Punta del Este (URUGUAY) - Genesys Andretti United Extreme E driver, Timmy Hansen, sat down with Sports Pundit to talk about his season, his goals for next year, electrification, and all things motorsport.
Last weekend, the Extreme E family gathered at the Uruguay Natural Energy X Prix for one last time in 2022 to celebrate the championship season finale with the title at stake.
Held for the first time in the South American country, the closing round of the 2022 Extreme E season, the Uruguay Natural Energy X Prix, saw Genesys Andretti United drivers’ line-up Timmy Hansen and Briton Catie Munnings showcase a strong pace from the outset.
In an extended interview, the Swedish rallycross star shared his thoughts about electrification, walking us through the ODYSSEY 21 challenger evolution, and further assessing the duo’s performance across an intense weekend as the team’s campaign throughout the year.
The championship decider venue featured a challenging race course, which tested the drivers looking to end the season on a high. And the top pairing did not disappoint, making a solid start to the racing weekend by topping FP2 on Friday.
Following Saturday’s dramatic qualifying session, they took the win in Qualifying 2, Heat 1, overcoming a 5-second penalty due to a Switch Zone infringement, securing a spot on Sunday’s Semifinal 2.
“We’ve had a great race weekend so far. We took a very careful approach in Q1, where we saw a lot of other cars having big accidents, and we came in fifth place,” Hansen outlined.
“We pushed to the maximum, both me and Katie, and we were able to win the race this afternoon and be back in the pace behind the car. It’s very good. She’s very fast.”
By mid-November, the 2019 FIA World Rallycross Champion and teammate Munnings, 25, signed multi-year contract extensions, continuing to lead the American squad for Season 3 and beyond.
In that regard, Hansen commented: “This whole team is super professional. They’re doing all the right things. I am very happy to stay with this group, with this team. It makes it possible for us to begin working now for next season.”
“We will go into the winter and try to drive together, Katie and I, and try to practice together to come into the new season with good confidence and practice.”
Teammates since the series inception in April 2021, together they claimed three podiums, achieving their maiden victory at the Arctic X Prix in August of that same year, the first-ever race event staged in Greenland.
However, a second triumph has eluded the outfit in the challenging off-road series, which competes in remote locations of the planet with a singular environmental purpose-driven concept.
Speaking about Season 2, the 30-years-old said: “Throughout the other races, we also had very good days, we qualified very well, fast on every track, but three times this season in four races, we’ve had problems in the semifinal, so we missed the final.”
“In terms of results, it’s been a very bad season, the speed is good, and we are strong everywhere, but the bad luck came at the wrong moment.”
Season 2 of the all-electric championship commenced in Saudi Arabia with the Desert X Prix held in February, then returning to Sardinia in Italy, where the Island X Prix, a doubleheader event, took place last July.
In September, Extreme E touched ground on South American soil to hold the first race on the continent in Antofagasta, Chile, the Copper X Prix, following next to break new ground by competing in Uruguay.
An Electric Beast: The ODYSSEY 21
Hansen, the son of 14-time European Rallycross Champion Kenneth Hansen and brother to Veloce Racing, Kevin Hansen, helped develop the ODYSSEY 21 electric SUV in a series of private events and race simulations ahead of Extreme E’s official launch in 2019.
Early in 2020, the prototype made its first outing in the legendary Dakar Rally, taking part during shakedown and at the final competitive stage on the rally-raid route.
Asked about the evolution of the electric all-terrain vehicles from those early days to the present, he stressed: “You don’t really see the changes from the outside, but there have been huge steps taken in reliability. We rarely see a problem in the car that we are racing. Also, it is faster now, we’ve got more power than we had in the first race.”
“The biggest change is the suspension; a big update came this year when they introduced new dampers on the cars, which made it so much faster and better to drive.”
Adding: “Extreme E, as a championship, is bringing these updates, and we, as a team, we’re continuing to learn about the car, how to make the setup, and for me as well, learning how to drive it the best possible way.
“Katie and I will work to find the best driving style together with the engineers. Right now, we have a very good car, a fast car, and we are comfortable driving.”
Electrification and Climate Awareness
Hansen, an advocate of cutting-edge technology and electric vehicles, shared his views toward electrification, a technology that transfers from the track to the road.
“As a driver, I’m a huge fan of electric. It is just the next level, the next step in the development of race cars.
“When we look back to the 70s, 80s, or 90s, there’s been big steps taken to make the cars better, easier to drive faster. Electric is the next step in this development. I’m happy to drive these electric cars everywhere.”
“On the environmental side, it’s even more obvious. I believe every person on the planet needs to take responsibility, we only have one planet, and we want to enjoy the things we are already enjoying. We want to keep doing what we are doing, but we need to change how we’re doing it so we can do it sustainably.”
Truthful to its innovative footprint, Extreme E became the first event organizer to utilize hydrogen, a fuel cell power generator, to charge the fleet using zero-emission energy.
Meanwhile, all vehicles travel onboard the Royal Mail Ship St Helena, which underwent an extensive refurbishment process to encompass 62 cabins on board, a Science Laboratory, also serving as a logistics hub to the series since its 2021 inaugural season.
“Racing with electric cars, we don’t use any petrol anymore,” he remarked.
“The whole picture of what Extreme E is doing is amazing; they are really changing how you can look at motorsport and doing motorsport in a much more sustainable way.”
“The biggest impact probably is that in a traditional motorsport championship, we put the cars on an airplane and fly to each race. But instead, they have the boat [St Helena] traveling around the world massively lowering carbon emissions.”
Last year at an exhibition event, the talented driver made his debut drive at the wheel of the RX2e car - the electric vehicle used in the first-ever FIA RX2e Rallycross Championship, developed by the Swedish specialist Olsbergs MSE and the Spanish electromobility manufacturer QEV Technologies.
A Title Decider Racing Weekend as It Unfolded in Uruguay
On Sunday, the young yet experienced driver’s line-up shone bright, coming up on top of the Semifinal 2 standings, notching their place in a stellar Final, alongside NEOM McLaren Extreme E, Veloce Racing, ABT CUPRA XE, and title contender X44 Vida Carbon Racing.
Overall, the Andretti ODYSSEY 21 crossed the finish line third, ending fourth as a seven-second penalty came through for speeding in the Switch Zone, settling for seventh place in the overall standings with 45 points.
A breathtaking race saw Lewis Hamilton’s squad, X44, claiming its maiden Extreme E championship, overcoming a series of ups and downs through the weekend, beating three other teams with chances to achieve glory, including the 2021 champions and closest rival, Rosberg X Racing (RXR).
Nico Rosberg’s team got disqualified due to an infringement in the Switch Zone, having also sustained damage during Semifinal 1.
ABT CUPRA XE secured a maiden X Prix victory at the hands of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Klara Andersson. Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust clinched the first podium for the NEOM McLaren Extreme E team in the year of their debut, ending second.
And as for the X44 duo Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez, they completed the Energy X Prix podium with a third-place finish, just two points clear of RXR in the standing, summing up 86 points.
What are your impressions of Uruguay and Punta del Este?
I love this city. It’s a beautiful country. I will stay for a few days after the race to have even more time to enjoy this place. I’m happy to be here.
In Uruguay, Extreme E reached a new milestone by delivering an event 100 percent powered by renewable energy for the first time.