As Alejandro Agag announced after the Extreme E debut weekend, the second round of the nascent electric motorsport category comes with changes in the format for the races in Senegal that will be held on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 May.
“The first race in Saudi Arabia was not perfect, as the dust was a special problem that made the cars following the leader difficult for spectators and other competitors to see.” “We are going to work on it, we are going to adjust the format. It was the first time and we are going to improve that,” Agag said at the end of the stop in the desert.
In Senegal, unlike Arabia, it will allow the championship to have a final round with four cars on the track. In addition, during the fair the two best teams from the two semi-finals will be able to participate in the last race, thus eliminating the play-off that was held on the opening day.
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The organizers also announced that the so-called “Shoot Out” will be maintained, a kind of consolation prize for the slowest riders on the grid, which will give more aspirations and make the dispute more exciting.
Another novelty that will be seen in Senegal is the “Super Sector”, an idea that was born from Agag in which part of the route will be done against the clock. The fastest driver on that stage will earn an extra five points for his team, so regardless of where the cars are in, there will always be an incentive to push the limit, as more points will be at stake.
Drivers praise the competition
In the press conference prior to the race, the Spanish driver, Carlos Sainz, pointed out that the stage where the race will be held “is more of a beach terrain with few dunes. We think that there will not be so much dust, for the races that we do as a group they will be much more spectacular.”
“We will be able to follow one car to the other, something that did not happen when we raced in Alula due to the dust. This is a championship that is just beginning, so we must all have a bit of an open mind to look for the greatest show,” he added.
Image: Extreme E
For her part, Cristina Gutiérrez, driver of the Hamilton team, predicts a race very similar to that of Arabia in Senegal, and stressed that she is still working to adapt to the car.
“For now the most important thing is the adaptation to the car. These allow few adjustments. On the surface I am sure that Alulah and Senegal will be very similar races, but when we get to Greenland or Argentina, when we see a different terrain, it will be a matter of seeing how we attack it ”, she concluded.
The staff of Extreme E, led by Agag, recognizes the challenges that starting this new tournament has had in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but takes as an example everything learned with Formula E, where at At the beginning there were also critical voices in disbelievers who have changed their minds after seven successful seasons disputed.
Written by I Jhonattan González
