The new Extreme E electric off-road series has cancelled races in Brazil’s Amazon and Argentina’s Patagonia regions due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Scotland now a possible alternative, it said in a statement on Friday.
The Amazon round was scheduled for Oct. 23-24 with the Glacier X Prix listed for Dec. 11-12.
Extreme E, which uses identical SUVs and includes Britain’s seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton as one of the team owners, said it had decided to postpone visiting the region until season two.
« We’ve been closely monitoring the situation regarding all Extreme E locations for 2021 and have chosen to make this pre-emptive decision on racing in South America this year, » Extreme E founder Alejandro Agag said.
« Our priority is to deliver a five-race calendar of events which are safe and responsible for our global participants, partners and staff to travel to and attend. »
Extreme E said alternatives under consideration included the Western Isles of Scotland ahead of Glasgow hosting the COP26 climate change conference in November.
The series has so far held two rounds — in Saudi Arabia and Senegal — with the third scheduled for Greenland at the end of August.
Extreme E aims to raise awareness about climate change and promote sustainability by racing electric SUVs in remote and harsh environments, with a former mail ship used to transport cars between locations.
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/31612737/extreme-e-south-america-races-postponed-due-covid-19
