Facts and stats

Some quick info about Norway’s Rallycross history.

It may seem somewhat strange these days but Norwegian soil has played no role for Rallycross during the first decade of the sport. Although the first Norwegian Rallycross show event took place on September 1 1972 at the Momarken Travbane (by then a trotting course only) and was won by homeboy Gunnar ‘Kitta’ Kittilsen from Finnish Rally ace Timo Mäkinen and British Formula One pilot Jackie Stewart early races of that kind were rather rare in Norway and only a few drivers became known outside Scandinavia. The likes of Per Engseth, Arne Stenshorne and Einar Sande competed every now and then with their Porsche 911s on the continent, but it was that man Martin Schanche who put Norway in 1978 in the limelight and on the European Rallycross map by winning the first of his total of six FIA ERC titles.

The first ever Norwegian ERC round was held on August 31 1980 at the Lyngås Motorbane at Tranby i Lier between Oslo and Drammen and was won by Swede Per-Inge Walfridsson (Volvo 343 Turbo) in the Touring Car Division and his compatriot Olle Arnesson (Porsche 911 SC) in the GT Division. Ever since there had been ERC rounds at Lyngås (from 1980 till 2004) and Momarken (2005 till 2008), while the country lost its regular European round for 2009 and 2010. The event at Hell, therefore, marks the 30th ERC round for Norway. Norwegian drivers scored a total of 20 European titles and is, behind Sweden, the second most successful Rallycross nation. Beside Martin Schanche it was Eivind Opland from the town of Trondheim, not far away from Hell and its Lånkebanen, who claimed between 1995 and 1998 four consecutive ERC victories with different Evolution models of the Group N Mitsubishi Lancer. Egil Stenshagen, Ludvig Hunsbedt and Sverre Isachsen each bagged two European titles, while Bjørn Skogstad, Guttorm Lindefjell, Mats Lysen and Knut Ove Børseth scored one gold medal each.

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