The ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team crosses the English Channel this weekend to compete in the Jurassic X Prix, which is due to take place in Dorset, in the United Kingdom. It is the fifth and final round of the inaugural season of Extreme E, the revolutionary off-road electric championship that promotes gender equality and raises awareness about climate change.
Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz will race inside of the military base that the Ministry of Defence has in Bovington, where they will be challenged by a mixed surface that combines clay, sand, gravel and mud.
This time they will also have to take into consideration the famous British weather. Although the latest weather forecasts don’t foresee a wet event, this could rapidly change. Temperatures are set to remain cool and range from 5ºC to 10ºC.
For the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team, Dorset is a new opportunity to fight for a podium after the technical issue that cut its ambitions short in Sardinia. In any case, the Island X Prix did prove the potential of Carlos and Laia as they set the second fastest time overall in Qualifying 1.
Initially the Jurassic X Prix was not included in the race calendar, but it joined the Championship in October following the cancellation of the two rounds of South America due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
LEGACY PROGRAMME
Jurassic X Prix will focus its efforts in biodiversity as Extreme E joins forces with National Trust, a historic British charity and organization that specializes in heritage conservation. All over the United Kingdom, it protects over 250,000 hectares of land and more than 1,000 kilometres of coastline.
The great reserve of Purbeck Heaths, with over 3,300 hectares of land and more than ten wild ecosystems, is in Dorset. National Trust will shortly introduce three pairs of beavers in the wetlands near the Little Sea so they can further contribute to the preservation of the area.
QUOTES
Carlos Sainz, driver:
"Dorset is the final race of the year. We want to finish the year on a high note, as always. Throughout this year there have been moments when we have struggled, but we also scored a podium finish in Greenland and in Island we felt we were stronger than in other occasions. We want to finish strong this first year in Extreme E. We know that conditions will be challenging, because there will be mud, but we will have to adapt to that as well as we can. Both Laia and I face this challenge with great enthusiasm."
Laia Sanz, driver:
"The season comes to an end. I think it is going to be a challenging X Prix because when you are racing in England in December you can expect a muddy track. I am really looking forward to it, especially given that we had the pace in Sardinia and that the reason why we didn’t do a good race was that we had some technical issues. I have been able to train a little bit more since then. I have raced the Baja Ha’Il, which will surely help, even though in Dorset we will encounter different conditions. We are really motivated and we want to finish the championship in a good position, hopefully with another podium."
Albert Fàbrega, team principal:
"It is important that we wrap up the season with a good result that shows all that we have learnt throughout the year. It would be a good motivation to keep working over the winter to continue growing for next season. We will do everything on our side to make sure that Laia and Carlos have a competitive car, because we know that they will be up to the challenge if we give them the tools. We know that the conditions that we will encounter in Dorset will be very different to what we have seen so far this year, because it will be cold and maybe it also rains, but we will have to deal with these circumstances and give our very best."
