Did you know there's an all-electric off-road racing series that travels to exotic locations around the world aboard a climate-science ship, highlighting environmental issues and leaving behind sustainability programs? It's called Extreme E, and you'd be forgiven if you hadn't heard of it. After all, they race in jungles and deserts and, this week, in a former coal mine. There aren't any roaring crowds, but there are plenty of superstars to cheer for. Extreme E features teams owned by Formula 1 champions including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button. It features racing legends with names like Andretti, Sainz and Loeb as team owners and/or drivers. Electronic music legend Carl Cox owns a team. What other racing series do McLaren and Hummer race door-to-door? The action is fast, dramatic and in these landscapes absolutely gorgeous to watch.
This week, Extreme-E went to Scotland. Typically, this series races in places that are threatened one way or another by a changing climate, bringing attention to the cause so that solutions can be found and establishing legacy programs to work toward those solutions. This time, however, the series is celebrating a bit of good news by highlighting a solution that has already taken place. This former coal mine that they're racing in will be developed into a clean energy pump storage hydro plant and wind farm.
But who celebrated a race win? Well, we won't spoil it except to say that different teams survived to win rounds 3 and 4. We say survived because this one was particularly gritty, with dangerous visibility leading to a few moments of chaos in the mud.
Check out highlights for both days of action below.
