Interview: Introducing UIM E1 World Championship co-pilot Lucas Ordóñez

At the top of the high energy world of electric boat racing today stands two Monster Energy athletes – a woman and a man – leading the overall UIM E1 World Championship, presented by PIF.

Longtime Monster Energy athlete, motocross and off-road superstar Sara Price, along with her newly minted Monster Energy-backed co-pilot, Spain’s Lucas Ordóñez, have won the last two E1 contests (Lake Como, Italy and Dubrovnik, Croatia) in their tricked out “Racebird” e-boat. In addition, their team, Angola Westbrook Racing, associated with famed actor Will Smith, lead the QB Tom Brady and hooper LeBron James teams in the overall series standings through three of eight rounds of racing at key locations around the world.

Monster Energy’s Price is certainly well known throughout various motorsport communities like WMX (women’s pro motocross), SCORE Off-Road (Baja) and, most recently, as the top woman competitor in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, competing – and medaling - in the legendary Dakar Rally with the Defender team. Ordóñez, who we’ll introduce there in-depth below, cut his racing chops in go-karts and worked his way up to a number of pro rides, including factory rides with powerhouse programs such as Nissan and Bentley.

Acknowledging both Price and Ordóñez for their combined team efforts in dominating E1 this season, here’s an introduction to Monster Energy’s newest motorsports athlete – Lucas Ordóñez.
 

Monster Energy: Lucas! Right off the rip, congrats on your back-to-back UIM E1 World Championship, presented by PIF, victories at Lake Como (Italy) and this past weekend in Dubrovnik. You and your Angola Westbrook Racing co-pilot, Monster Energy’s Sara Price, are on top of the standings with 101 points, 12 points out front of NFL Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady’s team. You’ve gotta be pumped with this!

Lucas Ordóñez: Heck yes! Back-to-back wins feel great. We know it’s a long season and the competition is really tough, but we’re doing great as a team and finally showing our potential. Sara and I have found the right balance between being fast and consistent when it counts, and in this championship, that’s essential. 

ME: And in some other pretty big news… just prior to the Dubrovnik E1 round you were contacted by Monster Energy and signed as an ‘official’ athlete to the global Monster Energy team. How’d that hit you? 

LO: Actually, I found out in the best possible way. Sara texted me, “Welcome to the Monster Family,” and I just replied, “Wait, what?! No way!” Then I read Joe’s message. This is sick. As a professional racer, joining Monster Energy is huge, and I’m so stoked for what we can do together. Not a bad way to unveil my brand-new Monster livery helmet and win in Dubrovnik that same day! 

ME: To get the Monster Army up to speed on their new teammate, tell us a bit about your background in motorsports. From what your started out on (mini bikes, dirt bikes, go-karts, etc.) to the route you took leading into the initial years of your pro racing career. 

LO: My background is probably a little different from most professional racers. I started racing karts when I was 10 years old, chasing the dream of becoming a professional driver. Like many kids, I spent years trying to find a way into motorsport, but it’s never an easy road.
Then, GT Academy changed my life. It was a program created by Nissan and PlayStation through Gran Turismo, where gamers from around the world competed virtually on the simulator for the chance to become real professional racing drivers. It sounds crazy, but that was exactly the opportunity it gave us. I became the first-ever GT Academy winner, and that opened the door to the career I had been dreaming about since I was a kid.
From there, everything moved very quickly. I had to prove that the speed from Gran Turismo could translate to real race cars, real tracks, and real pressure. Thanks to that opportunity, I went on to race internationally, won the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup world title in LMP2, became GT3 European Champion in 2013, scored multiple podiums at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and spent many years as a Nissan factory driver, including living and racing in Japan, which became a huge part of my career and development as a driver.

Monster Energy: Interesting. Discuss your racing career route following your departure from Nissan.

LO: After my time as a Nissan factory driver, in 2019 I joined Bentley as a factory GT3 driver, and I also raced with the BMW PlayStation team at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Those experiences helped me keep growing across different cars, brands, championships, and some of the toughest races in the world.
So my route was definitely not traditional, but that’s what makes it special. I went from a kid racing karts with a dream, to a Gran Turismo player getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to competing professionally around the world. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m still pushing every day to keep growing and performing at the highest level. 

ME: I think what MonsterEnergy.com readers, and Monster Army members in particular, will find most interesting is your association with the PlayStation 3 Gran Turismo competition. Explain further how you were able to qualify for that popular race series and what it was like racing a ‘Live’ video game so to speak. 

