Extreme H Marks Successful Public Debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed
Goodwood, UK, 14 July 2025: Extreme H’s Pioneer 25 has officially completed its highly anticipated public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with the ground-breaking hydrogen-powered race car taking on the famous hillclimb under clear blue skies, in front of thousands of spectators.
The Pioneer 25, developed by Spark Racing Technology, tackled the iconic 1.16-mile hillclimb multiple times across four days, demonstrating strong performance and reliability throughout.
Reflecting on the championship’s landmark debut, James Taylor, Chief Championship Officer of Extreme H, commented: “We couldn’t have asked for a better first outing for the Pioneer 25. The feedback from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, people are genuinely excited about hydrogen’s potential in racing and are really inspired by our amazing female drivers who got to show off exactly what they’re capable of.
“It’s a huge step forward for Extreme H and a sign of what’s to come. Our thanks go to the entire Spark team for their awesome effort in running the car so smoothly all weekend.”
Across the four days of action, the Pioneer 25 not only demonstrated the future of hydrogen racing technology but also made a strong statement with four female drivers behind the wheel, a rare and powerful sight in global motorsport.
British driver Catie Munnings, who opened the hillclimb runs on Thursday, said:
“Driving the Pioneer 25 up the Goodwood hill was such a special moment. I’ve been part of this journey from the early Extreme E days, so to see and hear so much excitement from the fans, makes me really proud of how far we’ve come.”
Spanish driver Cristina Gutiérrez, who took on the hill on Friday, added: To be behind the wheel was a big opportunity to try the new car. It’s been an amazing moment to be here at Goodwood for the first time.
“I enjoyed every metre, with the spectators and big crowds watching the lap was amazing, I will remember it all my life so big thank you to Extreme H and to Spark for the opportunity.”
The Pioneer 25, developed by Spark Racing Technology, is the race car designed specifically for the world’s first hydrogen-powered motorsport, and is built on years of data and innovation from Extreme E.
Equipped with cutting-edge hydrogen fuel cells, powered by green hydrogen gas, the cars emit only water vapour, which can either be consumed or used elsewhere on site for crucial aspects such as car washing.
The vehicle’s peak 400kw (550hp) output is capable of firing the 2200 kilogram, 2.4 metre-wide race car from 0-100kph in 4.5 seconds and scale gradients of up to 130 per cent to help it tackle the toughest terrains with precision and speed.
American driver Amanda Sorensen, who closed out the weekend’s runs, said: “I enjoyed every second of it, it was a really cool experience! It caught me by surprise because it’s my first time driving it on the asphalt and you can actually feel the power, not just from the car as a whole but from each tyre, right down to the ground.
All of the new upgrades for the Pioneer 25 are going to make wheel to wheel action on the race course much more exciting. Even just changing driver position, allowing us drivers better visibility. The controllability is also way better than the Odyssey 21. There are a lot of improvements in this car. You could really slide it around a bit, and brake late, it has really good grip, so it was super fun driving it. I’m looking forward to competitively racing it now!
Swedish star Klara Andersson, who completed runs on Saturday and Sunday, said: “It was amazing to finally achieve my goal of getting behind the wheel of the Pioneer 25, especially at a place like Goodwood. The team behind the Pioneer 25 have put in so much hard work and years of data into thie vehicle, and you can tell by the way it is built and how it feels to test it out.
“It will be even more fun when we get to our first race, and really test it out on a proper Extreme H course, that will be a truly epic experience.”
Following its successful debut, details regarding Extreme H’s kick-off event date and location are being finalised and will be made in the coming weeks as the series prepares to push boundaries in clean energy and debut hydrogen racing.
ENDS