JRX joins RallycrossRX

Round three of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Nyirad, Hungary this weekend also plays host to the first round of the 2013 JRX Junior Rallycross Cup.

The category, designed for drivers between the ages of 14 to 18, was launched exactly one year ago this weekend at the Austrian round of the European championship.

After a series of events last year, a huge amount of work has been put into the development of the spaceframe-based cars over the winter months. “We have done many, many kilometres of testing in France, and we are very pleased with how the car has been running,” Said Marc Laboulle, head of French firm M-Technologies who build the JRX chassis.

The four-wheel drive spaceframe chassis cars weigh only 700kg’s, and are powered by a 140bhp 2-cylinder snowmobile based engine, with a Sadev sequential gearbox providing the transmission. Each car is identical, enabling the young drivers to compete on a level playing field.

Three cars line up in Hungary for the first round of the six event series, all of which are driven by Swedes. Kevin Hansen, son of Kenneth, currently leads the British Swift Junior championship and has recently tested his JRX car in the build up to the event. Having won five of the seven JRX events last year, Hansen Motorsport have fully stripped and rebuilt the Citroen DS3 over the winter.

“I’m really excited to be starting in the first year of JRX,” said Hansen. “Last year was more of a development year for this amazing project that MAKS Events has started. Hungary will be interesting to see how the small supercar is on a fast track like Hungary. After my races in the Swift already this season I feel 100% ready. This year will be great! Of course my goal is to win the championship.”

Magda Andersson returns to the series after finishing on the podium a number of times last season. She too has been testing prior to the Hungarian event, in her car that resembles a Mercedes A Class. The fourteen year old Swede also drove a JRX car the RallycrossRX Media Day at Lydden Hill at the start of the year, alongside Hansen. Like Hansen, she has a clear plan for the season ahead. “I have a very big goal for this year,” she says. “To win the series! I think this year will be very, very interesting year me and the other JRX drivers. I’m very excited about Hungary and I think it will be a lot of fun. I can’t wait!”

Joining his two more experienced compatriots, William Nilsson makes his JRX debut in Hungary, piloting a Renault Clio bodied version of the car.

You can read about my own experiences of trying out a JRX car at the RallycrossRX Media Day earlier this year here.

[portfolio_slideshow]