NEOM set to host hydrogen-powered Extreme E for Season 2 opener
The all-electric SUV off-road racing championship will kick off on Feb 19-20 in NEOM, Saudi Arabia…
After the conclusion of another successful Diriyah Formula E 2022, fans of fast electric vehicles will look forward to the upcoming Extreme E as it returns to the Kingdom for the second consecutive year.
Plans for the Season 2 opener are well underway, which is scheduled to take place on February 19 and 20 in northwest Saudi Arabia.
The all-electric off-road series will begin in the deserts of NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s giga-project featuring cognitive cities and a premier visitor destination and inspirational location for all adventure sports.
NEOM’s unique geographical location
Covering a 26,500-square-kilometre area, NEOM is being built from the ground up, introducing a new model for urban sustainability, powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.
It is home to long beaches, valleys, and deserts cradled by mountains, as well as cool winds from the Red Sea. Its diverse terrain includes 468 kilometres of coastline, spectacular islands, and scenic, snow-capped mountains that reach more than 2,500 metres with stunning views across the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea.
With its expansive red sands, electric off-road rally racers will whine wheel-to-wheel in clouds of desert dust, scrambling past spectacular sandstone formations and historic wall art, and, at times, colliding and crashing.
Alejandro Agag, CEO and founder of Extreme E, commented, “As we saw in our first-ever championship race, the Kingdom’s terrain is stunning and unforgiving. The desertscape promises to be intense, and it will be an unprecedented challenge for our competitors to explore in new desert terrain with warmer racing conditions.”
Contributing to a genuinely sustainable future
Saudi Arabia is committed to world-leading investment in sustainable technologies and protecting its unique natural resources. Vision 2030 focuses on reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and includes a highly ambitious deployment plan of renewable energies, particularly solar and wind.
The opportunity to host Extreme E, where male and female drivers use electric SUVs, supports NEOM’s vision of building a high-performance ecosystem to attract the world’s best events and athletes while using sport to drive sustainability and diversity, creating positive social impact.
Located in a region with abundant renewable energy resources, NEOM’s sports ambitions, tied to all aspects of clean energy, are set to reshape the future of several performance sports.
HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al- Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and the Saudi Motorsports Company, said, “The return of Extreme E to the Kingdom further helps emphasise Saudi Arabia’s commitment to a more sustainable future, and is further proof of the Kingdom’s transformation into a powerhouse for motorsport in the region.”
Extreme E’s five-race global voyage will continue to highlight the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the most remarkable, remote locations in the world and promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the fight to help preserve the environment and protect the planet.
Visit: Extreme-E.com
Images: Provided