Christine GZ returns to Championship Driver role in Chile

Christine GZ will once again serve as Extreme E‘s female Championship Driver for the 2023 season-ending Copper X Prix, repeating a role she coincidentally held at the 2022 finale. Patrick O’Donovan remains the male reserve driver.

“I am delighted to be back in the Extreme E paddock once again,” said GZ. “It all feels so familiar, like one big family, and I am really excited to get back behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21 for the season finale. It is a great championship to be a part of, and having carried out the role of Championship Driver previously I am delighted to do so once more.

“The course in Chile is one of the most exciting on the Extreme E calendar, so I am eager to jump back in and work alongside Patrick to help deliver one of the best events yet.”

GZ began the 2023 season with Carl Cox Motorsport, scoring a third-place finish alongside Timo Scheider at Race #1 of the Hydro X Prix. She was replaced by Lia Block for the rest of the calendar as she planned to focus on rally raid, which culminated in her being accepted for the 2024 Dakar Rally. GZ and former Chip Ganassi Racing driver Sara Price will join Nasser Al-Attiyah, Mattias Ekström, Cristina Gutiérrez, Jutta Kleinschmidt, Sébastien Loeb, Carlos Sainz, Laia Sanz, and Molly Taylor as Extreme E competitors with Dakar experience; Al-Attiyah, Ekström, Gutiérrez, Loeb, Sainz, and Sanz are also racing the 2024 edition.

She has raced in Extreme E since the inaugural season in 2021, driving for XITE Energy Racing that year followed by the first four races of the 2022 season for Veloce Racing.

She is the fifth different Championship Driver in 2023, joining O’Donovan, Andreas Bakkerud, Tommi Hallman, and Tamara Molinaro. Championship Drivers serve as course evaluators and reserves in the event of injury to the main roster.

The Copper X Prix will take place on 2/3 December.