Extreme E Launches Racing For All Initiative

5 September 2022, London: Extreme E is pleased to announce the launch of its new Racing for All initiative, informed by the findings of The Hamilton Commission, which will create opportunities for a new generation of mechanical and engineering talent to join the world’s most radical off-road electric racing series.

Through The Hamilton Commission’s report - Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport – which was published last year, and programmes such as the FIA’s Girls on Track programme, Extreme E is aware of the substantial barriers of opportunity and bias that exist throughout the motorsport talent pipeline, from primary school age to those already in the industry. Identifying an opportunity to have real impact, the series has been working with some of those behind these initiatives, including Extreme E team owner Sir Lewis Hamilton, to develop an action-based programme that will have a tangible effect on addressing some of those barriers.

Extreme E teams are limited to just five mechanics or engineers each to help reduce overall attendance numbers across the Championship, but the Racing for All initiative provides an additional position for a sixth member to join each team to gain hands-on experience. This position is open to those with less than one year’s professional motorsport experience, to enable them to learn exactly what it takes to be part of a professional race team, providing a first step on the career ladder in a very competitive industry. 

As a sport for purpose series which seeks to accelerate cultural and behavioural change, Racing for All supports the founding ethos of Extreme E,which is inspire positive action. The programme aims to reduce barriers and attract those who might not otherwise be able to have this opportunity, with particularly those who are female, minority ethnic, or from a lower socio-economic background, encouraged to apply. Extreme E is working with consultants from EqualEngineers in their goal to educate its teams on inclusive recruitment processes which ensure all applicants are welcome and considered.  

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “We are delighted to launch the Racing for All initiative. We are fully supportive of the findings of The Hamilton Commission and are working with our teams to provide a clear path for the brilliant engineers and mechanics of the future, who may not so readily have the opportunities to succeed.

“Our goal is for Racing for All to instill an inclusive mindset and a wider recruitment pipeline which enables the next generation of race mechanics and engineers to reach the highest levels of motorsport, regardless of factors such as race, gender or social economic status, and reduce the barriers which exist for certain communities.”

Extreme E has been working with its teams, who, with support from the series, will ultimately select and manage their own candidates and integrate them into their team set ups. The Racing for All team member opportunity is open now, with the majority of the paddock indicating that they are actively starting their hiring processes ahead of Season 3.  

In July 2020, Sir Lewis Hamilton launched The Hamilton Commission, alongside the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), to research and understand why underrepresentation persists within the UK motorsport industry and look for ways to address this lack of representation.The final report provided ten recommendations that the Commission believe will help to improve the representation of Black people in UK motorsport, which was based around three key strands of action – Support and Empowerment, Accountability and Measurement, and Inspiration and Engagement.

The Commission has called on all in leadership roles across motorsport to take personal responsibility for driving measurable progress on diversity and inclusion, to provide equity of access and experience for all underrepresented groups, and as an enabler of organisational success. 

As a sport designed with purpose at its heart, Extreme E seeks to inspire and empower all individuals, from all backgrounds, to be a part of motorsport, providing equal opportunity between genders and across cultures. This includes encouraging diversity in the teams and drivers, aiming to remove inequality and barriers to access that diverse communities face in motorsport.

Dave Berkenfield, Team Manager at No.99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing: “The Racing for All Initiative by Extreme E is directly in-line with our longstanding commitment to supporting diversity, inclusion and equality at every level inside Chip Ganassi Racing. We’ve been fortunate to work with partners who are united in finding a long-term solution to expanding the representation and opportunities within motorsports.

As a team, we’re excited about Extreme E’s commitment to take on this challenge at the series level and we look forward to collaborating on ways to ensure its success.

Applicants who would like to apply to take part in the Racing for All programme should visit: https://www.extreme-e.com/en/racing-for-all and fill in their details.

About Extreme E: 

Now in its second season, Extreme E is a radical off-road racing series, founded by the same team behind Formula E, which showcases electric SUVs and futuristic technologies in some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.

This five-event global voyage utilises its sporting platform for the purpose of promoting electrification, environment and equality. The series’ goal is to highlight the impact of climate change in some of the world’s most endangered environments, promote the adoption of electric vehicles to pave the way for a lower carbon future, and provide a world-first gender-equal motorsport platform.

The first sport to ever be built out of a social purpose, Extreme E aims to minimise environmental impact while maximising awareness, racing in places that have already been damaged or affected by climate change or human interference and taking fans deep into the heart of the most pressing issues facing our planet’s future.

Not only that, but Extreme E is also helping the car industry to develop future-facing technology using racing as a platform for road innovation, which accelerates change ten-fold.