Johan Kristoffersson is one of the most successful World Rallycross drivers in the world. The ‘Super Swede’ is a part of Rosberg X Racing in the electric off-road racing series Extreme E and recently won the Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia. In his glittering career, Kristoffersson has won the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, International Superstars Series and more!
In an exclusive interview with SPOGO, Kristoffersson speaks about his experience of winning the inaugural Extreme E race, Rosberg X Racing, driver swap and ODYSSEY 21, his strengths and weaknesses and whether he has a competitive advantage due to his rallycross background.
Q 1) You along with your teammate Molly Taylor set the fastest time in the first race of the series in Saudi Arabia, how proud are you of becoming the first ever winners of an Extreme E race?
Ans: “It was an amazing experience to take the win in the first-ever Extreme E event. The weekend was so crazy and we didn’t know what to expect, so to get the win and know that all our hard work had paid off ahead of the new season was a great feeling for the team. Now we’re fully focused on the next X Prix in Senegal.”
Q 2) How much of a credit goes to Rosberg X Racing for the result in the Desert X Prix? What are the factors that contributed to the win?
“We prepared as much as we could before the race weekend and worked as hard as possible to try and understand how the car might react in the desert, how all the procedures might work, and then on the race weekend we analysed every piece of video footage and data we possibly could. Hard work pays off!”
Q 3) What are your thoughts about the ODYSSEY 21? How tricky is the driver swap?
“The car is cool! We’re racing in 400 kW (550bhp) all-electric SUVs that will help shape the future of off-road electric mobility in some of the most extreme environments in the world. The driver swaps are a new challenge for most of the drivers in Extreme E; Molly and I had to practice a lot as we have very different heights [Molly is 168cm, Johan 192-194cm]!”
Q 4) How did you and Molly Taylor prepare for the inaugural race of Extreme E? How do the two of you complement each other's strengths and weaknesses?
“We both have a lot of experience of off-road racing, but we have raced in very different formats. My off-road background is mainly rallycross, while Molly is an experienced rally driver. Extreme E combines a lot of factors of both disciplines, so comparing notes and making sure we are learning from each other’s experiences is a big part of our development.”
Q 5) Do you think you have an advantage over others because of your rallycross background? How challenging has it been to adapt to an electric car?
“It may help when the race starts, but there’s also a number of other drivers in Extreme E who have a rallycross background, such as Mattias Ekstrom and Timmy Hansen. Driving an electric car is a strange sensation at first because of the lack of noise and the instant power delivery, but I am now used to it and learning something new every time I get behind the wheel.”
