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LONDON (Reuters) -
The new Extreme E electric off-road series has cancelled races
in Brazil's Amazon and Argentina's Patagonia regions due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, with Scotland now a possible alternative, it
said in a statement on Friday.
The Amazon round was scheduled for Oct. 23-24 with the Glacier X
Prix listed for Dec. 11-12.
Extreme E, which uses identical SUVs and includes Britain's
seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton as one of
the team owners, said it had decided to postpone visiting the
region until season two.
"We’ve been closely monitoring the situation regarding all
Extreme E locations for 2021 and have chosen to make this
pre-emptive decision on racing in South America this year," said
Extreme E founder Alejandro Agag.
"Our priority is to deliver a five-race calendar of events which
are safe and responsible for our global participants, partners
and staff to travel to and attend."
Extreme E said alternatives under consideration included the
Western Isles of Scotland ahead of Glasgow hosting the COP26
climate change conference in November.
The series has so far held two rounds -- in Saudi Arabia and
Senegal -- with the third scheduled for Greenland at the end of
August.
Extreme E aims to raise awareness about climate change and
promote sustainability by racing electric SUVs in remote and
harsh environments, with a former mail ship used to transport
cars between locations.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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