Rosberg X Racing‘s all-Swedish duo of Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky were easily the most dominant team in the 2022 Extreme E season, but came up short in the championship battle after a series of late missteps. On Tuesday, RXR announced they will run it back with the tandem to avenge their second-place points finish.
“I’m super happy that Mikaela and Johan have signed for another season,” said team owner Nico Rosberg. “With the experience and track record of both drivers, we will be prepared for the battle and hopefully make for some exciting action on track. Last year, we sadly didn’t take home the championship trophy, but this year we plan on giving it our all.”
RXR won the inaugural Extreme E title in 2021 with Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor before signing Åhlin-Kottulinsky to take the latter’s place for the 2022 season. The new pairing immediately hit it off by winning the opener in Saudi Arabia, and would have swept the Island X Prix doubleheader had they received a retroactive penalty for Kristoffersson wrecking Carlos Sainz in the first race that demoted them from the win to fifth. Despite being the only team to win multiple finals, RXR was hit by a mechanical problem at the Copper X Prix that allowed X44 to close the gap in the points.
A disastrous season-ending Energy X Prix provided the death blow when they crashed in qualifying and were disqualified for a wreck in the Crazy Race. RXR was forced to watch from the sidelines as X44 clinched the championship by five points.
“I am confident that we can build on our experience and come back stronger than ever,” Kristoffersson stated. “Having Mikaela on my side for another season is an extra motivation. She’s a great person on and off the track and and she has really impressed me with her development and her will to work.”
Kristoffersson leads all Extreme E drivers in wins with five, which also happens to be the same amount of FIA World Rallycross Championships that he possesses. In January, he and XE alumnus Mattias Ekström competed at the Race of Champions in their native Sweden, where they fell to Team Norway in the Nations Cup before Kristoffersson lost to his team-mate and eventual winner in the individual tournament. Åhlin-Kottulinsky joined RXR after finishing third in the 2021 points battle with JBXE; she primarily competed in touring cars but has expanded her off-road résumé with exploits like winning the inaugural Rally Jameel (an all-women rally raid in Saudi Arabia) as well as XE.
“Joining RXR last year was a dream come true. I learnt so much from Johan and the team, so to come back for another season is fantastic,” commented Åhlin-Kottulinsky. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel and give it everything I’ve got.”
RXR is the fifth team to confirm their 2023 lineup after ABT CUPRA, Andretti, McLaren, and Veloce. All have retained their driver pairings from the 2022 season, with Veloce and ABT’s being the case for the final round after beginning the year with a different order.
