23 year old Italian rally and rallycross driver Tamara Molinaro joins Extreme E as "Championship Driver" for the rest of the 2021 season and replaces Jutta Kleinschmidt, who was recently announced as team driver for ABT CUPRA XE. Tamara now is the new female joker driver and race course advisor, alongside Timo Scheider.
The new face of Extreme E is no unknown to the world of rally and rallycross. 23 year old Italian Tamara Molinaro joins Extreme E as new championship driver alongside Timo Scheider as joker driver and race course advisor - a role previously held by Jutta Kleinschmidt, now announced by ABT CUPRA XE as team driver for the rest fo the season.
“I have been working really hard to try and get involved in Extreme E over the past few months as I’ve followed the series with huge interest since the beginning." - said Molinaro.
"I think it is one of the most exciting and fair racing formats ever and the thought of being able to race with a purpose gives me extra motivation."
Tamara started racing at 11 and won the Ladies Trophy in the 2017 European Rally Championship as second youngest driver after Catie Munnings. She won four out of eight rounds and topped most of the stages of the 2017 season.
In 2018, she moved up to WRC2 with a Ford Fiesta R5 at Rally Sweden and joined in 2019 the Titans RX as the only female driver. Molinaro won several qualification races and finished 5th at the end of the season, also entering occasional WRC events. Tamara has expericence as co-driver as well: in selected national events, she navígated Craig Breen through the stages.
Last year Tamara competeted in the Italian Gravel Championship and finished the season 2nd place in the U25 standings - and first in the Ladies trophy. This year she continues said campaign and sits 6th in the championship at the moment with a Citroen C3 Rally2.
Molinaro will now enter Extreme E to collect experience and new impressions to further advance along the path of top elite racers of the rally category.
“My goal has always been to make it to the top of the motorsport ladder so the opportunity to work within Extreme E as a Championship Driver is a dream come true, and I will put all my efforts into doing my job in the best way possible. I can’t wait to get started in Greenland!”
The next Extreme E event takes place in Greenland with the Arctic X Prix from 28th to 29th August.