Klara Andersson made waves in her Extreme E début last month when she and ABT CUPRA XE team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah finished third in the Copper X Prix Final. With the team’s regular driver Jutta Kleinschmidt still recovering from her injuries sustained in practice at said race, Andersson has once again been tasked with piloting the #125 at the Energy X Prix on 26/27 November.
“It was great how the entire team pulled together and gave me such a warm welcome,” said Andersson. “The fact that we were on the podium forty-eight hours later was a great finish for everyone in the team and for me, of course. The organisers continue to develop all areas: the events are becoming more and more professional, and the technology of the cars has also improved significantly within one season.
“I’ve never been to Uruguay before, so even the whole journey is an adventure. We now can sort ourselves out in advance, clarify open questions and prepare in a structured way. Onsite, I’ve got the course walk to get to know the track and two Free Practice sessions to get used to everything before qualifying; a normal race weekend, in other words.
“I’m delighted that ABT and CUPRA have put their trust in me and that we will be competing in the final together. It’s a great challenge and I’m already a bit excited. We’re pushing together for a good end to the team’s season. We saw in Chile that we have the pace for this. We’ll build on that.”
Andersson began 2022 with XITE Energy Racing but tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before the season opener in Saudi Arabia, and an impressive showing by backup Tamara Molinaro resulted in the latter becoming the permanent driver. Molinaro and Andersson basically swapped roles from that point on as Andersson became the series’ Championship Driver and a reserve, the latter of which was activated upon Kleinschmidt’s Free Practice 2 crash in Chile.
Outside of Extreme E, she has mainly been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship RX1e class. She finished seventh of eight in the final standings but finished third in Portugal Race #2 to become the first female podium sitter in series history.
“We are in constant touch with Jutta and sincerely wish her a continued good recovery,” stated team CEO Thomas Biermaier. “At the same time, we are pleased that we managed to have Klara in the team for the season finale after her strong début in Chile. After the podium finish, our goal is clear: we want to end our second season in Extreme E, in which there have been some ups and downs, on a high.”
ABT CUPRA is currently ninth in the standings.
