22 November 2023, London: Former Extreme E podium finisher Tamara Molinaro has joined Jenson Button’s JBXE outfit for the Antofagasta Minerals Copper X Prix in Chile.
Italian Molinaro will team up with fellow former Championship Driver Andreas Bakkerud for the final X Prix of Season 3, replacing Hedda Hosås who will debut for the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team in the Atacama Desert.
Molinaro has plenty of experience behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21, and was the series’ Championship Driver in 2021 as well as the previous four events of this 2023 campaign.
In Season 2, Molinaro made her racing debut for XITE Energy Racing where she scored a best finish of second at her home event, the NEOM Island X Prix, alongside Timo Scheider. Molinaro and XITE Energy Racing finished eighth in the overall standings last term.
The 26-year-old also made a one-off Extreme E appearance in 2023 for NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team at Island X Prix II, where she stood in for the injured Emma Gilmour.
Molinaro will relish getting back behind the wheel for her new outfit, who are currently ninth in the standings – recording their joint-best result of the season last time out in Sardinia by finishing in fifth.
It is a full circle moment for Molinaro and Bakkerud, who started the 2023 campaign as Championship Drivers at the season opening Desert X Prix in NEOM, Saudi Arabia, and have both now progressed to race seats in the same year.
On returning to the Extreme E grid, Molinaro said: “I am delighted to join JBXE for the final race of the season in Chile. Being a part of this series as a Championship Driver is always special, but a race seat is something I have wanted for a while and to return alongside Andreas [Bakkerud] is a really exciting prospect.
“It is great to be a part of Jenson’s team as well, and I can’t wait to get back out there in the Atacama Desert and go racing again. This is the fifth different Extreme E team I have worked with since the championship launched – it is not always easy to adapt quickly to get back into a good rhythm, however I am hopeful that alongside Andreas I will be able to do just that when we go racing once again.
“I have waited patiently for this opportunity and I am really keen to grasp it and score as many points as I can in the final two races of the 2023 season.”
Jenson Button, JBXE team owner, said: “Tamara is very experienced behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21 and has worked together with Andreas previously, so we feel that is a strong pairing going into the last races of the year in Chile.
“We are eager to move up the championship standings and with Tamara joining the team alongside Andreas we feel that is a pairing capable of doing just that.”
The crowning of the 2023 champions will be live across ITV and STV in the UK, while outside of the UK please visit here for broadcaster details.
To learn more about Extreme E, visit – www.Extreme-E.com
