Claudia Hurtgen enters Extreme E Series with ABT Cupra XE bringing a wealth of competitive experience racing various Motorsport categories over mere 25 years. Putting it simply, Claudia has acquired such a broad spectrum of race-craft skills while working with equally diverse range of Teams and drivers, such skill-set will be further consolidated when competing in 2021 Extreme E -The Electric Odyssey Championship.
Having gained such remarkable attributes as a driver, from early years racing single-seater to GT and Touring Car Series, to 24hour Endurance Championships, Claudia has unwittingly pushed herself out of comfort zone making the perfect fit for what lies ahead.
Claudia: ‘First of all it is a big adventure with so many unpredictable things to come. From a professional perspective: I’ve been in motorsport for over 25 years and raced in many different categories but I have never competed off-road and in such a unique and special championship’.
‘And from a personal point of view I am super happy to be part of the ABT and CUPRA family. ABT is a well-known name in international motorsport and it is said that there is a very special personal atmosphere there. I experienced this myself at the first tests and am therefore even more looking forward to the season together’.
Without a doubt, the partnership of German based ABT Sportsline with Spanish sporty Brand Cupra amalgamates principles of advancing green technology in Motorsport. ABT Sportsline embodies competitive, innovative engineering in electric mobility and were one of the first Teams to join Formula E back in 2013. Cupra known for challenging conceptions of automobile configurations based on electrification provide the complimentary formula for ABT Sportsline, Claudia Hurtgen and Team driver Mattias Ekstrom.
So, where do the challenges lie? Racing Extreme E Odyssey 21 SUV has in built challenges from the get go as stated in the description: ‘the vehicle will be the same for each Team sporting Continental tyres that stand 940mm. The vehicle measures 2.3m wide and more than 1.8m high, and can accelerate 0-62mph in about 4.5 seconds. The all electric powered car weighs 1650kgs with 550HP and capabilities of climbing at 130% gradient. Reference Extreme E.
From Claudia’s perspective working as a Team will be key: ‘There are so many challenges in Extreme E- we have an electric car with huge power, we are racing off-road in both the Amazon and the Arctic and we are racing head-to-head with our competitors’.
‘If anything helps me then it is the experience I have collected under so many different conditions and circumstances during my racing career. Another good thing: My teammate Mattias is such an amazing and patient teacher which makes me feel very confident’.
‘One thing is for sure: The race format and the locations of Extreme E will provide us with a lot of unexpected situations. I believe key to success will be not to make any mistakes and rather stay cool and trust the car, the team, your teammate and the strategy. As we have only limited track time teamwork will play an even more important role’.
For certain, Claudia Hurtgen provides rare professional insight on racing Extreme E Series knowing when, where and how adaptations will be needed to deliver highest possible performance on the track. For this Championship, principle of action is based on collaborative minds who seek forward movement in race technology which has the potential to change how Motorsport delivers a message to a global audience in the future.
Comment from Team- ABT Cupra XE: Thomas Biermaier, CEO ABT Sportsline: We love innovation, competition, e-mobility and the feeling of being a pioneer in something completely new. That is why we decided to become a member of the Extreme E family. With CUPRA, we have a partner at our side who, just like us, firmly believes in the revolutionary concept, both in the sporting field and in terms of marketing off the track. We have a very close relationship in the joint development of road cars which has now also been transferred into motorsport.”
Words: Sharon Cox.
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