Tag: Amanda Sorensen

Sorensen to make Extreme E return with Button’s team

Amanda Sorensen will return to Extreme E at this weekend’s Hydro X Prix, racing for JBXE alongside Andreas Bakkerud in rounds three and four of the season. The American’s return for the races in Scotland comes after Dani Akeel’s exit from the team …

Amanda Sorensen will return to Extreme E at this weekend’s Hydro X Prix, racing for JBXE alongside Andreas Bakkerud in rounds three and four of the season.

The American’s return for the races in Scotland comes after Dani Akeel’s exit from the team following a difficult debut for her on home soil in February’s Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia.

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“It’s great to be back in the championship competing for JBXE at the team’s home race in the UK,” said Sorensen. “I am excited to be back racing in Extreme E, and to join the JBXE team. I had a really strong event the last time we raced in Scotland and it would be fantastic to repeat and get on the podium again.

“The main thing, though, is to put in a strong performance alongside Andreas and get the team moving up the standings.”

Nitrocross Side-by-Side and Formula Drift regular Sorensen raced in the series for Chip Ganassi Racing last season, securing back-to-back podium finishes with RJ Anderson in the second Scotland race, as well as at the first of four Island X Prix races in Sardinia. The pair eventually fifth in the standings before the team exited the series in the off-season.

Anderson becomes the 11th driver to race for JBXE in four seasons after Jenson Button, Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, Kevin Hansen, Molly Taylor, Hedda Hosaas, Fraser McConnell, Heikki Kovalainen, Bakkerud, Tamara Molinaro, and Akeel.

“We are thrilled to have Amanda as part of our driver line-up for the Hydro X Prix in Scotland,” said JBXE team owner Button. “Amanda has strong pedigree in the series having already finished on the podium multiple times last season, and we are hoping she can form a strong team with Andreas and score a big haul of points at the Hydro X Prix.

“We are looking forward to racing again and believe we will be competitive in Scotland.”

Following the first two rounds of the season, JBXE sits seventh out of eight in the standings, after seventh and eighth place finishes in Saudi Arabia. The team scored its first redemption race win since 2021 last time the series visited Scotland, with Bakkerud and the team’s former driver Hedda Hosaas beating Andretti Altawkilat, Abt Cupra, and Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team.

Chip Ganassi Racing departs Extreme E

Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in this year’s Extreme E championship, RACER can reveal. The American team was one of the first to commit to the all-electric series, and has competed with backing from General Motors via its GMC brand and …

Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in this year’s Extreme E championship, RACER can reveal.

The American team was one of the first to commit to the all-electric series, and has competed with backing from General Motors via its GMC brand and Hummer EV product for the last three seasons, but speculation regarding its future in the category has been rife since the end of last year. Now, in a statement provided to RACER by the team, it has confirmed it won’t be participating in the 2024 season which begins in Saudi Arabia next week.

“Chip Ganassi Racing can confirm that the team will not be competing in the Extreme E series for the 2024 season,” the statement said. “We sincerely thank Extreme E for welcoming our GMC HUMMER EV entry as part of their innovative series and look forward to following the series’ growth.

“We will be watching closely as the series and its technical partners continue to push motorsports in their move upward and into a modernized off-road hydrogen-powered race car for 2025 and beyond.”

Extreme E’s transition to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in 2024 is thought to be the leading cause of Ganassi’s decision to withdraw since GM doesn’t currently have a major presence in the hydrogen arena, although RACER understands the team has left the door open for a possible return in the future.

It was a similar story for Abt, which was backed by Volkswagen Group brand Cupra, and formally announced its withdrawal at the end of last season, but is exploring a return with alternative backing. Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team also confirmed its exit from the category on Wednesday, but there will be at least one new team competing this year in the form of SUN Minimeal which will run Timo Scheider and former Abt Cupra driver Klara Andersson.

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“We would like to pay our upmost thanks to Chip Ganassi Racing and General Motors after their three years in Extreme E,” series founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said. “General Motors have been important ambassadors for our electric racing series; however, as we transition towards a hydrogen-powered future it’s a logical move for them to concentrate on continuing their efforts in the electric market. We wish them success in their future endeavours.

“Although Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in Season 4, we know that they are huge supporters of our unique form of off-road racing, particular with our switch to Extreme H on the horizon in 2025. Chip Ganassi Racing is synonymous with the highest echelons of motorsport and we are hopeful that they will return to the series as we transition to hydrogen-powered racing — a world-first — as an FIA championship.”

Sara Price and Kyle Leduc gave the Ganassi team a win in Sardinia in 2022. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images

Ganassi fielded Sara Price — who recently became the first American woman to win a stage of the Dakar Rally — and the late Kyle LeDuc for its first two seasons, and was often among the fastest contenders. A run of bad luck and mechanical issues, however, meant that the team had to wait until the first Sardinia race of Season 2 to claim its first — and only — event win.

RJ Anderson replaced LeDuc at the final round of 2022, with Amanda Sorensen coming in from the ’23 opener in place of Price. Anderson and Sorensen immediately set about challenging for the title, with a run of six consecutive final appearances — including back-to-back podiums in Scotland and Sardinia — which was only bettered by eventual champions Rosberg X Racing. In 20 Extreme E starts, the team scored a total of three podiums, including that Sardinia victory, and it finished the 2023 season in fifth overall, having taken fourth in 2022.

Ganassi was also instrumental in bringing FOX dampers to the series, which delivered an overnight improvement to the overall reliability of the series’ Odyssey 21 car, after testing with the brand during Season 1.