Bakkerud, Munnings wrap up Extreme E run with win in Saudi Arabia

Extreme E concluded five years of racing with a final event in Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia.

Sunday’s competition – which followed another day of racing on Saturday – was won by Team Hansen’s Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings ahead of Jameel Motorsport’s Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor.

The two teams were the only ones to finish Sunday’s four-car final after Team KMS’s Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky and Team EVEN’s Hedda Hosaas collided on the opening lap of the race, forcing both to retire.

Extreme E

It didn’t mean the top two got through drama free, either. Both received separate penalties for speeding in yellow flag zones, and while Hansen – who’d taken over the Jameel car in the second half of the race – crossed the line 7.291s ahead of Bakkerud, he gained more time with his infraction, thus garnering a bigger penalty.

The win was a second for Munnings – her first since the Arctic X Prix in Greenland in the first season of the series – while for Bakkerud it was a long-awaited maiden win, having set a new record for the longest wait for a podium on Saturday when he finished third in what was his 13th appearance in Extreme E.

Extreme E

For Kevin Hansen and Taylor, the result represented a huge turnaround after Taylor rolled their car in qualifying for Saturday’s race. She was ruled out for the remainder of that day with series reserve driver Claire Schonborn stepping in to replace her, and the team being forced to switch to a spare car.

KMS were credited with third place despite not making it through the first corner, having progressed further than the EVEN entry on the track. 

The team won on Saturday, giving their male driver Johan Kristofferson his 10th Extreme E victory to extend his record as the driver with the most overall wins in the series, while Ahlin-Kottulinsky’s two podium finishes over the weekend meant she ended Extreme E’s run with 16 podiums – more than any other driver, male or female. The duo also hold the record for the driver pairing with the most wins with seven.

With Extreme E now concluded, the series will transition to the FIA Extreme H World Cup from next week, with eight teams of two drivers taking on a three day multi-discipline tournament which concludes with an eight car, winner takes all final on Saturday, October 11.