According to a press release by Extreme E, the first of its kind motorsport event is gearing up to make its much-awaited debut in Saudi Arabia next month. The groundbreaking new electric off-road championship, starting from 3 April 2021, has the objective to utilise its sport for purpose platform for two significant aims, one is to increase awareness regarding the climate crisis and the role of clean energy mobility and the other to uproot the current preconceptions surrounding gender divides in motorsport. Extreme E will feature a number of Champion female drivers such as 2019 W Series winner Jamie Chadwick, Sara Price, the Off-Road Truck Champion and X Games Medalist and Molly Taylor the Australian Rally Champion, competing shoulder to shoulder with some of motorsport’s biggest stars. That includes F1 champion Jenson Button and WRC legend Sébastien Loeb – in a ‘Star Wars pod racing meets Dakar Rally’-style format – all being held in some of the world’s most distant locations. The rules of this motorsport world-first says that every team will place one female and one male driver in identical 550-bhp electric SUVs over a two lap race, known as an X Prix, making sure a complete level playing field among all the competitors. Drivers will finish one lap each of the course with a driver changeover, ‘the Switch’, imbibed into the race format, and it will be the team’s decision to determine the order in which they send out their drivers to complement their strategy. Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO, Extreme E said, “We are striving for equality, and Extreme E’s sporting format is the truest reflection of that goal. Everybody will race together, and only the most effective combination of drivers, team, engineers and car will rise to the top. “I believe that our race format will challenge all of the drivers, male and female, which is what makes this concept so exciting. There is no shortage of women drivers good enough to take the seats!” “My aim is that one day, female participation and achievement throughout motorsport will be at such levels where it simply is not a story – then I will be happy.” he added. Glenda Slingsby, Engagement Officer for International Women’s Day said: “Extreme E is an exciting and progressive example of gender equality progress within motorsport. By choosing to challenge traditional norms, Extreme E sets a new benchmark in including and appealing to a wider cohort. From challenge comes change, and through the vision of Alejandro Agag and the talent of many women like Jamie Chadwick, Extreme E accelerates opportunities for all.” Extreme E’s inaugural race, the Desert X Prix, starts on 3rd and 4th April 2021 in AlUla in Saudi Arabia. Along with being a gender positive sporting format, the series’ five-race global voyage also headlines the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the planet’s most remote locations along with encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles in an effort for a lower carbon future for the world .