Hydrogen power, star-studded teams and a new chapt...

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Going down October September 11, Excessive H retains the brief, fan-friendly cadence and mixed-gender lineups acquainted to Excessive E however shifts the highlight to hydrogen fuel-cell racing, putting sustainable expertise on the centre of a brand new pioneering occasion.

It’s solely becoming that such an bold and trailblazing event is staged at Qiddiya Metropolis, the place the identical adjectives apply. Qiddiya Metropolis is a flagship venture of Saudi Imaginative and prescient 2030, constructed round sport, leisure, tradition, and dwelling, with motorsport positioned alongside an Esports & Gaming district, golf programs, and theme parks to ultimately flip race weekends right into a vacation spot expertise.

Whereas Excessive H takes place on the brand new off-road course, Qiddiya Metropolis’s Velocity Park Observe, forecast to open in 2027, indicators the lengthy sport. It is going to comprise 21 corners, 80 garages, projected prime speeds past 325 km/h (202 m/h), and a world-first 70-metre “Blade” – a cantilevered Flip 1 that threads the circuit by surrounding points of interest. The Velocity Park Observe will likely be purpose-built to host blue-riband classes, together with future System 1 races, and underlines the route of journey for Saudi’s motorsport scene.

Excessive H in motion

Picture by: Excessive H

Excessive H is the subsequent cease on this thrilling journey. Time Trials, Head-to-Head duels, and Multi-Automotive races present the preliminary challenges earlier than an eight-car, winner-takes-all World Cup Last. These compact periods are designed to reward fast adaptability as a lot as outright tempo. Winners of every session are awarded 10 factors, runners-up obtain 9 factors, and so forth, with bonus factors on provide throughout the occasion to maintain the stakes stay.

Given the give attention to the groundbreaking sustainability expertise, there may be loads of consideration on the automotive. The 400kW Pioneer 25 is a purpose-built hydrogen fuel-cell off-roader with entrance and rear 200 kW e-motors, a Symbio gas cell, and acceleration that places it within the body for short-burst multi-car racing.

The automotive is designed to excel on the Qiddiya Metropolis course – a technical and high-profile circuit set beneath the spectacular Tuwaiq mountains and described as “the world’s greatest off-road racetrack” by James Taylor, the Excessive E and Excessive H Chief Championship Officer.

The three.021km loop is jump-heavy and momentum-sensitive, rewarding exact landings, assured braking over crests, and clear rhythm by the snaking mid-sector. The Pioneer 25’s upgraded FOX suspension, instantaneous torque, and refined vitality/thermal administration ought to assist groups assault the jumps, stabilise landings, and carry velocity the place hesitation may price locations.

The eight groups making ready to sort out this distinctive problem gained’t be missing for star energy. Staff Hanson fields Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings; Kristoffersson Motorsport is represented by Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky; Carl Cox Motorsport pairs Timo Scheider and Klara Andersson; and JBX powered by Staff Monaco brings Tommi Hallman and Christine GZ. The native headline is Jameel Motorsport, the primary Saudi group on the grid, with Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor forming a confirmed, title-winning partnership.

Excessive H element

Picture by: Excessive H

The Excessive H World Cup will present a glimpse of the long run, not solely of sustainable racing however of motorsports in Saudi Arabia. Following the arrival of System E in 2018, the Dakar Rally in 2020, and System 1 in 2021, Qiddiya Metropolis is about to symbolize the subsequent main landmark for motorsport within the Kingdom, beginning with Excessive E and now Excessive H.

Inside this wider context, Excessive H appears like a marker for the place the game is heading. Hydrogen racing slots naturally into Saudi Arabia’s broader shift towards sustainable, tech-led occasions, and Qiddiya Metropolis’s “play” idea provides that transition a bodily house; the place motorsport sits alongside tradition, leisure, and on a regular basis life.

It additionally indicators a rustic intent on shaping the way forward for world racing. If Excessive H proves its idea on Saudi soil, it is going to underscore a easy level: innovation and ambition can share the identical observe, and Qiddiya Metropolis is designed to make that convergence really feel everlasting.