LO: Yeah, that part of my story is still crazy when I think about it. GT Academy. the idea was simple but completely unique: find the fastest Gran Turismo players and give them the chance to become real professional racing drivers. At the time, I was still chasing my dream of becoming a racing driver, but like many young drivers, I didn’t have the budget to continue in the traditional way. Gran Turismo gave me another route. I qualified through the online competition, where thousands of players were fighting for the fastest lap times. From there, the best drivers went into a national final, and then to the GT Academy final, where everything became very real very quickly.
It wasn’t just about being fast on the game. Once you reached the final stages, you had to prove you had the physical condition, the mental strength, the race craft, and the ability to adapt from the simulator to a real race car. That was the biggest challenge: showing that the skills from Gran Turismo could translate to real speed, real pressure, and real consequences on track. Racing a “live” video game, as you say, was an amazing feeling because Gran Turismo was so realistic for that time. You could learn tracks, braking points, racing lines, and car control, but once you got into the real car, everything was more intense: the G-forces, the heat, the noise, the fear, the adrenaline. Suddenly it wasn’t a reset button anymore. Every lap counted.
Winning the first GT Academy changed my life. It took me from playing Gran Turismo at home to becoming a Nissan factory driver, racing at Le Mans, winning championships, and building a professional career around the world. 
 

ME: You mentioned the 24 Hours of Le Mans events for various Nissan-backed teams. Le Mans is such an epic event. Talk a bit about those years and making the podium (2011) in motorsports’ pinnacle endurance racing event. 

LO: Le Mans is one of the biggest races in the world, so for me to be there after coming from GT Academy was very emotional. A few years before, I was racing on Gran Turismo at home, and suddenly I was on the grid at Le Mans, sharing the track with some of the best drivers in the world. Those years taught me a lot. Finishing on the podium in 2011 was huge for me. It felt like proof that this crazy journey from PlayStation to professional racing was real. Standing there at Le Mans is something I will never forget.
 

ME: The following year, 2012, you also scored a podium finish at the Dubai 24 Hours. Talk a bit about that race as well, how it compares to the Le Mans, and how you were able to achieve podium success at that race as well. 

LO: Dubai 24 Hours was a very different race compared to Le Mans, but still really intense. Le Mans is the pinnacle of endurance racing, with huge pressure, big manufacturers, and an incredible level of competition. Dubai has a more amateur feeling in some ways, but it is still a proper 24-hour race, and the conditions make it very tough.
The heat in Dubai is a big challenge, especially inside the car, and with so many cars on track you have to stay focused all the time. What made that race really special for me was sharing the car with a full GT Academy champions lineup. That was super cool because we all came from the same program, and to stand on the podium together showed again what GT Academy was capable of. It was another great endurance racing experience and a really nice result for all of us.
 

ME: Switching race vehicles here now, tell us how you ended up getting involved in with the UIM E1 World Championship – and, ultimately – how you and Sara Price got together on the Angola Westbrook Racing team, and co-owner actor Will Smith. 

LO: I first heard about E1 when Rafa Nadal joined the championship as a team owner in 2022. From that moment, I was really curious about it and I tried everything I could to reach Alejandro Agag and understand how I could get involved. Then I got the call to join the E1 Academy, and I was super excited. It was a completely new challenge for me after so many years racing cars, but that is also what made it so interesting. The Academy took place in Lake Maggiore, Italy, and that is where I met Sara.
We did the whole Academy together there, learning the boats, understanding the championship, and adapting to a totally different way of racing. Sara and I come from very different backgrounds, but from the beginning we worked really well together. That connection became the start of our journey with Angola Westbrook Racing, and to now be racing for a team connected with Will Smith is something very special. 
 

ME: Great story! Have you got to hang out much with Will Smith? I seems like he’s really into it, especially with the e-banter going back and forth between him and the team chasing you in the overall E1 point standings, Tom Brady and Team Brady. Give us a good Will Smith story!

LO: Will has been really cool with us. Of course, he is a huge star, but with the team he feels very close and very natural. He follows what we are doing, he sends messages, and you can feel he really cares about the project. For me it is already pretty special when Will Smith is texting the team after a race or celebrating a result with us. That gives you a lot of energy.
And of course the banter with Tom Brady and Team Brady is fun. They are right there fighting with us in the championship, so it makes everything even more exciting. We want to keep winning, keep pushing, and hopefully give Will more reasons to smile. 
 

ME: So (laughter)… what’s it like having a co-pilot that could smoke you on a dirt bike? 

