The Impulse

• CUPRA e-ambassador Mattias Ekström and Head of CUPRA Racing, Xavi Serra, discuss the Extreme E racing series on ‘The Impulse’
• Electrification, sustainability and equality, among CUPRA and Extreme E shared values
• The episode is now available on CUPRA’s official channel on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Ivoox

Martorell, 26-05-2021– At the gates of the second stage of the Extreme E racing series, the ABT CUPRA XE team prepares for the challenge of the wet sand in Lac Rose, Senegal, on May 29th and 30th. After the debut in Saudi Arabia on April 3rd -4th, the expedition has had a few weeks to regain strength and strategies. CUPRA official driver and e-ambassador Mattias Ekström and the Head of CUPRA Racing, Xavi Serra, have taken the opportunity to visit the CUPRA podcast, The Impulse, to talk about this new offroad electric SUV’s competition and its importance for raising awareness about the effects of climate change.

– Shared values. CUPRA was the first automotive brand to announce its participation, joining forces with ABT Sportsline as the team’s main partner, with the experienced race drivers Mattias Ekström and Claudia Hürtgen. During the podcast, Serra explained the reason for this quick decision: “There are three values that we at CUPRA fully share with Extreme E, which are electrification, sustainability and equality.”

– The motorsport reinvention. Ekström emphasised the difficulty of the chosen terrains and, above all, their symbolism: “There is no track to drive on, we’re driving in places that have suffered from climate change and I think that’s something we have to get used to” he says, adding that “motorsport is slowly changing, and I think Extreme E has taken it the furthest in how they want to communicate and what they want to stand for.” Apart from competition, the goal is to promote this awareness and carry out actions that enable mitigating its evolution, with the help of scientists who accompany the expeditions. “Extreme E is something never done before”, says Serra.

– Saudi Arabia, first challenge. Pondering the first stage, Ekström did know the sandy landscape of Saudi Arabia. He had already tried racing through other deserts when he took part in the Dakar years ago. But now he was faced with another kind of challenge. According to the driver, the first stage of Extreme E was “one of the toughest races in this type of environment”, which makes it “really cool and even more exciting”.

The new episode of The Impulse, ‘Going to the Extreme (E)’, is now available on CUPRA’s Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Ivoox channels.