World RX Team Austria is go!

In Austria the first new team to join the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2015 launched today. Announced in Vienna, the new World RX Austria squad owned by Max Pucher will run a brace of new Ford Fiestas. The cars are built and engineered by Manfred Stohl’s accomplished preparation company. The all-Austrian team will feature Pucher and Stohl as its drivers.

At the Norwegian ASN’s annual prize-giving event Petter Solberg won the NBF’s prestigious driver of the year award. Receiving the award for the fourth time (he won in 2001, ’02 and ’03) but was not able to be present to collect the award this time as he was on duty entertaining fans at Autosport International.

Supernational racer Thomas Bryntesson (18) has won the Norwegian ASN’s “Motorsport Talent 2014” award which brings with it an award of 300,000 Norwegian Kroner (€33,000). Bryntesson won the award from shortlist of five racers from different disciplines who were all tested in various cars, for physical fitness and media techniques.

In Sweden a new RallyX on Ice series has been confirmed. The four-event series will features RX Lites cars and has been an idea nurtured by OMSE boss Andreas Eriksson. “The idea of a winter series has been with me a long time and now that we have enough cars to secure a good starting field, it is really time to launch the project,” he said.

February 1 – Orebro (Winter Week)

February 7 – Holjes

February 13 – Karlstad (Rally Sweden)

March 13 & 14 – Are (Women’s Alpine World Cup)

The US-based GRC series has announced a 12-event schedule to be run over nine weekends starting in Saint Petersburg (Florida) on May 31 and with the final once again running alongside the SEMA show in Las Vegas on November 5.

May 31 – Saint Petersburg

June 21 – Daytona Beach

July 5 – ‘US Military Base’

July 25 & 26 – Detroit

August 15 – Washington

August 30 – Snoqualmie

September 12 & 13 – Los Angeles

October 3 & 4 – Barbados

November 5 – Las Vegas

Also at Autosport Show, and in between Solberg taking a starring role in the Live Actiona Arena, Britain’s BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship promoted ‘entry-point’ rallycross with a group of cars racing inside the arena throughout the weekend.

Team Peugeot-Hansen published a review of its stellar first year, which included an event win Italy (below).

EKS RX boss Mattias Ekstrom has also been in reflective mood. His new team also had a great year, which is reason enough to remind you of the video produced with Walter Rohrl driving an EKS Audi S1 Supercar and Ekstrom getting a go in a Group B Quattro Sport.

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