The new season of Extreme E is about to start and JBXE – Jenson Button’s team – has already defined its drivers. They will be Andreas Bakkerud and Dania Akeel.
For Akeel, this will be her first season in this championship. The Saudi was the first to obtain a license in the country to compete in motorcycle racing, in the UAE National Superseries Ducati Cup in 2019/2020. In 2021, she switched to cars, already competing in the Dakar for South Racing Can-Am in the T3 category. Akeel returned to the iconic race last year, in addition to competing in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.
As for Bakkerud, he has already had two appearances for JBXE last year and now joins the team full-time. He made a name for himself in the World Rallycross Championship, where he fought for the 2019 title until the end with Timmy Hansen, eventually finishing in second place after a dramatic finale in which the two contenders collided.
Button stated in a press release: ‘I am very pleased to welcome Andreas back to JBXE and it’s great to have Dania making her debut in Extreme E with us. I believe we have a strong pair of drivers for 2024. Andreas’ experience with the team gives us a good platform to achieve positive results this season, while Dania has demonstrated her off-road skills in other categories, which will give us a lot of experience for the upcoming season. I am confident that we can start on the right foot at the Desert X Prix, especially at Dania’s home round, and we are really looking forward to the new season’.
