Saudi desert in NEOM set for start of Extreme E Season 2

LONDON: Building on the success of its debut year in 2021, Extreme E Season 2, dubbed The Race for the Planet, is set to kick off with the Desert X Prix in NEOM on Feb. 19 and 20, while delivering on its overall aim to tackle climate change through sport.

The new season will begin in the deserts of NEOM in northwest Saudi Arabia where the Kingdom’s largest global project is taking shape.

NEOM’s landscapes include diverse terrains from expansive red sands to spectacular sandstone formations and the location is set to be the home and workplace to residents from around the world. It will include hyperconnected, cognitive towns and cities, ports, and enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues, and tourist destinations.

The megacity was chosen as a location by Extreme E not only for its picturesque desert landscape and shared values of sustainability and innovation, but also because the sport-for-purpose championship aims to highlight the causes of desertification, the loss of biological diversity, and the importance of resilience because of the impacts of climate change.

In addition, the distinct and diverse desert terrain of NEOM will also ensure it is an all-new challenge for the drivers and their ODYSSEY 21 electric SUVs.

Extreme E had taken place in Saudi Arabia, home of the world’s largest continuous sand desert, and its AlUla region, in Season 1 for its first X Prix, which was won by the championship’s inaugural winners, Rosberg X Racing (RXR).

Alejandro Agag, chief executive officer and founder of Extreme E, said: “Using our sport-for-purpose platform, Extreme E delivered truly ground-breaking action in its first season, on and off the racecourse, and now we are ready to go and do it