Webb and Kimiläinen latest to join ever-growing EGT Drivers' Club 10.01.2017: The Electric GT Championship, the world’s first 100% zero-emissions GT championship, is delighted to announce Oliver Webb and Emma Kimiläinen

The Electric GT Championship, the world’s first 100% zero-emissions GT championship, is delighted to announce Oliver Webb and Emma Kimiläinen as the newest members of the EGT Drivers’ Club.





World Endurance Championship LMP1 racer Webb and touring car driver Kimiläinen form the 12th and 13th confirmed entrants for the inaugural EGT season, which will utilise the Tesla Model S P100D.



The duo join other EGT Drivers’ Club members; Stefan Wilson, Vicky Piria, Dani Clos, Leilani Munter, Tom Coronel, Alice Powell, Tom Onslow-Cole, Ricardo Teixeira, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Kevin Ceccon and Stephen Cox, in entering the ‘Age of Light’, using sustainable power to protect future generations.



Webb (@oliverjameswebb), 25, from Manchester, England, climbed the motorsports ladder to land himself an LMP1 drive in 2016 and continues to expand his horizons. The Brit enjoyed a successful junior career in single-seaters, beating Sauber F1 driver Felipe Nasr to finish third in the British Formula 3 Series, before turning to endurance racing



. In his first season of prototype racing he won the European Le Mans Series and recorded a class podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Webb also won the highly regarded Dubai 24 Hours in 2015, which fellow EGT driver Onslow-Cole also competed in.



Oliver Webb said: "I'm very excited to be part of such a new world of racing. I'm looking forward to my first run in the Tesla Model S P100D to experience what the future of GT racing could be.”



Kimiläinen (@emmakimilainen), 27, from Helsinki, was a consistent front-runner during her junior career in Finland, and was rewarded with a DTM test for Audi. She impressed during her year in Formula Palmer Audi, in which she finished fifth in the 2009 standings, before deciding to take a break from motorsport, during which she became a mother.



 Since 2014 Emma has continued to put in competitive performances in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, where she has taken multiple podiums and, alongside her racing, hosts Finnish TV and radio shows.



Emma Kimiläinen said: “The idea of combining racing with weekend-long festivals for technology and innovation for sustainability is really making this business and marketing-minded woman thrilled. I have waited to make a comeback to bigger European racing and think now is the right time. I can't wait to test the EGT Tesla S P100D on track.



"As a mother I think even more about what is left to the future generations. The world is changing and I'm delighted that the EGT is one of the front-runners of making the change in the motorsport industry. I’m fortunate to have experienced the progress of motor racing for over 25 years and I'm really honoured that I was invited to be a part of the ‘Age of Light’."



Electric GT Championship CEO Mark Gemmell added: ”It’s great to be bringing in two fantastic drivers in Emma and Oliver.  Both share our vision of a more sustainable future and offer things that we consider to be very important in achieving our goal.  We are now fast-approaching the 20 drivers and interest over the New Year continues to rise!”



On 12-15 January, the EGT Championship will be presented at the world-famous Autosport International and will be on show in the Live Action Arena. For more information on EGT’s involvement at the show, head over to www.autosportinternational.com.




The EGT Championship will consist of 20 international drivers, both male and female, racing for 10 professional teams in identical Tesla Model S machines equipped with the latest OMP safety equipment and running on bespoke Pirelli tyres. EGT will visit seven classic European circuits in its inaugural season, including Paul Ricard, Barcelona, Assen and the Nürburgring, before staging three non-championship races in the Americas.





About Electric GT Championship – New zero-emissions motorsport category promoting sustainable mobility


The championship was announced on 9 March 2016, with the Tesla Model S P100D chosen for the first season, which will get underway in 2017. There will be 10 teams and 20 drivers, who will compete across seven races during season one.



Weekends will consist of a 20-minute practice session, 60-minute qualifying, a day race (60km) and a dusk race (60km). Each round will be a weekend-long festival of technology and innovation for sustainability, in and around the circuits. Fans will be able to stream races via Periscope, Twitch and YouTube, as well as interact directly with the teams using social media platforms.
 
 
 
 
 
- Anthony Peacock, photo Electric GT