Molinaro joins JBXE for Chile Extreme E finale

Tamara Molinaro will return to an Extreme E race seat at next week’s Copper X Prix in Chile, filling the spot at JBXE vacated by Hedda Hosaas after her switch to McLaren.

Molinaro will partner Andreas Bakkerud who began the season as a reserve alongside the Italian before replacing Heikki Kovalainen at Jenson Button’s team from the Hydro X Prix. As well as serving as the championship’s female reserve driver this season, Molinaro briefly raced for McLaren at the second Island X Prix in Sardinia after its full-season driver, Emma Gilmour, was ruled out through injury.

“I am delighted to join JBXE for the final race of the season in Chile,” said Molinaro. “Being a part of this series as a Championship Driver is always special, but a race seat is something I have wanted for a while and to return alongside Andreas  is a really exciting prospect.”

Molinaro has been an ever-present in the Extreme E paddock since joining the series as the official female reserve driver midway through the 2021 season. As well as her time as a reserve and her brief cameo with McLaren in September, Molinaro tested with Rosberg X Racing at the 2021 rookie test and spent much of last season racing for XITE Energy Racing, with whom she claimed a podium finish in the first part of the Island X Prix doubleheader alongside Timo Scheider.

“It is great to be a part of Jenson’s team as well, and I can’t wait to get back out there in the Atacama Desert and go racing again," she said. "This is the fifth different Extreme E team I have worked with since the championship launched -- it is not always easy to adapt quickly to get back into a good rhythm. However, I am hopeful that alongside Andreas I will be able to do just that when we go racing once again.

“I have waited patiently for this opportunity and I am really keen to grasp it and score as many points as I can in the final two races of the 2023 season.”

Away from Extreme E, Molinaro recently made her first stage rally start of the year at the Ceglie Messapica-based Trofeo Masseria Camarda in the Fiorio Cup, driving a Citroen C3 Rally2 alongside Lorenzo Granai. The pair took second on the opening stage of the southern Italian event, before eventually finishing fourth overall.