Hollywood actor, musician and film producer Will Smith has taken on the mission to save the oceans, launching a new team in the UIM E1 World Championship – the world’s first all-electric raceboat Championship.
Westbrook Racing, named after Smith’s global entertainment company, will join the fleet for the second race of E1’s debut season at the E1 Venice GP this weekend, 11th and 12th May.
The Championship sees nine teams go head-to-head in high-octane racing at iconic global cities including Jeddah, Monaco and Hong Kong in a bid to be crowned “Champions of the Water”.
It means Will Smith could very well be cheering on his team when they compete in the Monaco UIM E1 World Championship on 27th July.
The actor joins an impressive roster of team owners in the Championship that include NFL icon Tom Brady, tennis legend Rafael Nadal, international DJ Steve Aoki, footballing superstar Didier Drogba, philanthropist and businessman Marcelo Claure, star cricketer Virat Kohli, F1 hero Sergio Perez and Grammy award-winning musician Marc Anthony.
The arrival of the new team aligns Smith’s affinity for electric and competitive sports with E1’s mission to accelerate sustainability in marine mobility. With over 265M followers across social media, Smith will use his global platform to help elevate the world of electric sports and mobility and the shared goal of creating a more sustainable future.
“As a fan of racing, the opportunity to be part of the E1 fleet and play a role in realising its broader vision got me very inspired,” said Will Smith. “The entire Westbrook team is truly excited to bring Westbrook Racing to the water and join such an amazing group for this race.”
A star line-up
Westbrook Racing will be led on the water by Lucas Ordoñez, who entered professional racing from the virtual world as a GT Academy winner before racing at Le Mans five times, as well as SuperGT and Formula 3, and Sara Price, a professional racer and stuntwoman and winner of 17 national motocross championships, along with performances in Extreme E, the X Games and the Dakar Rally.
Smith is launching the team in conjunction with Westbrook Inc, the media and company he founded with wife Jada Pinkett Smith, Miguel Melendez, and Ko Yada in 2019.
“Will Smith is simply one of the most famous names on the planet. He’s shown throughout his career he is a born winner, so we are incredibly excited to see how this transitions to racing on the water,” said Rodi Basso, co-founder and CEO of E1. “He’s also time and again proven himself as an inspirational force for good in a multitude of ways. Together, we are looking forward to pursuing our joint ambition to progress the electrification of sport and the positive effect this will have on the wider marine industry.”
Kosaku Yada, CEO of Westbrook Inc. added, “We are looking forward to working with E1 co-founders- Rodi Basso and Alejandro Agag – and our investment partners – Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, Alshair Fiyaz and Tommaso Chiabra – to launch Westbrook Racing and to bring entertainment to the electrification of motor sports.”
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Photo source: E1 Series