Swiss-based food company SUN AG will field an Extreme E programme for the 2024 season dubbed SUN Minimeal Team. Timo Scheider and Klara Andersson will serve as drivers.
The Minimeal is SUN AG’s feature product, consisting of pocket-sized snacks that provide 100 kcal of energy apiece. They are plant-based foodstuffs drawing from sources like sunflowers, poppy speeds, and kale and mushroom powder. The company boasts that a person could consume eight Minimeals to cover the daily requirement of essential nutrients, while two Minimeals can provide a single sitting’s worth of food, making it ideal for those looking to lose weight or looking for easier healthy eating alternatives.
“Especially in racing, a performance-supporting diet is extremely important. SUN Minimeal is the simplest and safest way to eat healthily and sustainably,” said SUN CEO Wolfgang Grabher. “The special thing about it is that it contains all the natural nutrients in the right amount and with a low calorie content. The meal is especially appreciated by people who have little time, travel a lot and don’t want to miss out on a healthy diet.
“Our involvement in Extreme E will help us to globally present our innovation for healthy nutrition and our mission to reduce nutritional resources by 90 percent and reach up to 2.1 billion households.”
Scheider recently spent the 2023 season with Carl Cox Motorsport, then also in their maiden season, scoring a podium at the first Hydro X Prix alongside Christine GZ. He and Lia Block finished the year for the team, placing them ninth in the championship. He has been involved with the series since 2021 as a Championship Driver before competing for XITE Energy Racing the following year, bagging a runner-up finish in his racing début.
Andersson was also a Championship Driver before hooking with ABT CUPRA XE for the final two rounds in 2022, finishing third and winning. This translated into running the full calendar for the team in 2023, where she and a mix of Nasser Al-Attiyah, Sébastien Loeb, and Adrien Tambay finished sixth in the standings with two podiums. ABT CUPRA departed the series at season’s end.
Both Scheider and Andersson also compete in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Scheider finished fourth in the 2023 RX1e standings with a win in South Africa and was voted Driver of the Year by fans, while Andersson placed seventh in points. The previous year, Andersson became the first woman to score a World RX podium.
“Despite being a new team in the championship, SUN Minimeal Team arrives with plenty of experience and race-winning pedigree in its line-up, so we hope they will be fighting up at the sharp end of the field when the new season begins next month in Saudi Arabia,” said series boss Alejandro Agag. “Everyone pulling in the same direction is so important in Extreme E, and SUN AG is undoubtedly an organisation which is environmentally conscious and focused on sustainability, sharing the core values of our championship. I look forward to seeing how Timo and Klara fare behind the wheel and SUN Minimeal Team battling for podiums and victories in 2024, as we count down to our fourth Extreme E season.”