LONDON : Extreme E, an electric off-road race series using identical SUVs with a male and female driver in every team, published data on Tuesday showing women had narrowed the gender performance gap by almost 70 per cent over the first four seasons.
The series, launched in 2021 with a focus on green technology and races held in remote locations to raise awareness of climate change, is switching to hydrogen this season with a new Extreme H tag.
Extreme E crunched the numbers from a timed section of each race where teams can secure two additional points if they are fastest.
In season one, female drivers were on average 4.5 seconds slower than their male counterparts. By season four the gap had shrunk to 1.1 seconds, a 68.64 per cent reduction.
There was a 29.76 per cent improvement in season two and a further 29.67 per cent in season three. In season four, when only four of 10 scheduled rounds were held, the gender gap closed by 36.5 per cent on the previous year’s figures.
“Extreme E’s mixed-gender format is a game-changer, and this data proves just how powerful equal opportunity can be,” said 2009 Formula One world champion and Extreme E team owner Jenson Button in a statement.
Australian Molly Taylor, who races for the E.ON Next Veloce team and won the inaugural championship with Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson, said Extreme E had changed the course of her career.
“What Extreme E has proven is that with the right opportunity, exposure, development and investment we can see women reach the top,” she said.
“It can be a difficult cycle to break; you need the seat time to prove your potential, but you need results to attract the support needed to access that very seat time.
“We have built some strong momentum and, whilst this doesn’t alleviate the continuing challenges of motorsport, we are making change.”
Formula One, which has not had a female driver start a race since 1976, has set up the F1 Academy series to help women climb the male-dominated motorsport ladder but a breakthrough still looks a long way off.
The number of girls coming into karting at grassroots level is steadily increasing – reflecting Formula One’s growing popularity through the Netflix docu-series “Drive to Survive” – and initiatives are multiplying.
Extreme E said its format gave female drivers increased seat time, encouraged teams to invest equally in training and development, pitted women against top male drivers and allowed data sharing to drive improved performance.
“Our sporting format is more than just a race, it’s a statement,” said founder Alejandro Agag.
“By levelling the playing field, Extreme E has demonstrated that the gender gap in performance isn’t a matter of ability, but opportunity and investment.”
