Andrea PerilliX44’s driver Cristina Gutierrez is back racing this weekend after spending the European summer in full recovery after she sustained a vertebrae fracture while competing in Kazakhstan.
The Spaniard participated in the season opener in Saudi Arabia and the second round in Senegal. Shortly after Extreme E’s second race, she was off to the Rally Kazakhstan, as part of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team.
She was victorious at the rally but an impact suffered during the course of the race caused two vertebrae to fracture, which meant Gutierrez had a long recovery ahead of her to go back racing.
In the press conference before the Arctic X-Prix, the X44 driver highlighted that for her “it’s very special to be here”. For Gutierrez, “It’s not been easy to say to be here, especially because it’s only two months and a half after my injury”.
She’s working daily to fully recover from her severe injury, and added: “I try to do every day, physio for six, seven hours. I don’t know how many times I go to the physio”, and added that “I didn’t even have a summer” as her number one goal was to be behind the wheel as soon as possible.
After practising on the Odyssey 21, she highlighted the feeling of being back on the race car and feeling good herself. “In my first lap, I felt okay with everything: with my body, with my back especially, so it’s nice”, she commented.
Images courtesy of Extreme E
Bethonie Waring
