Team KMS triumphs in Desert X Prix Race 1
It might have been a new team, but it was a familiar result for Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky as they won Race 1 of the 2025 Desert X Prix in Qiddiya City for Team KMS.
In the Redemption Race, for the four teams that didn't make it to the Final after qualifying, Jameel Motorsport's Kevin Hansen made a strong start to lead early on.
Competing in a spare car after a qualifying roll for Molly Taylor, Hansen and the team were clearly unfazed and entered the mid-race switch with a lead of 2.822s over JBX Powered by Team Monaco's Tommi Hallman.
Hallman was being caught by Carl Cox Motorsport's Timo Scheider towards the end of the second lap, but a spin for the German at Gate 19 halted his charge.
Following the driver switch, reserve driver Claire Schönborn – deputising for Taylor – took to the track for her very first competitive Extreme E laps. Her inexperience barely showed, though, and she built on the advantage that Hansen had established in the opening laps to cross the line seven seconds clear of JBX driver Christine GZ.
STARD's Patrick O'Donovan and Amanda Sorensen mounted a late challenge on JBX and crossed the line just 0.078s behind the second placed finisher.
Carl Cox rounded out the field after Klara Andersson had a second spin for the team at Gate 15 on lap 3, having been on two wheels four gates earlier.
The Final began as a tense affair with ACCIONA | SAINZ XE TEAM's Laia Sanz making a strong start from the far left grid position to take an early lead.
Kristoffersson didn't relent though – taking the inside line, he snuck through to first by the end of the long but tightening first turn. In the pass, both the Acciona Sainz car and the KMS machine made contact twice, with the Spanish entry suffering right rear suspension damage as a result, damage that would end its race on the first lap.
After that, KMS was in control, with Kristoffersson entering the Switch Zone with a 4.886s lead. Team EVEN, run out of the same KMS stable as the lead entry, held second throughout, and eventually finished second, 6.235 back after Ahlin-Kottulinsky took over the KMS entry and Hedda Hosås assumed control of the EVEN car.
Team Hansen's Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings had a quiet run to third, avoiding the first corner drama, and settling into a consistent rhythm to bring the car home.
The victory, a 10th for Johan Kristoffersson, extended his record as Extreme E’s most successful driver while his seventh victory alongside Ahlin-Kottulinsky increased their record as the driver pairing with the most victories (seven). With 15 podiums, Ahlin-Kottulinsky has more podiums than any other driver in Extreme E.
For Bakkerud, he claimed his first Extreme E podium in his 13th start, setting a new record for most races before a podium – beating Christine GZ’s previous record of 12. A fitting record for the man who typically races with No. 13 in rallycross. And for Hosås it was a best result in Extreme E, and her first podium since the 2022 Island X Prix I.
For the first time since Extreme E’s debut race in Al-'Ula, three new teams finished on the podium with winners KMS, EVEN, and Team Hansen all competing for the first time this weekend – it was also a first podium since the the 2022 Island X Prix I to feature two new driver pairings.
Racing continues with the Desert X Prix Race 2 on Sunday with Qualifying starting at 8:00 AM local time (KSA).
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