Swedish rising star Klara Andersson will return to ABT CUPRA XE after stunning the Extreme E paddock with a podium and a victory out of two rounds in 2022.
Young Swede Klara Andersson was undoubtedly one of the stars of the past Extreme E season: with one podium and a win to her name in just two participations, Andersson quickly showed her talent and impressed the whole paddock, unsurprisingly earning the confirmation at ABT Cupra XE for the upcoming season. The rising star of World Rallycross joined the championship at the penultimate round in Uruguay, stepping in for Dakar legend Jutta Kleinschmidt at ABT Cupra. When she finally got behind the wheel of the electric SUV Odyssey21 at the Copper X Prix, Andersson immediately bagging a podium. Strong of her third place at debut, the Swedish ace was confirmed for the season finale at Punta del Este, Uruguay, where she once again stole the show and took her first victory in Extreme E, at only her second start. ABT Cupra XE has now officially announced that Klara Andersson will again partner five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al Attiyah in the 2023 Extreme E season, the third in the championship's history. “It is an amazing team - I have done two races already for ABT Cupra XE stepping in for Jutta, and those went very well", Klara said. "I am extremely excited to join full-time and race alongside Nasser again. He’s an amazing driver and person overall, and so I am really happy to continue the momentum that we got last year in Chile and Uruguay." “We want to fight for the Extreme E title. That’s what every team wants and we will do our best to perform as well as we can." The CUPRA Tavascan XE electric SUV will sport a new design which will be shown for the first time at this weekend's Race of Champions in Sweden. The look of the new off-road vehicle is inspired by the future production car Tavascan, Cupra's second all electric model, which will be launched in 2024. The livery will also reflect the brand's new identity, matching the Formula E team, also run by ABT. “The fantastic season finale with the triumph of Klara and Nasser makes you want more – that’s also why it was clear to us that we would continue our involvement in Extreme E", commented Hans-Jürgen Abt, CEO of ABT SE.
"With Klara and Nasser, we have the ideal team on board", echoed Thomas Biermaier, Team Principal and CEO of ABT Sportsline. "Anyone who has ever seen the two of them together on the track knows how concentrated they are and how much fun they have working together. I am sure that we will see this spirit in good results.” Andersson, 22, certainly left her mark on ABT Cupra's season in Extreme E, finishing eighth in the drivers' standings with also two races under her belt and helping the German squad to sixth in the team's championship. “I am happy about the trust of the crew, Cupra and the whole team,” says Andersson. “Nasser and I were already on the same wavelength during our first weekends and also had a lot of fun – it’s nice that we now have the whole season ahead of us.” Equally impressive in her first full-season in WRX, Andersson repeatedly made history in 2022 and her return to Extreme E is one further for her career. The season is scheduled to start in March in Saudi Arabia for the Desert X Prix, first of a five-event calendar. Klara Andersson is one of the four female drivers already announced: Molly Taylor will join Veloce Racing, while Emma Gilmour and Catie Munnings both return to NEOM McLaren and Genesys Andretti respectively.