Just four years ago, the all-electric motorsport racing championship launched off in Beijing for the first of many years to follow. This year, electric vehicles are being put to the test with the launch of another all-electric motorsport competition: Extreme E, designed to bring electric cars off the road as well as on.
Finally, the series disclosed the location of their final round: the Kali Gandaki valley, nestled deep in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. This particular site happens to be home to the deepest gorge in the world – a tempting fruit. Be that as it may, the cars will still be racing at 2,750 meters above sea level.
The habitat will certainly pose its challenges to the drivers, none of whom have been announced yet. It will feature deep grooves, strewn rocks and other obstacles, coarse gravel, and it will criss-cross the Gandaki river – a major tributary for the famous Ganges river. How the electric off-roaders will fare against traditional off-roaders, is yet to be determined!
No motorsport has ever taken place in the Himalayas before, which are more famous for their awe-inspiring heights and rich spirituality. But the event is being planned with the design of showcasing some of incredible and lesser-known places around the world, whose environments deserve protecting.
Extreme E’s founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said: “We will leave a positive legacy behind, working with the government and authorities that will help locals here and provide solutions for the region to make it more sustainable. This is a big step with big meaning – not only for the race, but in everything we will leave in place for the communities here.”
Nepal has been ranked by the UN as the fourth most vulnerable country in the world to the oncoming effects of climate change – mainly due to the monumental number of glaciers in the mountain range.
So far, the other announced locations for Extreme E include Kangerlussuaq in Greenland, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, and a desert round in Saudi Arabia. The first season is dated for February 2021.