Extreme H: Final teams and drivers grid for hydrogen’s first World Cup
Eight teams, sixteen drivers and a brand-new hydrogen race car. That’s the line-up for the first ever FIA Extreme H World Cup, which gets underway this week (9th-11th Oct) in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia.
It’s the same off-road format as Extreme E – only this time the primary propulsion method of batteries are replaced by 400-bar hydrogen tanks feeding a 400 kW fuel-cell system.
The result is a 550-horsepower off roader called the Pioneer 25, which looks like a lunar rover and emits only pure water out of the exhaust.
So who’s in?
Jameel Motorsport
Saudi Arabia’s first hydrogen racing team, Jameel Motorsport joins Extreme H with Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor at the wheel.
Hansen, from Sweden, is a World Rallycross race winner and one of the category’s most consistent front-runners, while Taylor – the 2021 Extreme E champion with Rosberg X Racing – brings top-level rally pedigree from Australia and international events including the WRC.
As the first Saudi team in the series, Jameel Motorsport represents Abdul Latif Jameel Motors – Toyota’s regional distributor and mobility investor – and will make its hydrogen debut on home soil at Qiddiya.
Kristoffersson Motorsport (KMS)
One of Scandinavia’s most successful privateer outfits, Kristoffersson Motorsport fields Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky.
Founded in 1989 by Tommy Kristoffersson, the Swedish team has raced across touring cars, Porsche Carrera Cup and World Rallycross, where Johan has taken five world titles. Åhlin-Kottulinsky, touring car and rallycross driver, has been part of the Rosberg X Racing Extreme E squad and remains one of Sweden’s top female competitors.
The pair already have winning form – taking the Desert X Prix victory earlier this year – and arrive in Extreme H as early favourites.
Team EVEN (operated by KMS)
Team EVEN, operated by Kristoffersson Motorsport, brings Hedda Hosås and Ole Christian Veiby together under the Norwegian talent agency EVEN Management.
Hosås raced for Veloce Racing and RXR in Extreme E, and was among the first drivers to test the hydrogen Pioneer 25 prototype during its development. Veiby has competed in WRC2 and World Rallycross, giving the team a strong balance of speed and technical understanding.
Hansen Motorsport
A mainstay of rallycross for more than three decades, Hansen Motorsport fields Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings for the hydrogen championship.
The team was founded by 14-time European Rallycross Champion Kenneth Hansen and 1994 ERA European Cup Group N winner Susann Hansen, and is now led by their son and Extreme E race winner Timmy Hansen as Team Principal.
Bakkerud is a European Rallycross Champion with World RX experience, while Munnings – a former European Rally Champion and Extreme E regular – continues her partnership with the team into the hydrogen era.
Carl Cox Motorsport
Carl Cox Motorsport, created by British DJ and long-time racing enthusiast Carl Cox, returns with Timo Scheider and Klara Andersson.
Scheider is a two-time DTM Champion turned off-road specialist, while Andersson made history as the first woman to compete full-time in World Rallycross and has taken podiums in Extreme E with ABT CUPRA.
Founded in 2013, the team began as a grassroots sidecar sponsorship in New Zealand and has since grown into a recognised name across global motorsport.
JBX
Originally launched in 2021 by 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button as JBXE, the rebranded JBX team joins forces with Team Monaco for Extreme H.
The driver line-up features Tommi Hallman, rallycross racer from Finland, and Christine GZ (Giampaoli Zonca), an Italian-Spanish rally and off-road driver who’s competed in every season of Extreme E.
JBX’s Team Monaco link brings in co-founders Maxime Nocher and Chris Taylor, an early investor in Formula E.
STARD
Austria’s STARD – Stohl Advanced Research and Development – enters with Patrick O’Donovan and Amanda Sorensen.
Part of the Manfred Stohl Group, STARD has long been involved in FIA hydrogen development projects and electric rallycross, bringing deep technical experience to the grid.
O’Donovan is the reigning British Rallycross Champion, while Sorensen, from the US, raced with Chip Ganassi Racing in Extreme E 2023 and continues her off-road progression in Extreme H.
ZEROID QEV Motorsport
ZEROID QEV Motorsport, based in Barcelona, is the competition arm of QEV Technologies – the engineering firm behind the original Extreme E chassis and several Formula E programmes.
The team’s hydrogen line-up features Fraser McConnell, the Jamaican Red Bull Rallycross driver who has also raced in Nitro Rallycross and Extreme E, alongside American driver Grey Leadbetter, who makes her series debut.
