WEBVTT

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- This NATO base might usually be home

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to tanks and military exercises,

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but for two weekends this
year it got to play racetracks

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and hosted rounds of all electric
off-road series Extreme E.

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Extreme E is a racing
series that sees 10 teams

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fight out across 10 events
over the course of a year.

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Each team is given the same equipment,

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so every driver races

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in the rugged ODYSSEY
21 electric off-road.

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Because the sport puts
equality at its heart,

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the teams also run a
male and female driver

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with the two sharing driving duties

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over the course of each race.

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As well as equality,

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Extreme E also puts
sustainability front and center

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so it takes steps to minimize

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the environmental impact of each event.

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This means there's no
disposable cutlery on site

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and every attendee has to take
and wash their own dishes.

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Then there's the ship that Extreme E uses

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to travel the world.

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To cut out the use of air freight,

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everything needed for a race weekend

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travels to each location
on board the St. Helena,

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which is a converted mail ship

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that was first launched in 1990.

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The ship has cabins for race
staff, restaurant, and bars

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and comes with enough cargo space

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for each team's car, spare parts,

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and all the tents needed to set up

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Extreme E's paddock at each race.

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At every event, all this kit
is offloaded onto dry land,

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set up over the course of a few days

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and then once the dust settles

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on an action packed weekend

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is loaded back into the ship
and heads to the next location.

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After Sardinia, the St. Helena
is crossing the Atlantic

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and getting ready to set up in Chile

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where the sport will
round out its 2023 season.

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But enough infrastructure talk.

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What actually happens
at an Extreme E race?

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Well, at each race weekend

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there are two rounds of competition.

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After a practice session on Friday,

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teams like McLaren, Hummer

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and Lewis Hamilton's X 44 outfit

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come back on Saturday
morning for qualifying.

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There are two rounds of qualifying,

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which each feature two heats

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the C five teams race against each other.

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The five squads that
pick up the most points

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then go through to the grand final

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while the five with the least,

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fight it out in the redemption race.

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Each race runs for just four laps

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and every team has to stop
after two to swap its drivers.

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This is a frantic process
that sees one driver hop out

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while the other slides into place.

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The on track action is equally hectic,

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with big crashes hitting
almost every race I saw,

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and by the end of the
day, there was a huge pile

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of ripped up body panels
ready to be recycled.

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Once a winner is crowned

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and the champagne is
sprayed on the podium,

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all 10 teams come back again on Sunday

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to do it all over again.

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But Extreme E wasn't the
only electric racing series

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in Sardinia, as the FIM E-Xplorer series

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was also on the scene

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to show what electric
bikes are capable of.

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Like Extreme E, the
E-Xplorer series fields teams

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made up of a male and female rider

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with each taking it in turns

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to complete a course in
a kind of relay race.

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Along the way, they face jumps, bumps,

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and all manner of obstacles

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to test the rider and
their bikes to the limit.

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Both Extreme E and the E-Xplorer
series are a great watch

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and each proves that electric racing

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and events that put
sustainability and equality

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front and center can still throw up

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some super intense racing.

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(upbeat music)