Sara Price says she is honoured to be racing in the inaugural Desert X Prix this weekend in Saudi Arabia, with the Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing driver having the honour of being the first driver to run the AlUla course during Friday’s shakedown.
Price, running alongside fellow American Kyle LeDuc at Chip Ganassi Racing this season, says it was ‘pretty incredible’ to have all eyes on her as she took to the course on Friday, and she is grateful to have been given the opportunity to compete in the first-ever Extreme E Championship event.
“I’m so honoured to be here – in the world of off-road racing, you have no idea how big this is,” said Price. “It’s pretty incredible to have the whole of our industry watching us, and when somebody told me this morning that I was making history as the first driver to take to the course, it’s just crazy and so cool.
“It’s already been such a journey and an adventure. I’m very grateful and glad to be a part of something that means so much.”
Price says she has been lucky in her career so far to get opportunities to drive ‘incredible machines’, although she has often gone into those rides with very little testing due to funding shortfalls. However, she feels it has helped her adapt to the all-electric ODYSSEY 21 quickly.
“I’ve been very lucky in my career to get a lot of opportunities to hop into some incredible machines, but I never had a money tree in my backyard so could never afford to do much testing,” she said.
“I think that’s made me very good at adapting quickly to different vehicles, which is exactly what we’re doing here in Extreme E – it’s all about having minimal time, jumping in and figuring it out as fast as you can.
“I think my off-road background is definitely a positive, but it’s going to be a challenge for everyone.”
