Facts & Figures: Statistics on the 2023 Desert X Prix of Extreme E in Saudi Arabia

The electric off-road series Extreme E contested its first X Prix of the 2024 season last weekend. Rosberg X Racing (Saturday) and Acciona Sainz (Sunday) came out on top in the two races of the double-header. We have taken a close look at the Desert X Prix of the fourth season and compile all the interesting statistics.

Statistical highlights of the Desert X Prix

• Rosberg X Racing achieved the ninth race win in the series on Saturday - a record! They are the only team to have won at least one race in each of the four Extreme E seasons. The same naturally applies to Johan Kristoffersson, who has contested every X Prix for the team.
• McLaren celebrated its 3rd podium result in Extreme E on Saturday.
• Mattias Ekström's second place made him the first driver in the history of the racing series to take part in the trophy ceremony with three different teams. He had previously stood on the podium for ABT Cupra and Acciona Sainz.
• Acciona Sainz celebrated its 3rd X Prix win on Sunday, which was also the tenth podium result for the team.
• Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, Cristina Gutierrez, Kevin Hansen, Timmy Hansen, Johan Kristoffersson and Catie Munnings stood on the podium at least once in every Extreme E season.
• Veloce Racing achieved the eighth podium in the team's history with third place on Sunday.
• Legacy Motor Club won the Continental Traction Challenge on Sunday. It was the first time in the series' history that a team scored the extra points on its debut weekend.

Continental Traction Challenge

The track section known as the "Continental Traction Challenge", in which the fastest team can earn two additional championship points per race day, was once again measured at the Desert X Prix as a separate sector with its own timekeeping in addition to the three usual track sectors. As has been customary since 2022, it was not the team with the fastest individual time in this sector that won, but the best cumulative team time of female and male driver.

In Saudi Arabia, E.ON Veloce Racing and Legacy Motor Club came out on top in this category on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Legacy Motor Club driver Travis Pastrana set the fastest individual time in the special section ahead of Veloce driver Kevin Hansen.

Sector & best lap times

The regular sector best times also all went to Travis Pastrana from Legacy Motor Club. The fastest lap overall at the Desert X Prix, however, was set by Mattias Ekström. All the best times were set on Sunday.

The fastest lap times were set after the driver switch. The reason: The starting drivers had to cover a longer distance on the Desert X Prix circuit at the start, and they also had to drive into the switch zone at the end of the second lap, where a speed limit of 30 km/h applied.

Team-internal lap time comparison

Comparing lap times between drivers from the same team is once again much easier at the Desert X Prix than at most other races, as all drivers once again completed two laps each due to the relatively short track. After the second lap, they had to steer into the switch zone, where a speed limit of 30 km/h applied. We have therefore added up the drivers' best sector times.

The figures show that two female drivers were faster than their male team mates in Saudi Arabia: Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky and Catie Munnings were each around one second faster than Johan Kristoffersson and Timmy Hansen respectively. On average, the men clocked a best time of 2:13.790 minutes, the women 2:17.285 minutes.

The biggest gap was between Andreas Bakkerud and Dania Akeel at JBXE at almost ten seconds. This was despite the fact that Bakkerud was already the slowest of the male pilots. But Gray Leadbetter (6.8 seconds) and Laia Sanz (4.6 seconds) were also well behind their male team mates.

Gender ranking

Who were the fastest men and the fastest women at the Desert X Prix? We have calculated an overall lap time based on the personal best sector times. Extreme E newcomer Travis Pastrana was clearly ahead in the men's race. In the women's category, Catie Munnings narrowly beat Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky. Dania Akeel proved to be uncompetitive: the young racer from Saudi Arabia was more than nine seconds slower than Laia Sanz, the second slowest driver - one of the reasons why Team JBXE finished each session at least 29 seconds behind the winners.

Ranking male drivers

Ranking female drivers

Time in the switch zone

An additional challenge in Extreme E is the driver switch. For safety reasons, the first driver may only release the seatbelts once the vehicle has come to a standstill and is in neutral position. At least 45 seconds must then elapse before shifting back into forward gear. The fastest driver swap at the Desert X Prix was achieved by the team of Rosberg X Racing.