The championship of Extreme E faces its final stretch of the inaugural season. And to Sardinia, fourth and penultimate of the electrical contest aware of the climate problem, arrive Cristina Gutierrez, companion of Loeb in the team of Hamilton, Laia Sanz and Carlos Sainz, of the team Actuate, wanting a good result.
The three pilots appeared at a press conference and it was the Burgos who opened the fire and pointed out the importance of the championship to raise awareness about sustainability and equality. “It is a contest that has a promising future. This championship has something innovative that is the social face on the part of the environment and the world of women. It is doing a lot to advance in that sense,” says Cristina. A Cristina who arrives recovered from her back injury and who takes advantage of every momentor to learn from Loeb, as she herself commented: “It has been very important to me and I learn every minute, nothing is saved. I try to resemble his driving, which is like trying to look like God. It has been a dream and I am grateful. “
Laia, for his part, appears after his title World Cup number 20, the one that tied the weekend in the Enduro. The Catalan has completed a spectacular year, in which she has combined trial, enduro and all four wheels. And all after overcoming Lyme disease. “I am happy to have managed to overcome the difficult situation due to the suffering and uncertainty that I have had and because I have felt like an athlete again. I recognize that the motorcycle season has been hard and long for me, I have suffered physically in some races, it has It has been a hard year, but now it is valued more with the titles, says Sanz, who does not dare to get among the best Spanish athletes, but who does answer the question with a “what I am is multifaceted”. “I have done many different things, from trial to enduro or Dakar, and I always try to do it well. Maybe I’m complete on a motorcycle, not in the rest,” says Laia, who sees wide and “with a long journey” her future on four wheels, where she still feels like “a junior”, with a lot to learn.
And to learn nothing better than to have next to Carlos Sainz. The Madrilenian, veteran of the four wheels and with an enviable record, face the electric challenge fully, with the Extreme E and the next Dakar with the hybrid Audi. So it is a voice more than authorized to leave brushstrokes on the future of the automotive industry: “For the future of sport and the cars I would like the technologies to go in a reasonable time and the steps taken to be solid, important. I mean that this time should be set by the technicians and not by the politicians. You have to respect technology and not demonize certain things. I’ve been racing for many years but not in electric cars. At my age, as a veteran I am, a challenge of this type is welcome. I am learning a lot because they are interesting cars“.
And after the Extreme E the Dakar challenge will come for Sainz, with an Audi that has him excited and to which he arrives with some experience with electricity after his participation in the championship created by Alejandro Agag, although he points out that there are significant differences between both vehicles : “They are two cars with certain similarities, because they are not the same. Logically, some things can be sensed and tested. but not as many as you can think of. “