The Peninsula
Qatar’s four-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will make his foray into Extreme E series after joining Spanish team ABT Cupra XE for the 2022 season.
Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert, Italy, Chile and Uruguay.
Extreme E series is into second season with the races held over two days, featuring qualifying rounds, semi-finals and final. Teams will field one male and one female driver to promote gender equality.
Al Attiyah, who won this year’s Dakar event with Toyota, has replaced Mattias Ekström at ABT for XE’s second season while 2011 winner Jutta Klienschmidt is retained.
Kleinschmidt, who partnered Ekstrom for four events during Extreme E’s inaugural campaign last term for ABT Cupra XE, will be looking to build on the team’s fifth place in the Championship standings in Season 1 alongside new team-mate Al Attiyah.
“I’m already a bit excited and believe that this will be a great experience for me. Extreme E is an exciting series with the ambition to contribute to a better future,” said Al Attiyah.
“I am proud to be a part of the team now. Expectations are high, with the experience of ABT Cupra XE and Jutta (Kleinschmidt) by my side, we are determined to race for victories. I can’t wait to sit in the car and have fun.”
It will be a new challenge for Al Attiyah but the trailblazing Qatari has dominated whichever series he has been part of. Al Attiyah has seen great success during his time competing, becoming the 2006 Production World Rally Champion, WRC-2 Champion in 2014 and 2015, a 16-time Middle East Rally Champion, four times winner of the FIA World Cup for Cross-County Rallies, and a quadruple 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2022 Dakar Rally winner. His four victories in the Dakar Rally make him the only Middle Easterner to have won it more than once and the 51-year-old will prove an exciting addition to the Extreme E grid.
After extending her contract for a second season, Klienschmidt is targeting some regular silverware in 2022.
“Last year we created a solid basis and fought for front positions,” she said.
“This year the challenge is to be even more consistent in taking wins and trophies, and we are ready for that.
“Being able to share my passion for off-road racing with such a great team and now a Dakar star like Nasser (Al Attiyah) is fantastic motivation. I just want to start the season.”
Kleinschmidt made her first appearance at the Dakar Rally in the bike category in 1988, but by 1994 she had switched to four wheels. Three years later she became the first woman to record a stage win and 1999 yielded a third place overall. In 2001, she wrote her name into the history books as the first female Dakar Rally winner. A further two podiums in 2002 and 2005 cemented her place as the most successful female driver in the category to date.
As well as confirming their 2022 driver lineup, ABT has also announced that its new Cupra Tavascan XE car will feature some unique aesthetic features. The 2022 car will feature ‘striking LED lights’ in a bid to resemble the design specification of Cupra’s all-electric Tavascan production car that is due to be launched in 2024.