Adrien Tambay is more than familiar with pavement racing, but has been finding more off-road opportunities in 2023. Next weekend, he will make his début in Extreme E driving for ABT CUPRA XE at the Copper X Prix.
Tambay is no stranger to ABT or CUPRA, racing for both teams in touring cars. He was a DTM regular for Audi Sport Team ABT from 2012 to 2015, scoring a best finish of third at the 2014 season opener in Hockenheim. With CUPRA, he won the 2022 FIA eTouring Car World Cup, holding off Extreme E regular Mattias Ekström for the title. In April, ABT CUPRA fielded a Formula E car for Tambay at the series’ rookie test in Tempelhof.
In January, he made his first off-road start in the snow and ice of the Race of Champions in Sweden. Representing France alongside 2022 Extreme E champion Sébastien Loeb, he defeated David Coulthard in the preliminary round before falling to Mick Schumacher at the individual tournament. Both were swept by eventual winner Norway in the Nations Cup.
“It’s my first foray into the off-road world so there’s a lot to learn, which makes the challenge even greater,” said Tambay. “I will do my best to repay the trust placed in me.
“Klara (Andersson) and the whole team have been great in helping me prepare at home, and now it’s on to the track. My goal is to learn quickly and avoid as many of the traps of the series as possible. I like the format of close racing against each other, which I have already done in some ice racing. I can’t wait to experience the Extreme E world now.”
Incidentally, Tambay replaces Loeb at ABT CUPRA. Loeb in turn replaced World Rally-Raid Championship rival Nasser Al-Attiyah for the two Island X Prix rounds, scoring two podiums in the second weekend.
ABT CUPRA is currently sixth in points.
