Extreme E season finale to take place in Dorset
Bovington tank ranges to replace cancelled event in Argentina
The final round of the inaugural Extreme E championship will take place in the UK this December, with Dorset stepping in to replace Argentina.
Known as the Jurassic X-Prix due to its close proximity to the Jurassic Coastline on the south coast of England, the season finale will take place on the tank training ranges at Bovington after Covid-19-related travel restrictions caused the cancellation of the original event in Patagonia.
The location change has also pushed back the event date. It will now run on 18/19 December, a week later than planned.
The original plan was for Extreme E to compete in remote locations that had been affected by climate change or human activity, but that was rendered impossible due to the pandemic.
Series bosses had been looking at staging a replacement event in Scotland before settling on Dorset.
Extreme E boss Alejandro Agag said: "This is a poignant shift in our mission to race in remote, far-away places to highlight the effects of climate change, as more increasingly, the issues we talk about are literally happening in our backyards, so it felt like the right time to bring the spotlight home and help the [British] army reduce its own carbon footprint.
“The world needs to move forward when it comes to the combustion engine and many other practices, and what better way to symbolise that than with a Jurassic themed X-Prix? Unless we push forward with climate and sustainability action, we risk becoming extinct, and that is something we simply can't ignore any longer.”
The new event has been organised in co-ordination with the Ministry of Defence, the British Army and Motorsport UK. The event goes hand-in-hand with the Army’s recently revealed climate change and sustainability strategy, part of which will have it switch to electric vehicles.
Major general Simon Hutchings said: “The opportunity to work alongside Extreme E, who are world leaders in electrification of vehicles and sustainable energy production, is very exciting. It will enable us to share innovative ideas which will allow the Army to continue to gain technology advantage globally whilst also contributing to our climate and sustainability targets.”
As with the previous rounds in Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Greenland and the upcoming race in Sardinia, Italy, the event won't be open to spectators, with enthusiasts being encouraged to tune in to TV broadcasts instead.
The series uses the St Helena ship as a “floating paddock” to transport the cars across the planet and introduce legacy projects for the local environments, although it hasn't been stated what such a project will entail in the UK.
The round at Bovington will be a home race for drivers Jamie Chadwick, Catie Munnings and Oliver Bennett and teams Veloce Racing and United Autosports.
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