Gray Leadbetter on her Extreme E debut

The Jeddah desert marked the setting for Travis Pastrana and Gray Leadbetter’s debuts in the pioneering series, with the American pair impressing at their first event. For Leadbetter in particular, getting behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21 was a long time coming as she continues to grow her fledgling racing career.

In an exclusive interview with Extreme E, Leadbetter looked back on her championship debut, how it felt to be paired with Pastrana and her hopes for the  remainder of the season where she will team up with Jimmie Johnson to take on the rest of the Extreme E field.

Extreme E: When did you first find out you were going to compete in Extreme E for LEGACY M.C.?
Gray Leadbetter: I had been to the Season 2 finale in Uruguay to check out the series previously with the Chip Ganassi Racing team, so I had always been interested in Extreme E. I had such a blast when I went to that event – I knew quite a few people within that team already and straight away I just loved how the racing worked. It was very different from anything I had ever seen. I thought the male and female driver dynamic was really cool and I always kept an eye on what was happening in the series. I have always been interested in it, but I was just looking for the right opportunity to get into it.

I had quite a busy 2023 with a lot of racing commitments and that included working with Travis [Pastrana]. As a result, competing in Extreme E was a little bit on the backburner, and then out of the blue I got a message from Travis asking if I wanted to take part and race in the series! It was incredible. He said ‘do you want to go racing in Saudi Arabia?’ and kept it pretty vague – but I was really up for it!

Jimmie [Johnson] had asked Travis to fill in because Jimmie was competing at Daytona over the same week, and so Travis played a big part in helping me get that seat at LEGACY M.C. It was all a shock and it happened so quickly, but I was so excited to get to Saudi Arabia and race for the team.

Extreme E: What advice did the likes of Jimmie and Travis give you ahead of racing in the series and how important was it to pair up with someone you already knew well for your first X Prix?
Gray Leadbetter: It was quite funny actually as none of us had driven the ODYSSEY 21 before. We were all stepping into the unknown a little bit, so we had to learn together once we got in the car for the first time. We got as much input as we could from the mechanics and from speaking to those around the paddock, but we had not driven in the series before so it was all new. Between Travis and I we managed to get on the pace pretty quickly, which was great! 

As a driver you have to be pretty adaptable when you get behind the wheel to maximise the amount of seat time you get and in Extreme E it is no different. We made the most of our sessions beforehand, and then it was about tweaking what worked best for us as we went along. I think we managed to do that pretty well.

For our first event we focused on staying out of trouble and bringing the car back in one piece, which we accomplished and not by being slow. We did it with plenty of pace as we showed with our Continental Traction Challenge times in Round 2. For a first weekend in an all-new series we were pretty happy with our performance.

Extreme E: Despite it being your series debut, you are no-stranger to off-road racing. What experiences in your career to date helped prepare you first competing in Extreme E?
Gray Leadbetter: Driving off-road cars before, and especially side-by-sides, helped me hugely to get up to speed. There are some similarities in how the car moves out on course and how it is weighted. It’s similar with the sprint cars I’ve driven in terms of track time and preparation. As a driver you have to do your best to nail it down as quickly as possible and then maximise your performance from there.

Essentially, though, everything I’ve taken part in before has been a big help because at the end of the day it is all about driving the car as best as you can.

Extreme E: The series has a gender equal format, a world-first in motorsport. How appealing was that prior to joining the championship and how did it feel to go up against your male counterparts in equal machinery?
Gray Leadbetter: It was so cool. If you take Travis’ goal of beating Mattias [Ekström] for the first time as an example, who would have thought it would come down to pairing up with a female team-mate in electric cars in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert to do it? It was just an incredible opportunity. Getting to race with such a talented driver line-up was amazing.

I would never have thought there would be a series out there like this who would have ‘everybody’ from this type of racing. There are people out there who so many have looked up to for years and years, so to put them all on the grid, and then add in the most talented female racers to the line-up, means there are so many different aspects of racing and motorsport rolled into one championship, which is incredible.

Extreme E: It was a pretty exciting debut weekend for you in Jeddah! Was there a standout moment for you?
Gray Leadbetter: I would have to say the battle with Mattias and the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team. We were a little bit unlucky with the red flag situation as Travis only got one lap out on course in the Round 2 Redemption Race. That definitely shook things up. However, being that close to beating not only NEOM McLaren Extreme E, but winning a race on our first time out, was an incredible feeling. Although it did not finish how we wanted it to, it was so reassuring for us that we were up to speed and on the pace with the more established teams after just a couple of days in the car.

Extreme E: Do you have any specific goals as a team for the rest of the season?
Gray Leadbetter: It is to race as hard as we can and see what happens. That’s the main thing. Jimmie has not competed in off-road racing for a number of years so that is an exciting prospect. He’s one of the best there is in the world and so it is going to be interesting to see him behind the wheel with an off-road racing mindset. We’ll be working hard to get our car in the optimum window and as fast as possible. 

One of the things Travis and I struggled with in Saudi Arabia was nailing the driver change in the Switch Zone and being as fast as the others. That was new to us. Nevertheless, it was a learning, and it is one of the main things I’ll be focussing on to keep us on the pace. I am looking forward to driving together.

Extreme E: There are plenty of races remaining in Extreme E for 2024 including the Season 4 finale in Phoenix, Arizona. How excited are you by the prospect of a home race?
Gray Leadbetter: I am so excited for it! It is going to be a really cool event and I am hoping the track will be awesome. Getting the Extreme E car to the US is long overdue and will make for a pretty amazing spectacle.

Extreme E: The championship is recognised as a motorsport pioneer, especially with its evolution to Extreme H on the horizon. How does it feel to be racing in a series like this, which is full of sustainable technologies and innovation? 
Gray Leadbetter: Getting behind the wheel of a racing car is exciting no matter what and the racing in Extreme E has shown that. To know that we are driving a car like the ODYSSEY 21, which has the speed out on track, is pretty cool. That is especially so for my generation I guess because of what’s happening around the world right now in terms of climate change. It is definitely so cool to see how motorsport is growing and adapting to the health of the planet.

Extreme E: Finally, for Extreme E fans out there, what can they expect from you out on track in 2024?
Gray Leadbetter: To do the best we can out on the course. For any race I do my main goal is to have fun! We are going to have a tonne of fun no matter where we are, what race we are in and where we are on track. That’s my goal!