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Chip Ganassi Racing and Sainz XE announce 2022 line-ups

Chip Ganassi Racing and Sainz XE Team will retain the same driver line-ups for the 2022 Extreme E season.

The announcement makes it eight teams that have confirmed their line-ups for the second season of the electric off-roading championship, which will begin later this month.

At CGR, Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price continue for a second season. It was a difficult first year for the team, which was plagued by technical problems and bad luck. In the penultimate race of the season, the squad looked set to take its first X-Prix victory, only for a power steering issue to dash their chances.

Both drivers are now hoping to minimise that bad luck going into their second season.

“We have taken what we learned in 2021 and ripped it to shreds to find the strong and weak points and have addressed every issue with pinpoint accuracy,” said LeDuc, an off-roading champion on two and four wheels.

“Sara and I will bring what’s needed to be intensely competitive and bring the action the world expects from us, and we know we can deliver.”

Price added: “In our first season, our speed showed but the results weren’t there. This is our redemption year. We are more than prepared, we’ve learned a lot, and it’s time to show the world what we have. We have an incredible team behind us, and Kyle and I are two drivers ready for what’s to come and showing the world what we are capable of.”

The Sainz team fared a little better in Extreme E’s inaugural season. Carlos Sainz Snr will once again be joined by Laia Sanz at the team, which was consistently one of the front runners throughout the year.

For both drivers, the off season included trips to Dakar, where they both competed in the car category. Sainz took multiple stage victories and finished 11th overall while Sanz, who is used to competing in the event on two wheels, finished 23rd.

The 2022 Extreme E season will be a year of building on a solid performance in 2021.

“All the members of the Acciona Sainz XE Team, also Laia and myself, are really looking forward to this new season in which we want to fight for everything,” said Sainz. “The experience we gained in 2021 must help us to take a step forward to start fighting for better results and even the championship. I am really looking forward to the first X-Prix in Saudi Arabia to show just how much we have progressed.

“The level of the championship is really high, but we want to win and to send the strongest possible message about the importance of sustainability and respecting the environment.”

Sanz believes her Dakar experience, as well as the experience from last year, will be the boost she needs this season.

“I am really looking forward to the season opener in Saudi Arabia,” she said. “I think it will be a different year to 2021 because we are not starting from scratch. Now the team has experience with the Odyssey 21 and I have been able to do many kilometres on four wheels, so I am convinced that I will be able to help the team much more.

Image courtesy of Extreme E

“In the last races of 2021, we already took a step forwards in terms of performance and I think that this is promising for what is to come. This winter I was able to do my first Dakar Rally racing on cars and I believe this will also prove really positive for this Extreme E season.”

Bethonie Waring

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