Eriksson and Dayraut victorious in latest winter events

Multiple Andros Trophy champion Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Mazda 3) won the single-header penultimate round of the Alps-based ice series at Super-Besse. The Frenchman qualified on pole position for the final to claim victory. Former Formula One driver Olivier Panis (Audi A1) finished second ahead of current Audi DTM pilot, Adrien Tambay (Audi). Championship leader, FIA European Rallycross Championship competitor Jean-Baptiste Dubourg (Renault Clio) could only manage sixth, but his rival for the title, Frank Lagorce, failed to capitalise, finishing just two places ahead of Duborug in fourth. FIA World Rallycross Championship event winner Toomas Heikkinen (Mazda 3) finished seventh, while Super1600 campaigner Andrea Dubourg finished the final 11^th. With one double-header weekend left to round out the season, (JB) Dubourg leads Lagorce by 11 points.

The opening round of the RallyX On Ice winter championship for Supercar Lites took place at Pitea on Sunday, where Sebastian Eriksson won while deputising for injured OlsbergsMSE team mate, Oliver Eriksson. Kenyan racer and new OMSE recruit Tejas Hirani won the first semi-final to start on pole position for the final, with Kevin Eriksson winning the second semi to start in the second grid slot. As Sebastian Eriksson stormed to his second Ice victory (he won in Holjes last winter), Kevin Eriksson finished second and Alexander Westlund finished third. Hirani and Norwegian Thomas Bryntesson failed to finish the final, while Jonas Okvist finished fourth on his debut.

The FIA World Rallycross Championship will be broadcast live on free-to-air television in the UK and Ireland this year. Free-to-air channel Quest will broadcast all 12 rounds of World RX live. Highlights shows will be available to watch on ITV4 the following Tuesday evening and also on Eurosport. “It is incredibly exciting to bring live coverage of the entire World RX season to Quest in 2016. The championship has proved increasingly popular with our viewers. Adding comprehensive coverage of all the action this year ignites our sports offering yet further, “ said Simon Downing, SVP Head of Channel Quest.

Danish Super1600 driver Ulrik Linnemann will run a pair of Peugeot 208s in the European Rallycross Championship category this season, for himself and sponsor Daniel Nielsen. The pair will prepare for their 2016 campaign by competing at the second round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill next month. This season, the British venue also forms part of the Super1600 calendar.

Junior drivers in the MSA Junior Rallycross Championship have been given a boost by new series title sponsor, Odyssey Battery. The firm will cover every Junior category entry fee for the opening round at Croft, and at each event through the season thereafter, Odyssey will pay the entry fee for the top three drivers from the previous event. “British Rallycross is a family affair. The Juniors are very important to our sport,” said Odyssey Battery Sales Director, Chris Pretty. “If a driver finishes in the top three at every event this season, they have a free entry all season.”

British World RX driver Liam Doran took one of his LD Motorsports Citroen DS3 Supercars to Gatebill on Ice in Norway last weekend and came away with a pair of trophies. Using studded ice tyres, Doran finished second in the powerslide contest, and in the ‘snow and shine’. “That was seriously some of the most fun I’ve had in my car. I can’t believe how awesome studded tyres are. I was at the top of sixth gear on the big circuit layout, which just feels crazy on ice,” said Doran.

Norwegian Tom Daniel Tanevik will compete in the FIA European Rallycross Championship in Supercar this season, driving the Volvo C30 previously raced by compatriots Ludvig Hunsbedt and more recently Tommy Rustad in 2014. “My plan is to be among the top five drivers in the European Championship and I hope that I will be able to stand on the podium a couple of times,” Tanevik told the FIA World Rallycross Championship website. Per Magne Royras will race in the TouringCar category in Tanevik’s Mazda RX8.

Rallycross World is sad to report the passing of X Games legend and rallycross driver, Dave Mirra, on Friday in North Carolina. Having won 24 medals at X Games in a long career, mostly on a BMX, Mirra (41) more recently turned his attention to Iron Man competitors and also competed at the Hockenhiem round of World RX last season, in a JRM Racing Mini, and won a heat race. He is survived by wife Lauren and two daughters.

On Thursday, rallycross celebrated its 49^th birthday. The first ever rallycross event was held at Lydden Hill, Great Britain on February 4^th, 1967 and was won by Vic Elford in a Porsche 911.

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