Extreme E: Off Track — Jutta Kleinschmidt

Jutta Kleinschmidt has always had smarts, but did she have skills? At age 30 she decided she had to know, and she traded her high-flying engineering job at BMW for the dust and sand of the Dakar. The rest is history: she smashed through the glass ceiling of the male-dominated off-road scene to become the first and so far only woman to win the Dakar Rally.

Cross-country had its first queen, so when Extreme E appeared on the horizon, the German national couldn’t help but get herself involved as an advisor, championship driver and, unexpectedly, a full-timer for Abt Cupra.

James and Michael sat down for a chat with Jutta to discuss her switch from the factory to the track, her historic Dakar victory and getting thrown in the Extreme E deep end in her happy place in Senegal.

And with one round to go in the inaugural Extreme E season, we check in with the Count Us In challenge to learn how we can all make practical commitments to fight climate change.