Extreme E’s first race ends with a small amount of drama

The first-ever Extreme E race has come to an end. Rosberg X Racing’s Johan Kristofferson and Molly Taylor (shown above) have won the Desert X Prix in AlUla, Saudi Arabia after fending off the two other teams that made it to the final, second-place Andretti United and the Lewis Hamilton-backed X44. There was a modest amount of drama involved — the Rosberg team faced a minute-long penalty for speeding in the driver switch zone, and the fan-based grid selection put Andretti United in a better starting position.

Other teams had their share of problems before the finals, including crashes for Abt Cupra and Veloce Racing during the qualifiers.

You’ll have to wait a while for the next race. The Ocean X Prix is due to take place in Senegal’s Lac Rose on May 29th and May 30th.

Extreme E’s successful first competition is a big boost to the series after delays and cancelled races threw off its schedule. It’s also a major milestone for off-road EV racing. While electric off-roaders have raced before, they haven’t had a dedicated league with big-name teams and drivers (such as X44’s Sebastien Loeb) before. The biggest challenge now might be to maintain that momentum — like Formula E in its early days, Extreme E still has to prove that it can keep viewers coming back.