Nico Rosberg’s RXR team lead standings after winning Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia RIYADH: The stage is set for the second stop on Extreme E’s calendar – the Ocean X Prix – which takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Lac Rose, Dakar on the west African Senegalese coast. Rosberg X Racing (RXR) took victory in the inaugural X Prix last month in the Saudi Arabian desert of AlUla, but with the top three teams of RXR, Lewis Hamilton’s X44, and Andretti within only seven points of each other, the Ocean X Prix promises to provide thrilling race action in a region brimming with motorsport heritage. Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO or Extreme E, said: “I am delighted to be back in Dakar, a place with a vast motorsport heritage, and I can’t wait to see our world-class lineup of drivers compete on this latest course we have devised. “The Desert X Prix delivered some truly thrilling racing with a stunning backdrop and I’m sure Senegal will provide the same. “But in Lac Rose we find an area suffering at the hands of the climate crisis, which is the true reason we are here. It doesn’t take long upon arrival to see one of the biggest issues, plastic pollution, which is affecting the local community and its marine life. “Through our Legacy programs, we are supporting the local community to make change, and I can’t wait to see it for myself and help where I can,” he added. Situated 37 kilometers from the capital, Dakar, the shores of Lac Rose hosted the finish of the world’s most famous cross-country rally – the Paris-Dakar – on numerous occasions between 1979 and 2007 and will play host to the Extreme E Ocean X Prix this weekend. RXR founder Nico Rosberg is looking forward to a different challenge than the one presented in AlUla. “The team did an incredible job in Saudi Arabia to get the win and we’re very proud to be the first X Prix winners in Extreme E history, but we know we need to stay focused if we are to remain at the front,” the former Formula 1 champion said. “The series is already so competitive, but this team loves a challenge, and we can’t wait to go racing again in Senegal.” Out on the course, drivers will once again face a mostly sandy terrain, though a very different one to the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The race will take to the existing tracks surrounding the lake, which is named after and renowned for its striking pink color caused by algae that thrives within its high-saline waters. The full course will be revealed in the coming days. Once again, nine teams and 18 drivers will compete, but in a slight change to the Saudi Arabia race format, the final will be a four-car battle, with two teams from each of the two semi-finals progressing to the concluding race of the weekend. Similar to the Desert X Prix, qualifying consists of two rounds of time trials which will take place on Saturday. The team starting order is decided by a draw for qualifying 1 and qualifying 2. All races feature two laps with the incorporated driver switch feature. The results of the qualifying will determine the races on the following day, with teams lining up according to the following: The teams will be listed first to ninth place based on the total combined time of each team’s two qualifying runs. The top three teams go into semi-final 1, where the top two finishers claim spots in the Ocean X Prix final. The middle three teams (fourth, fifth, and sixth) go through to semi-final 2, where again the top two progress to the Ocean X Prix final. The bottom three teams (seventh, eight, and ninth) head to the shootout. The Ocean X Prix final features four cars – the top two finishers from each semi-final. Teams can also benefit from a hyperdrive boost available to each driver on each lap of the race. Activated when the driver presses a button on the steering wheel, they will enjoy an extra push of continuous power for a few seconds. New for the Ocean X Prix is the Super Sector – a part of the course where the fastest driver in that section over the weekend will earn five points for their team. This ensures that whatever position the teams find themselves in there is always an incentive to push to the limit as points are up for grabs. The drivers will all be behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21 – a 550 bhp all-electric SUV charged using zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell technology.