Young electric boat racing series E1 continues to garner star power as it continues its inaugural UIM World Championship season. Actor, producer, and musician Will Smith and his team, Westbrook Racing, have joined E1 to compete against several other big names in sports and entertainment.
The UIM E1 World Championship is a new electric racing boat series first announced back in 2022 that kicked off its inaugural season this past February with the Jeddah GP in Saudi Arabia. Since its inception, E1 co-founders Rodi Basso and Alejandro Agag have put together an impressive roster of team owners.
In the past year, we’ve seen E1 add teams owned by sports legends Rafael Nadal, Didier Drogba, and the NFL’s Tom Brady to the race card, as well as Formula 1 veteran Sergio Perez, superstar DJ Steve Aoki, and cricket star Virat Kohli who is responsible for Team Blue Rising.
In December 2023, the league announced musician Mark Anthony had joined as the owner of Team Miami, setting the playing field at eight teams. They would end up placing second in Jeddah behind Team Brady, with Team Rafa taking the podium in third.
Today, the E1 Series has announced another famous entertainer joining as a team owner – Will Smith.
Will Smith’s Westbrook Racing to compete in UIM E1 Series
Per a release from E1 earlier today, Oscar-winning actor Will Smith has joined the league as owner of Westbrook Racing, named after the Fresh Prince’s global entertainment company, Westbrook Inc. E1 states that the formation of the Westbrook Racing team aligns with Smith’s “affinity for electric and competitive sports with E1’s mission to accelerate sustainability in marine mobility.”
Despite the featured image above, we won’t see Will Smith competing on the water in an E1 Racebird, but his new team has already recruited its two drivers. Five-time Les Mans racer Lucas Ordoñez joins the squad alongside experience in SuperGT and Formula 3.
Ordoñez will compete alongside Sara Price – a professional racer and stuntwoman with 17 national motocross championships and racing experience in Extreme E and the Dakar Rally. Smith spoke about the opportunity to own a team in E1 and compete:
As a fan of racing, the opportunity to be part of the E1 fleet and play a role in realizing its broader vision got me very inspired. The entire Westbrook team is truly excited to bring Westbrook Racing to the water and join such an amazing group for this race.
This news comes at a perfect time as Will Smith’s team is scheduled to compete in E1’s second race, the Venice GP, which will take place this weekend, May 11 and 12. We will follow the nine-team GP and post a recap to see how Westbrook Racing fares in its first E1 electric boat event.
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