Timo Scheider will lead a new team in this year’s Extreme E championship, backed by Swiss food company SUN AG.
The double DTM champion — who is also a two-time Extreme E podium finisher with XITE Energy Racing and Carl Cox Motorsport — will serve as team principal for the SUN Minimeal team, as well as driving for it alongside former Abt Cupra driver Klara Andersson.
“The long-term partnership with SUN Minimeal is extremely exciting and makes me very happy,” said Scheider. “The combination is a perfect fit, because I share common goals and philosophies with SUN Minimeal and Extreme E.
“I have been able to engage a number of highly competent team members, which will allow me to fully concentrate on my role as a driver.
“I am very proud that we have been able to recruit Klara as a driver. She is extremely fast and also fits perfectly well to the team. I am convinced that we have put together a strong package to play a significant role in the high-class competitive environment of Extreme E.”
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Andersson, Extreme E’s youngest-ever race winner and the first female to finish on the podium in the World Rallycross championship, joins the team after spending just over a year with Abt Cupra, which departed at the end of 2023 season in order to focus its resources on Formula E.
“I am delighted to be part of the SUN Minimeal team and would like to thank (SUN CEO) Wolfgang Grabher and Timo Scheider for their trust,” said Andersson. “I got to know Timo in the World Rallycross Championship as one of the fastest and hardest working racing drivers out there.
“To be able now to compete alongside him in Extreme E is simply cool. I can hardly wait for the season opener in Saudi Arabia!”
The SUN Minimeal team will promote SUN’s innovative food products, which promote healthy living and sustainability, matching Extreme E’s own ethos.
“Our involvement in Extreme E will help us to globally present our innovation for healthy nutrition and our mission to reduce nutritional resources by 90 percent and reach up to 2.1 billion households,” explains Grabher. “I am particularly pleased to have Timo Scheider, a champion and great team player, in the team and wish him and Klara Andersson all the best for the 2024 season.”
Extreme E founder and Alejandro Agag already has high hopes for the team despite its infancy.
“We are delighted to welcome the SUN Minimeal team into our series as our latest entrant,” he said. “Despite being a new team in the championship, SUN Minimeal Team arrives with plenty of experience and race-winning pedigree, so we hope they will be fighting up at the sharp end of the field when the new season begins next month in Saudi Arabia.
“Everyone pulling in the same direction is so important in Extreme E, and Sun Minimeal is undoubtedly an organisation which is environmentally conscious and focused on sustainability, sharing the core values of our championship.
“I look forward to seeing how Timo and Klara fare behind the wheel and SUN Minimeal Team battling for podiums and victories in 2024, as we count down to our fourth Extreme E season.”
The 2024 Extreme E season will get underway in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 17-18.
