Former Formula 1 driving champion Jensen Button’s JBXE Racing team has announced Lotus Engineering as its new partner for the team’s entry into Extreme E, the new electric off-road racing series.
“Lotus is a great British brand that is inextricably linked to motorsport, so we are delighted to welcome Lotus Engineering to JBXE,” Button is quoted in the announcement.
“Extreme E is a unique and exciting formula, full of ‘world firsts’ and challenges, and to announce that a brand such as Lotus Engineering is coming on this journey with us is a proud moment for myself and the team. We are very excited about our new technical partnership and can’t wait to show what we can do in the first race this weekend.”
The new Extreme E series launches April 3-4 with the Desert X Prix in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Each team is required to have one male and one female driver. Button will share time in the JBXE car with multiple Scandinavian Touring Car race winner Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky.
“We are on the cusp of an exciting new era of electrified motorsport, and we’re delighted to support the JBXE team as Technical Partner,” said Matt Windle, managing director of Lotus Cars.
“The complex technicalities of EV racing present a fascinating challenge, and using our learnings from more than a decade of electrifying sports cars – most recently with the Lotus Evija hypercar – we can bring valuable knowledge to the team.”
Extreme E not only is showcasing the potential for electric vehicles off pavement, but selected its racing venues to bring attention to extreme environments that have been damaged or impacted by climate issues.
Jenson Button 
Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky
“The five-race global voyage highlights the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the world’s most remote locations and promotes the adoption of electric vehicles in the quest for a lower carbon future for the planet,” the racing group said.
“To minimize local impact, Extreme E races will not be open to spectators, with fans instead invited to follow the action through live TV broadcast, and on social media.”
