After a series of rumors that questioned the participation of the Techeetah team in the inaugural season of Extreme E, the competition has finally confirmed that the squad owned by the Indonesian Indover Group, will not compete in the first race.
During the last months, the Extreme E through social media has shown the appearance of the vehicles belonging to the teams that make it up, as well as the drivers who will see action.
However, the content related to Techeetah never surfaced. Nor on the website www.extreme-e.com where the organization usually updates the information of all the teams that will see action on April 3 and 4 in the Al-Ula desert, Saudi Arabia.
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A statement from Extreme E listed ongoing travel restrictions as the principal reason behind the deferred Techeetah entry.
The statement read: “The team, owned by the Indonesian Indover Group, has cited the COVID-19 pandemic the deciding factor in the decision, with global travel restrictions meaning they couldn’t get to Europe to test their car and drivers or make the necessary preparations required.”
Even so, the organizing body indicated that Techeetah maintains its commitment to compete in Extreme E in a subsequent race and that the team will soon “update its future competitor status in the coming weeks.”
These statements show that the squad in doubt could join the battle from the second destination, which will be Lake Rosa, Senegal, between May 29 and 30.
Meanwhile, Extreme E could be studying the new approach to scoring races, considering that these are initially made up of two groups (A and B), which carry out an internal elimination process in the first round, classifying those who accumulate more points according to their positions.
It should be noted that the possibility of Techeetah not participating in the first season of the “Electric Odyssey” is still being considered.
Written by | Osward Rubio