LO: Sara and I did the E1 Academy together back in 2023, and already then we knew we could do something big together. From the beginning, we had a good connection and a lot of respect for each other. She is a pure racer. Super competitive, very talented, and honestly it feels like she never has pressure. She actually enjoys the stressful moments, and that is something very special. In E1, that mentality is really important because everything happens so fast and you have to stay calm when it counts. And yes, she could definitely smoke me on a dirt bike! I have a lot of respect for her world and everything she has done. I can’t wait to organize a trip to Havasu River and spend some proper time with Sara, Ricky, their donkeys, and do some moto, buggy, wake surf…
 

ME: Yeah, make sure the video cameras are rolling for that Havasu trip! Back to E1, what’s been the strategy for you and Sara regarding taking an equally prepared boat, the RaceBird, and putting it on top of the podium for two straight events? (Emphasize how the boats are all exactly the same, run the same speed, and the strategy it takes to put the RaceBird out front – and keep it there through the checkers.) 

LO: In E1, the boats are exactly the same for everyone. Same RaceBird, same power, same speed. So the difference comes from the small details: preparation, propeller choice, strategy, and execution. The only thing we can really adjust is the propeller. There are four different types, and each one gives you something different depending on the conditions: more top speed, more corner speed, more stability, or less drag. Salt water, fresh water, rough water, flat water — all of that matters when you make the choice. But honestly, the most important points are the starts and how you use the short, regular, and long laps. Track position is everything because you want to keep the RaceBird in clean water. If you are in dirty water behind another boat, it’s much harder to be fast and consistent.
So our strategy has been to start well, put ourselves in the right position early, and then use the different lap options at the right moment. Sara and I are trying to be fast, but also smart. When all the boats are equal, you can’t rely on extra speed. You have to make good decisions, stay calm under pressure, and execute every lap until the checkered flag.
 

ME: Seriously interesting stuff. … For those who haven’t attended a race, how intense is the racing? Do you guys bang into each other like NASCAR, or do the boats rip apart when there’s contact? 

LO: The racing is very intense, and I think as the seasons go on, all the pilots are taking more risks and getting closer to each other. That is natural. Everyone understands the boats better now, and the level keeps going up. The starts are probably the craziest part because it is so important to be P1 after Turn 1. We are constantly banging each other there, fighting for position and clean water. In Lake Como, we had three big contacts on our foils, so yes, the racing is very real! Of course, you don’t want to damage the RaceBird, but at the same time you have to be aggressive. You cannot win by being too polite. It is a mix of control, risk, and instinct and honestly, it is a lot of fun.
 

ME: Back to your new appointment to Monster Energy… I’m sure you’ve checked out MonsterEnergy.com and the myriad of different athletes and events Monster Energy’s involved with around the world. From all the sports other than four wheel motorsports – skateboarding, surf, snowboarding, freeskiing, SX/MX, bull riding, MMA, etc. – what ones do you enjoy following the most?

LO: I follow a lot of sports, and that’s one of the coolest things about Monster Energy the variety of athletes is insane. Recently I’ve been really into Supercross and SuperMotocross. The racing is brutal and so exciting to watch. I also love snow sports, and freeskiing is something I always dreamed of doing properly… but those guys are crazy! 
 

ME: And even Crazier when they’re hopped up on Monster Energy! (laughter) Growing up in Spain, what action sports did you participate in when you were a kid? And did you play any organized sports while you were in school, such as soccer or basketball? 

LO: I’ve always loved action sports. Wakeboarding, wake surfing, snowboarding, skiing… I enjoy anything with speed, balance, and a bit of risk. When I was a kid, I tried different things, but racing was always the main passion. I also tried ice hockey for one season, which was very cool, but not the easiest sport to play in Spain! And yes, like most kids in Spain, I played football at school. I was a goalkeeper but not with great talent I would say. (laughter) 
 

ME: When you’re not racing electric boats, how do you spend your days (work & family)? 

LO: When I’m not racing electric boats, I’m still very connected to motorsport. I work as a Gran Turismo ambassador and commentator for the Gran Turismo World Series, so I’m lucky to keep traveling around the world and stay close to the racing and gaming community that changed my life. But the most important thing for me is my family. I have three daughters, and we love to travel together and spend time at our little ranch. We have dirt bikes there, so hopefully one day Sara can come over and teach my girls how to ride properly. 
 

ME: Right on, Lucas. Again, on behalf of everyone at Monster Energy here in Europe and around the world, welcome to the Monster Army and we all look forward to your continued success on the UIM El World Championship tour! 

LO: Thank you so much. I’m honestly so stoked to join Monster Energy and become part of the Monster Army. Monster has always represented the kind of sports, athletes, and lifestyle that I love, so to now be part of that family is very special. I’m really excited for what’s ahead, and hopefully Sara, the team, and I can keep pushing, keep winning, and give everyone at Monster more reasons to celebrate this season.
 

Up next… UIM E1 World Championship racing returns to action July 17-18 with the E1 Monaco 2026. For more information on E1 World Championship racing, link to: www.e1series.com