Extreme E: Nico Rosberg’s team became champions again

The final round of the electric off-road Extreme E series took place this weekend in Chile, and Rosberg X Racing (RXR), Nico Rosberg’s team, simply had to finish ahead of Carlos Saiz Sr.’s Sainz to become champion for the second time.

But this type of racing is characterized by unpredictability, and this factor was fully demonstrated, although luck was ultimately on the side of RXR, driven by Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Olin-Kottulinski. Last year, the Swedish duo also competed for the title in the season finale, but then lost to X44, Lewis Hamilton’s team.

“I’ve competed enough in different championships to know that anything can happen, especially in Extreme E,” said Kristoffersson, who recently won his sixth world rallycross title. – We saw what happened last year, when we literally missed victory at the finish. But this year we managed to take victory at the finish line. This is a kind of revenge for last year.”

At the same time, Rosberg X Racing had quite a few problems, as Johan damaged the car in the decisive race, and all that remained was to wait and see how further events would develop. The car continued to drive, but the gap with its rivals was already quite large. Moreover, when Olin-Kottulinski took over the wheel halfway through the race (this is the format of these competitions), another problem arose: one of the suspension links was broken.

“I tried to prepare for any outcome and stayed calm,” Michaela added. – Because last year the car rolled over, causing us to miss the championship win. So now I just tried to stay calm and avoid serious mistakes.

Of course we were a bit behind, but I thought: “No, we can’t give up!” And the team had the same attitude.”

As a result, the RXR car crossed the finish line four minutes later than the Veloce Racing crew, the race winners, but the size of the gap was no longer important, as its main rivals left the race: the Sainz team SUV. turned over and lay down on his roof. A failure in the final race meant the team already gained the number of points needed to win

“We were in about the same position as a year ago, but we obviously benefited from the experience we gained then,” said Johan, the only Extreme E rider with two titles to his name in the series. – Every time you manage to win a championship, it means that the next time you find yourself in a similar situation your stress level will be lower

It has been a very busy season and to become Extreme E Champion for the second time is an incredible achievement. The competition with the Sainz XE team was very intense, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”

As a result, the RXR team scored 182 points during the season, the Sainz team – 171, and third place in the championship was taken by Veloce Racing – it was the drivers Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor who became the winners of the final in Chile.