After Jutta Kleinschmidt (59) at Abt-Cupra, the Extreme E gets its next German driver. Timo Scheider (43) will start for the XITE Energy Racing Team in the next double race at the Island X Prix in Sardinia.
Together with his partner Tamara Molinaro (Italy), he replaces the previous driver duo Oliver Bennett and Klara Andersson. Molinaro has already contested the start of the season in Saudi Arabia and finished sixth for the Spanish team.
“It is a special moment to enter the series as a racing driver,” says the former DTM star. “Actually, I was supposed to do the track test with the usual test car, but now I’m going to travel to Sardinia as a racing driver. I’m really looking forward to to go out there and show what we’re capable of. Tamara and I are a very good match in terms of performance. I think we’ll put on a good show in Sardinia.”
Together with his partner Tamara Molinaro (Italy), Timo Scheider replaces the previous driver duo Oliver Bennett and Klara Andersson.
Extreme E races against climate change where the environment is already threatened by human influence. The series wants to attract attention with the races. At the same time, she is doing good with the so-called legacy program, repairing damage where it can still be repaired. A converted mail boat serves as the paddock and transports the racing cars around the world in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton are also there with their own teams.
Next weekend, the Extreme E will complete a double event in Sardinia, wanting to draw attention to drought, forest fires and endangered seaweed.
Curious: He will drive a route in Sardinia that he has staked out himself. “My key experience was in Saudi Arabia,” he revealed to this website in 2021, which he values when designing the courses.
Scheider continues: “There was an uphill passage in the dunes that got narrower and narrower. Then we stood on the downhill section. Everyone said: ‘Oh God we can’t go down there, that’s not possible.’ Alejandro Agag (the head of the series, the editor) was almost a little disappointed that it wasn’t possible. I let everyone out, backed the car up and down there. It didn’t come across on TV how steeply these 200, 300 meters went down. Then Alejandro freaked out and said: ‘This is exactly what we want, this is the Extreme E.’ At that moment it was clear to me in which direction it should go.”
The ex-DTM champion is now driving the spectacular course on a military training ground on the Italian island of Sardinia. The Island X Prix will take place next week on the 6th and 7th and the 9th and 10th of July 2022. ProSieben Maxx broadcasts on Thursday from 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m.
