抖阴短视频

DUBAI: Few drivers speak as eloquently and passionately about rally driving as Catie Munnings does. And few drivers have achieved so much in such a short career.

As an 18-year-old, the daughter of former rally driver Chris Munnings won the 2016 FIA European Rally Championship Ladies Trophy and now competes in the European Rally Championship for the Saint茅loc Junior Team.

Up next, another first in the world of motorsports.

On Friday, Munnings and her Andretti United Extreme E co-driver Timmy Hansen will take part in the Desert X Prix across the AlUla desert, the first ever race in the new electric vehicle-only series by Extreme E.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time Timmy and I are racing with an electric vehicle,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 designed like a race car and handles like one. Both of us jumped in and absolutely loved it. It鈥檚 drivability is so great, it performs and it鈥檚 predictable in its handling, which is important when we鈥檙e not getting much seat time before the races.鈥�

Saturday, April 3 will see the qualification rounds between the nine teams, while the final race takes place the following day. For Munnings, brought up on combustion engine cars, one of the big positives is the constant power the electric SUV provides.

鈥淚t鈥檚 got instant torque all the time, it鈥檚 not like gears where you have different measure of torque coming out of the corners based on the speed you鈥檙e travelling,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just instant wherever you are, as soon as you put your foot on the throttle you get that power. It鈥檚 pleasure to drive really, I always say that you can be quite lazy when you鈥檙e driving it, you haven鈥檛 got gears to worry about. It鈥檚 very forgiving from that sense.鈥�

While the pandemic restrictions have somewhat disrupted their off-season preparations, Munnings and her Swedish team-mate felt that dwelling on recent obstacles serves little purpose and only promotes negative energy.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been trying to control what we can, Timmy and I have been working very hard together in preparation for the race,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 managed to get to Sweden to work with him for a while and we did some ice driving. It鈥檚 so much easier when you鈥檙e trying to discuss a race and go through the course maps when you鈥檙e with your team-mate in person.鈥�

Racing in AlUla will be a first for Munnings and Hansen, though they have been doing their homework on the stunning landscape.

鈥淚鈥檝e never even been to Saudi, neither has Timmy, but I鈥檝e had some conversation with Extreme E and people who have done the recces and they say it鈥檚 just mindblowingly beautiful,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e were watching some drone footage and the proportions are so extreme. It hasn鈥檛 got anything you can compare to in normal life, there鈥檚 no buildings around there, there鈥檚 no traffic lights. It鈥檚 quite strange to see this desert with rocks and we鈥檙e going to create a race track out of that.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to get your spatial awareness from looking at photos. I鈥檓 sure it鈥檚 going to be a bit of shock when we go there, I鈥檓 sure it鈥檒l be a lot steeper, with gradients that don鈥檛 come out in the pictures necessarily. I鈥檓 massively excited to see it.鈥�

Extreme E鈥檚 five destinations will each highlight a different environmental issue, starting with 抖阴短视频 and desertification, and moving on to the terrains of Senegal (rising sea levels), Greenland (melting ice cap), Amazon (deforestation) and Patagonia (glacial recession)

Munnings says that desert race is the ideal one to ease into before more trying environments later on.

鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about going to Brazil and the Amazon rainforest, I think that鈥檚 going to be beautiful,鈥� she said.

鈥淛ust ticking that off my bucket list. And Patagonia, the glacier sounds amazing, with the red rock that we鈥檙e racing on. There鈥檙e so many different surfaces throughout the year that require different driver skillsets. That鈥檚 the challenge for me.鈥�

Almost inevitably, the proliferation of women drivers in motorsports is something that Munnings has to constantly address.

And while she looks forward to the day that female participation is no major longer news, she believes highlighting it at this stage is still necessary to attract aspiring female drivers.

鈥淚 remember when I was working with Susie Wolff and her 鈥楧are to be Different鈥� campaign, and she said we need to get to the point where we鈥檙e not talking about it and it鈥檚 just happening and it鈥檚 natural,鈥� said Munnings.

鈥淏ut she said in order to get there we have to shine a light on it a lot more too. It鈥檚 more to just encourage women into the sport, to say there鈥檚 an opportunity here.鈥�

In that regard, she describes the steps taken in Extreme E as 鈥渁bsolutely amazing.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about putting women in championships and saying there鈥檒l be a ladie鈥檚 trophy,鈥� Munnings said.

鈥淚鈥檝e been in teams where its happened you know, I鈥檒l be at the front doing media interviews and my [male counterpart] will be doing all the testing behind, because it鈥檚 a bit of phenomenon to have a female in the team. Now, for us to be counting as one result, the male鈥檚 time is just as important as the female鈥檚. The female鈥檚 speed has to be there. So teams are picking girls with that in mind, it鈥檚 not just a PR stunt. It raises the credibility of females as racers.鈥�

鈥淗opefully towards the end of the season it is just driver 鈥楢鈥� racing driver 鈥楤鈥� and we鈥檙e not talking about the women and how they鈥檙e racing against the men,鈥� she added.

鈥淚t will just merge into one and be very inclusive which I think will be very cool to see.鈥�

Munnings is in little doubt that electric racing, across different categories, will continue to grow in the coming years.

鈥淭he reason we have motorsports is that manufacturers sell road cars and this is sort of advertising for that in many senses,鈥� she said.

鈥淎nd the fact is that all manufacturers are going in the electric direction, they鈥檝e put bans in the UK for having combustion engines. There is cut off points, it is going that way.

鈥淭here won鈥檛 be combustion championships in the future, which is sad,鈥� Munnings concedes.

鈥淚鈥檓 the first to admit that I鈥檓 a petrol head. I love standing in the forest and hearing a car go past me and feeling the ground rumble. The next generation will be just as excited by the electric racing. It鈥檚 a transition for us, and yes, the noise is going, but in so many senses we鈥檝e got so much potential with the electric cars. We can be faster, we鈥檙e already seeing it with these Extreme E cars, what they鈥檙e capable of. And driving them as well, I can definitely say that they鈥檙e not going to disappoint.鈥�

Having tried out the Extreme E鈥檚 electric SUVs, she is confident they will not disappoint. And with the restrictive pandemic lockdowns having had the unintended positive consequences of a drop in pollution levels, Munnings believes it is the is the ideal time to embrace the age of electric motorsports and sustainable racing.

鈥淭immy summed it up nicely, he was talking about rallycross the other day, and he said we might be going electric but don鈥檛 forget we鈥檙e still going to have the world class racing, there will still be contact, everything that you love about the sport will still be there,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t is nice to be involved in the electric movement from the beginning in season one of Extreme E. It is inevitably the way the world will move forward and it seems like the right time to be thinking about our impact and where we鈥檙e going." 

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