 Jamaican race car driver Fraser McConnell is inked to deal with the Akshiona Science team for the 2024 Xtreme E-Season. He had a successful debut campaign with Sir Lewis Hamilton's X-44 Vita Carbon team last season, having earned two first and two third place finishes for a total of four times on the podium. McConnell will partner with Laia Sanzu who has been with the team since its inception. He will depart the island on Saturday for the series that starts on February 17 and 18 in Saudi Arabia. He joins us now via Zoom to discuss this latest move. Welcome to the Sports Mag Zone. How are you doing today Fraser? Good, good. Always a pleasure to be on. Thanks for having me. Yeah, always a pleasure to have you on the Sports Mag Zone. Talk to us about this latest move. I thought you were happy with Sir Lewis Hamilton's team. No, it's a big deal. Firstly, we need to thank Sir Lewis again for having me on his team. They unfortunately departed from the championship, so they're no longer competing in Xtreme. The announcements were quite back to back, but there's been a lot of behind the scenes work making this happen for a long time. Carlos Sainz, another childhood hero of mine, is the owner of this team, I say owner of Science Xtreme. He was at all of the races last year, so I was able to get those hero moments out of the way and not before long he became just another legend in the palette. He must have just seen the speed and the talent that I was able to show while racing for Lewis's team, and he knew I didn't have a seat next year and called me up and when the phone rang and he said, I'm afraid that this is Carlos Sainz, I almost dropped off my chair, so it's a really cool experience and I'm going to take this opportunity and make sure I'm in the best of it. Yeah, so many questions. First of all, how long did you know that Lewis Hamilton's team would no longer be part of Xtreme E and was there ever a point you were concerned about whether you would be able to land another team? You know, no one to get into exact timelines, but you know, when you're operating with such a small team, you kind of know what's going on behind the scenes and kind of get hints that you need to start looking elsewhere. Obviously, they were telling me for my best interest and they just started some conversations and a couple, I would say about a month ago, a little bit of a month ago, started conversations with Carlos and Asiyono. So a lot of back and forth. Very cool part is that Red Bull is going to be sponsoring the team, so they'll be a team sponsor. So it'll be the first time Red Bull is coming on board with a team for Xtreme. This is the fourth year and this is the first time it's going to be a Red Bull team. So very big, very big milestone for myself. I'm going to finally get to take that checkbox off my bucket list of putting on a Red Bull hat and a Red Bull helmet before I race. And yeah, that's going to use every opportunity that I have to continue this relationship. Yeah, and first of all, I think it's important to highlight here that you have not been taken up by a low-ranked team. This is a team that was second last year, I think. So I think it says a lot about how they feel about your driving skills that you have been bought here by a top two team. For sure. Last year, I joined the championship winning team. Luis's team won the championship in season two, brought me on board for season three. And we were able to have a lot of great success together. We got two wins as well as two other podiums, third places. There are ten teams in the championship and only four teams for the entire season were able to score a podium. So very, very tight at the top. We really showed class. And it was my rookie season. So racing against a lot of people that had experience within the car, had experience with the race format. And this year, Carlos and Asiona signs have, you know, they trust in me that I have what it takes to help them win the championship this time. And it was a bit, it was a very bitter ending for them last year. It went down to the last race and the position they had in the final would allow them to win overall championship. But mechanical issues and just, I guess, crunch time pressure stopped them from doing that. So they're all going in this year with one goal is to win the championship. And I'm just grateful to be a part of that game plan. Yeah. Frise, you obviously enjoyed your extreme E outings last year and took to it like, you know, like it was comfortable for you. But the Nitro Rally Cross that you, you know, had, you know, come to the fore with, is that still part of your program going into this 2024 season in any way, shape or form? Yes, definitely. So those, those highlights that are playing in the background there now, that's actually my first blog. So go check it out on YouTube and you'll get to see what Nitro Cross is about. So those clips are Nitro Cross. The season is a two year calendar. So this, we're still in the current Nitro Cross championship. It's a 23-24 championship. So we're in going into rounds nine and 10 in Vegas. That's going to be in March 1st and 2nd. So we're at a very tight battle in the top three for the championship. Again, within that series, I've had two race wins and two other podium finishes. So really in the fight, really up in the mix at the top. And to answer your question, yes, we'll be continuing Nitro. And you don't anticipate any clashes because your Saudi Arabia trip for your extreme e-outing is next weekend, but the Nitro Rally Cross assignments will slot in, you know, seemlessly for you that you don't have to, you know, stride the both. Yeah. Thankfully, thankfully, the championships do work very closely together when they're making the calendar. Yes. Some of the races are very tight. So for instance, there's a race in Phoenix. They're planted quite well actually. One weekend is extreme e in Phoenix and the following weekend is Nitro Cross extreme edge in Phoenix. They're exactly in place. So they work well together. Some of the drivers do both. So they don't want to, they don't want to put anything at risk with having one driver to choose between the two. So they know it's better if they work together, which is very good. Yeah. And I put this to you a couple of times that we spoke before, but the stories keep, keep multiplying for us as, as Caribbean potency continues to show itself in the motor racing world because we see what Sarah Mazira has been doing with the Formula Woman Women's Circuit. Alex Powell just last weekend won an F4 event and the Barbadian Zane Maloney now signed up with the Sauber Academy for F1 as a reserve. This is, these are tremendous stories for Caribbean motor racing, aren't they? Fantastic. And also need to mention Sena Somerbel and Tommy Gore. Yes. They are going to go compete in the German Touring Car Championship. And you know, it's, I love this seat. I wish there were more, but you know, this is such great steps in the right direction. And I always say it. And I will always say it. Jamaica is so multi-talented. The Caribbean is multi-talented. You know, once we put our mind to something, we're going to go there and make sure we find our way to get to the top level. And you know, great results for everyone so far. And I'm wishing them nothing but the best going forward. Yeah. You know, we had Alex Powell here in the studio and not this studio when we were at, or old studio at Chalmers Avenue. And it was one of the best interviews I'd ever done. He was, I think, just 14 years old at the time, Alex Powell. And to see his growth and his continued strides in the field of motor racing. I can't say I'm surprised because this is a teenager that is obviously highly skilled and talented. Is he someone that you talk to and encourage as he goes along as well? I have spoken to him a few times. Like I said, you wouldn't think that he's as young as he is. He's so well spoken. You know, he's very experienced as well. He's been doing racing internationally at the top level for a very long time. He has the right support with him. The Mercedes Junior, the Formula One Mercedes Junior Academy has taken him at a very young age and leading him in the right direction with the right support. And you know, he's, right now, he's on track to become a Formula One driver. And it's obviously not easy. But if I was to, if there was a bet for it, I would definitely put my money down. All right, Fraser, we know that you'll travel this weekend and Saudi Arabia is your next stop. We wish you all the best. And of course, we will continue to track your performances on the Extreme E-Circuit and when the Nitro Cross is on as well, because Sportsmax covers them both. And all the best and congratulations once again on your new signing. I appreciate it. Yeah, man. It's a Spanish team, but you can definitely come to see that Jamaica flag flying high on the top seven. As we as we usually do, thanks, Fraser. You're a tremendous advert for Jamaica. We go to break now. We'll be back with more on the Sportsmax zone after this.