Johan Kristoffersson’s late charge helps Rosberg X Racing to back-to-back Extreme E wins in Saudi Arabia.
Johan Kristoffersson was able to come from 13 seconds behind Laia Sanz’s Acciona Sainz car to win the Desert X-Prix for Rosberg X Racing.
After teammate Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky had sustained cosmetic damage and fallen away from leaders Acciona Sainz and Team X44, Kristoffersson summoned the drive of his life to catch both cars.
Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez built on their second-fastest individual run in qualifying one to then see off a stacked field in the five-car heat to earn their sixth consecutive top qualifier accolade.
For an endurance challenge that began its journey back in 1977 when Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorbike in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. On new years day 2022, a fresh new 14-day long adventure through breathtaking landscapes began from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally, billed with the slogan of “Dream, Dare, Live It”!
Rosberg X Racing’s Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson crowned inaugural Extreme E champions
Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson held on to win the first Extreme E championship for Rosberg X Racing, ahead of Jurassic X-Prix winners Team X44.
Cristina Gutierrez and Sebastian Loeb did all they could to take the title away from RXR, winning both the final event of the season in Dorset, England and the Continental Traction Challenge, worth an extra five bonus points. However, a fourth-place finish for RXR in the final left the two teams tied on championship points.
Team X44 take qualifying clean sweep but Rosberg X Racing have one hand on the championship title.
The Extreme E championship title is Rosberg X Racing’s to lose after a strong qualifying and the fastest Continental Traction Challenge time.
Despite Team X44 winning their fifth qualifying day of the season, Johan Kristoffersson’s blistering run through the Continental Traction Challenge sector of his lap in Q2 has RXR currently in possession of five crucial bonus points and a 20-point advantage over their title rivals.