunity for all teams to progress to the Final making it a five-car battle, as well as new routes to Semi-Finals and intermediate classification points awarded after qualifying sessions.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday 28 August – one session in the morning and one in the afternoon – with each team completing two laps of the course, one per driver with a driver Switch. The times recorded across the morning session will equate to classification points meaning first place receives 9, second place 8, third place 7 points and so on. The same then happens in the afternoon with classification points awarded on the same scale.
The combined total of these classification points provides the intermediate standings, which is based on points instead of times as seen in Saudi Arabia and Senegal, meaning a fairer opportunity for all teams to progress, particularly if a poor time or DNF for example is recorded in one session. These points do not equate to championship points – they are awarded in the same way as previous rounds.
Races will take place as follows:
The teams will be listed 1st to 9th place based on the total combined points of each team’s two Qualifying runs.
Teams placed in first, fifth and sixth progress to Semi-Final 1, where the top two finishers claim spots in the Arctic X Prix Final.
Second, third and fourth from Qualifying go through to Semi-Final 2, where again the top two progress to the Arctic X Prix Final.
The bottom three teams (7th, 8th and 9th) head to the Crazy Race, with the winner reaching the Arctic X Prix Final
The Arctic X Prix Final features five cars
The ‘Super Sector’ – a part of the course where the fastest driver in that section over the weekend will earn five points for their team – will continue to be a fixture for the Arctic X Prix and SEGI TV Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle LeDuc will be looking to take these points again. In addition, teams can also benefit from a HyperDrive boost available to each driver on each lap of the race. Activated when the driver presses a button on the steering wheel, they will enjoy an extra push of continuous power for a few seconds.
The nine teams and 18 drivers are as follows:
ABT CUPRA XE – #125 – Mattias Ekström / Jutta Kleinschmidt
ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team – #55 – Carlos Sainz Snr. / Laia Sanz
Andretti United Extreme E – #23 – Timmy Hansen / Catie Munnings
SEGI TV Chip Ganassi Racing – #99 – Kyle LeDuc / Sara Price
XITE ENERGY RACING powered by myenergi – #42 – Oliver Bennett / Christine GZ
JBXE – #22 – Kevin Hansen / Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky
Rosberg X Racing – #6 – Johan Kristoffersson / Molly Taylor
Veloce Racing – #5 – Stéphane Sarrazin / Emma Gilmour
X44 – #44 – Sébastien Loeb / Cristina Gutiérrez
Teams are able to select which driver goes first in Qualifying 1, with choices kept secret until the driver gets behind the wheel. For each session after this, the first driver must alternate.
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