Bottas and Vergne test the Extreme E's Odyssey 21 E-SUV

For six days, the new 100% electric SUV developed by Spark Racing Technology, which will be lined up in the Extreme E peloton from 2021, has passed from hand to hand based on testing of Castle Lastours in the south of France.

A session intended to experience theOdyssey 21, but also to introduce its possibilities to pilots from very different backgrounds.

Thus Valtteri Bottas, current pilot Mercedes-AMG F1, Jean-Eric Vergne, resident of DS Techeetah in Formula E, Timmy Hansen, World RX world champion or his future teammate in the series at Andretti Catie Munnings, Patrik Sandell, Andreas Bakkerud, Oliver Bennett, Sophia Flörsch, Billy Monger and Jérôme d'Ambrosio were able to try their hand at driving the SUV .

Other drivers also rode in the Odyssey 21, but their identities did not want to be revealed by the event organizers.

“It was a very, very good experience, comments Jean-Eric Vergne. I was very pleased with the power, it's completely impressive. It's a totally different world from what I'm used to.

I've never driven “through the doors” before and here you have to slide, it's something I'm discovering and I'm really enjoying. For the first few laps I had to almost relearn how to drive the car because it is so different from the experience in car

So I assessed, took advice and progress came very quickly, which was good. This series is going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to ride again and see even more improvement. »

However, the Frenchman has not yet wished to indicate whether a potential participation was envisaged, while his structure Veloce will be part of the adventure.

“Whether or not I pilot in the series is not decided, proclaims Vergne. I of course want Veloce Racing to win, so I will choose the driver best suited to the task. What I do know though is that we are building a serious team and we can't wait to start the season. »