Stéphane Sarrazin Joins Veloce Racing in Extreme E Championship

French driver Sarrazin joins the grid for the electric SUV off-road racing series inaugural campaign, partnering W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick.

“I am delighted to have agreed terms with Veloce Racing to contest the first season of Extreme E,” he said. 

“This is a hugely appealing new series that has already attracted a lot of international attention – and all before the racing has even begun! As a driver, the concept is tremendously exciting and motivating – both on a competitive and personal level – and the challenge will be like no other.”

The 45-year-old will compete behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21 challenger for Veloce Racing, which partnered ART Grand Prix, one of the forces of international motorsport, achieving 19 drivers’ titles across Formula 2/GP2 and Formula 3/GP3.

The experienced and eclectic racing driver further commented: “I’ve driven a lot of different types of car during my career, but the ODYSSEY 21 really is something special, and it is going to generate some incredible action. 

“When we went testing together, it did not take me long to ‘click’ with the Veloce Racing guys – like me, they arrive in Extreme E with a lot of experience from different disciplines in the sport, and that can only be to our advantage over the forthcoming campaign. I can’t wait to go racing!”

Watch the video of Stéphane Sarrazin testing in Spain.

Sarrazin CV is as vast as successful; he has driven in a wide range of motorsport series.
Among them are the World Rally Championship (WRC), the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) – where he achieved multiple triumphs, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, European Le Mans Series, American Le Mans Series, FIA GT Championship, and V8 Supercars.

In Formula One, he fulfilled test driver duties for Minardi in 1999 and Prost Grand Prix in 2000.
In 2004, the French driver began his rallying journey, and in 2009, he scored a third-place finish at the iconic Monte Carlo rally.

With the Peugeot Total team, he won two Le Mans Series – 2007 and 2010, alongside teammate Pedro Lamy.
Also, adding to his name six podium finishes at the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans.

SARRAZIN ELECTRIC STORY SO FAR

Sarrazin drove for the Venturi Grand Prix team from the inception (2014) of the first-ever all-electric racing series, the FIA Formula E Championship.
Together, the Monegasque team, and the French driver, achieved their first pole position in the 2014/15 season finale in London.

Their second season was even more impressive, with Sarrazin securing second place at the Long Beach E-Prix, conquering the first podium for the team.

Halfway into the 2016/17 campaign, he moved to the Chinese team Techeetah to replace Esteban Gutierrez for the remainder of the third season.

He contested his fourth and last season in the series with the MS&AD Andretti Formula E team.
Overall, he clinched three podiums during his time racing in Formula E.

EXTREME E – A NEW ELECTRIC CHAPTER

The Extreme E championship will compete in five remote locations on the planet, aiming to raise awareness about climate change while bringing the best out of the motorsport world.

In April, the series – officially certified by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), kicks off season one in Al-‘Ula, Saudi Arabia.

The second stop in the calendar will be Lac Rose, in Senegal – the Ocean X-Prix, scheduled in May; then, the series heads to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, where the Arctic X-Prix in August.

In October 2021, the action continues with the Amazon X-Prix in Para, Brazil, and from 11-12 December, the series celebrates the season grand finale, the Glacier X-Prix in Patagonia, Argentina.

Completing the driver´s lineup is Lance Woolridge, appointed as the team´s reserve and development driver.

Woolridge, 29, is the youngest driver in South African history to win a national championship cross-country event.
Among his achievements are two consecutive Class T championship crowns in 2018 and 2019.

“We are delighted to announce Stéphane as our male driver for the first season of Extreme E and to confirm Lance’s reserve and development role within the team. Both of them tested with us at MotorLand Aragón last month, and to be honest, they gave us a real headache in terms of who to choose. Since we didn’t want to lose either, in the end, we decided to sign them both,” stated Ian Davies, Team Manager, Veloce Racing.

“Both Stéphane and Lance worked extremely well with Jamie and Veloce’s engineering team at the test, and their different skillsets and experience complemented each other perfectly. Stéphane is very much an all-rounder – a master of endurance racing but also clearly extremely adept in sprint and off-road competition – while Lance is well-accustomed to vehicles like the ODYSSEY 21 from his cross-country racing and has a very well-developed mechanical understanding.

     Jamie Chadwick and Stéphane Sarrazin

“Both guys were quick out-of-the-box in Spain, and we believe both will bring a great deal to Veloce Racing as we aim to hit the ground running in Saudi Arabia. We are confident that with Jamie and Stéphane driving and Lance working hard behind-the-scenes, we have a very strong team indeed.”

Images and video courtesy Veloce Racing Media.