Legends Will Smith and Rafa Nadal are locked in battle this weekend in Lake Como. Nadal and Smith, owners of Rafa Pilots and Westbrook Racing teams, recently met each other ahead of the E1 Lake Como GP that is taking place this weekend in Cernobbio. It is the world’s first electric raceboat championship. Hosted by the stunning Villa d’Este, this racing series will anchor in Lake Como.
The Mallorcan became a team owner in the UIM E1 World Championship last year. He announced a new E1 Partnership with Sunreef Yachts for five years last June. Apart from Smith, Nadal joined an impressive and famous roaster of team owners, including Didier Drogba, Marcelo Claure, Sergio Perez, and Virat Kohli. Smith joined the E1 in May, expressing an “affinity for electric and competitive sports with E1’s mission to accelerate sustainability in marine mobility.”
At the E1 World Championship, Nadal is supporting the Blue Action E1 programme, created to make a positive impact on local communities through projects aimed at restoring marine ecosystems on the shorelines of coastal towns. “As a professional athlete, I am acutely aware of the positive effect that smaller steps have on improving performance; to see E1 apply this same competitive spirit and approach to optimise performance and efficiency in sustainable marine mobility is good news for our oceans,” he said.
According to the championship organisers, it is hoped that “the creation of an international thought leadership event focused on sport and sustainability” will reach beyond the race. The project brings together leading sustainability experts at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca with the aim of examining the next level of thinking on sustainability issues and highlighting the positive role sport can play in promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.