London: In the latest motorsports news, the electric off-road racing series, Extreme E today announced Tamara Molinaro as its Championship Driver, following the news of predecessor Jutta Kleinschmidt racing for the ABT CUPRA XE for the remainder of this 2021 season.
Tamara started her racing career at the age of 11 and the Italian born gradually made her way up to the U27 European Rally Championship winning the Ladies European Rally Champion title as the second-youngest after Andretti United Extreme E’s Catie Munnings – in 2017 after trumping four of the eight rounds and topping the board in 40 stages.
In 2018, Tamara headed into the WRC2 class in the World Rally Championship and in 2019 dovetailed a second season on the WRC support bill with a Titans RX Rallycross Championship campaign – the only women in the series – with wins at several qualification races and finishing 5th overall.
In 2020, the 23 year old competed in the Italian Gravel Championship, finishing at number two in the U25 standings, and first in the Ladies standing. This year, Tamara continued to contest in the Italian Gravel Championship, recently completing the San Marino Rally in seventh position, putting her sixth in the overall standings.
Tamara Molinaro joins the series as Championship Driver alongside Timo Scheider, supporting the Extreme E in both an advisory role and as a back-up driver in case any of the sides require a replacement during an X Prix, as owing to the nature of the race locations, the sides won't have a reserve driver on site.
James Taylor, Chief Championships Officer, Extreme E, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tamara to Extreme E. She has a great pedigree already at such a young age in both rallying and rallycross, and we think she will bring a lot to Extreme E, and be the perfect replacement should any teams require her at our upcoming X Prixs.
“But her role is much wider than that, and we are looking forward to having her in Greenland with us for the Arctic X Prix and receiving her input on the course alongside Timo [Scheider]. Having spent time as both a driver and co-driver she has a fantastic perspective on racing, so her feedback will be crucial to creating another spectacular X Prix.
“Finally, our thanks and appreciation go out to Tamara’s predecessor Jutta Kleinschmidt who played a big part in the success of our opening two events. We now look forward to watching her race for ABT CUPRA XE for the rest of the Season.”
Tamara Molinaro, Extreme E’s newly appointed Championship Driver, added: “I have been working really hard to try and get involved in Extreme E over the past few months as I’ve followed the series with huge interest since the beginning. I think it is one of the most exciting and fair racing formats ever and the thought of being able to race with a purpose gives me extra motivation.
“My goal has always been to make it to the top of the motorsport ladder so the opportunity to work within Extreme E as a Championship Driver is a dream come true, and I will put all my efforts into doing my job in the best way possible. I can’t wait to get started in Greenland!”
