Rosberg X Racing make history as first ever Extreme E winner after dramatic Desert X Prix in AlUla

Roseberg X Racing, Andretti United and X44 celebrate their 1-2-3 podium finish in the first ever Desert X Prix. (Supplied/Extreme E)
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  • Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson ensure team founded by former Formula 1 champion finished ahead of Andretti United and Lewis Hamilton鈥檚 X44

ALULA: Rosberg X Racing have won the inaugural Desert X Prix in the desert of AlUla to become the first team to claim a victory in an Extreme E event thanks to a masterclass of rally driving from Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson.

In the final, former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg鈥檚 team overcame Andretti United and Lewis Hamilton鈥檚 X44, who finished second and third on the podium.

The winners may have had a few technical issues over the weekend 鈥� not to mention a 60-second penalty in Saturday鈥檚 qualification that saw them drop from first to third in the standings 鈥� but when it mattered, the team delivered an almost faultless drive.

鈥淚鈥檓 so thankful,鈥� said an ecstatic Rosberg. 鈥淭hankful to Molly for driving so fantastically throughout the weekend, not a single mistake out there because the penalty was technical problem. She did a fantastic job. Molly was always the fastest out there so that was awesome. And also, Johan鈥檚 performance was really inspiring and amazing to watch.鈥� He added that he 鈥渇elt really proud watching them.鈥�

Including points gained from earlier rounds, Extreme E鈥檚 early season leaderboard now sees Rosberg X Racing lead with 35 points followed by X44 on 30 and Andretti United on 28.

鈥淔or the sport, it鈥檚 been a good start,鈥� Rosberg added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a start-up and of course it needs to evolve, (which) we need to discuss after the weekend. But it鈥檚 really been a good start and with Molly and Johan we got the most deserving winners, most deserving drivers on top of the podium because they been the fastest drivers throughout the weekend.鈥�

Kristoffersson thanked his team for his and Taylor鈥檚 success, especially taking into account the earlier troubles.

鈥淔irst of all, huge congratulations to the team,鈥� the Swedish driver said. 鈥淲e had some minor issues but we came here very well-prepared, which made our life so much easier out on-track. This sport isn鈥檛 only about the drivers; it鈥檚 about the team giving us the tools to do the job. With such a limited amount of track time, you need to have confidence that the car will do what you ask of it 鈥� and the Rosberg X Racing guys did an amazing job to give Molly and myself such a great car.

The Desert X Prix wrapped up the first of the five-event electric SUV series, which has been designed to raise awareness of change and with each locations highlighting a different environmental issue, beginning with 萝莉视频 and desertification. 

鈥淚t was the first time we had experienced terrain like that, and on every lap, the course was changing 鈥� there were so many different variables to deal with,鈥� said Taylor. 鈥淲e just wanted to make the most of the little time we had in the car, every single kilometre.鈥�

鈥淵ou have to be fast when it counts, be smart when it counts and take the big moves when it counts, and for it to all come together when it mattered was really special, 鈥� the Australian added. 鈥淗uge thanks to Johan, his opening laps were just insane, and the team has done such an incredible amount of work behind-the-scenes.鈥�

Next up for the awareness-raising series will be Senegal (rising sea levels), followed by stops in Greenland (melting ice caps), the Amazon in Brazil (deforestation) and Patagonia, Argentina (glacial recession).  

Saturday鈥檚 qualifying rounds had seen X44, ACCIONA Sainz XE Team and Rosberg X Racing finish as the top three, securing their passage into Sunday鈥檚 semi-final, from which the top two would qualify to the final. Andretti United, meanwhile qualified to the Crazy Race against Hispano Suiza Xite Energy Team, and Jenson Button鈥檚 JBXE, with winner getting a ticket to the final race

The results led to the teams led by former F1 rivals taking on Catie Munnings and Timmy Hansen, who had come major obstacles to get to that stage.

But as winners of the fan-led GridPlay vote, Andretti United had the luxury of choosing their starting spot for the Final. Hansen went for pole position on the right, with Kristoffersson lining up in the middle for Rosberg X Racing and X44鈥檚 Loeb taking up the third grid slot on the left.

Hansen had a flying start but after being overtaken by Loeb, there was only going to be one winner.

Munnings was delighted with the second place finish.

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 have the words, I鈥檓 smiling so much,鈥� she said. 鈥淭immy [Hansen] is my absolute hero, just a legend. His starts today have been incredible, which has made my job easy and all about bringing it home. With the puncture back at the beginning of Qualifying, who would have thought we would be here in second place now? The hard work paid off and we managed to turn our weekend around.鈥�

The British driver also delivered a thumbs up for the new series, particularly as it has given female drivers as many spots places and equal driving time as their male counterparts.

鈥淓xtreme E offers an amazing platform for female drivers, and it鈥檚 super cool to be racing against such fast girls,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been really nice to see everyone coming together, encouraging each other and creating a competitive environment, and all of us, men and women alike, have been learning on the job and having a great time while doing it.鈥�

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E said he couldn鈥檛 have wished for better start for Extreme E.

鈥淲e鈥檝e worked so hard on this for many years, and finally everything has come together this weekend,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really has been beyond my wildest expectations. If I had written a script for the perfect weekend, I could not have come up with anything better than what we have witnessed these past two days. I鈥檝e never seen such extreme racing in my life.鈥�

With the Desert X Prix now done-and-dusted, the cars will be loaded back onto the St. Helena 鈥� Extreme E鈥檚 floating centrepiece 鈥� to set sail for Lac Rose in Senegal, the setting for the Ocean X Prix on May 29-30.

Extreme Championship Standings:

Rosberg X Racing (Johan Kristoffersson / Molly Taylor) 35 points

X44 (S茅bastien Loeb / Cristina Guti茅rrez) 30 points

Andretti United (Timmy Hansen / Catie Munnings) 28 points

ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team (Carlos Sainz / Laia Sanz) 26 points

Hispano Suiza XITE Energy Team (Oliver Bennett / Christine Giampaoli Zonca) 20 points

JBXE (Jenson Button / Mikaela 脜hlin-Kottulinsky) 17 points

ABT Cupra XE (Mattias Ekstr枚m / Claudia H眉rtgen) 13 points

Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle LeDuc / Sara Price) 12 points

Veloce Racing (St茅phane Sarrazin / Jamie Chadwick) 8 points