Rallycross entertains at Goodwood amid national championship action

A number of rallycross cars and stars were in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK last weekend. World RX permanent drivers Ken Block and Liam Doran both took to the famous hillclimb, but with differing objectives. While Block performed for the crowds with a series of donuts in his Ford Fiesta RX43 on Lord March’s tarmac (and grass), Doran took part in the timed element of the event and ran at the top for most of the weekend until a technical issue in the final shootout ruled him out of what could have been a top three finish in his Citroen DS3. Liam’s father Pat also took part in the timed part of the event, driving the Ford RS200 with which he contested the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, while Block also displayed his current World RX Ford Focus RS RX on the Ford stand. 2013 British Touring Car Champion and rallycross driver Andrew Jordan drove Mattias Ekstrom’s EKS Audi S1 for demos and was untimed as the British driver took part in a new BTCC shoot-out and won. Adam Keeler drove his ex-Will Gollop / Tiff Needell MG Metro 6R4 at the event, while Alexander and Franz Wurz drove the Lancia Stratos with which Wurz Senior won the first ever FIA sanctioned rallycross title in 1976.

Nyirad in Hungary hosted the seventh round of the FIA Central European Zone Rallycross Championship, which was also the second round of the Rallycross Challenge Europe and latest round of the Hungarian and Austrian Rallycross Championships. Tamas Pal Kiss (Peugeot 208) continued his unbeaten run in national championship events by claiming victory at the former European Championship venue with Janko Wieszt (Skoda Fabia) second and Tamas Karai (Audi A1) completing the podium. Zoltan Vaas (Mitsubishi Colt) was fourth with Juraj Balaz (Mitsubishi Lancer) the last driver to cross the finish line in fifth. Alois Holler (Ford Focus), Mandie August (Audi S3) and Attila Mozer (Skoda Fabia) all failed to finish the final.

Fourteen-year old Sami-Matti Trogen (Renault Twingo) won on his debut in the Super1600 category in a Set Promotion run car. Josef Susta (Skoda Fabia) finished second with Gergely Marton (Skoda Fabia) third. In SuperTouringCar -2000 Roman Castoral (Opel Astra) won yet again. Erwin Frieszl (Peugeot 206) finished second with Ondrej Havlik (Peugeot 205) third. In SuperTouringCar +2000 Steve Volders won in his unique Ford Escort ahead of Jos Sterkens (Volvo C30) and Attila Toth (BMW E36).

A week earlier, away from his World RX duties, Johan Kristoffersson scored his first victory of the year in the Swedish Touring Car Championship, driving for the Seat team. The former STCC champion won the first of the two races at Anderstorp before finishing third in race two while Rickard Goransson won, the World RX podium finisher set to return to an OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta Supercar this weekend at Holjes.

On the same weekend in America, Steve Arpin (Ford Fiesta) and Tanner Foust (Volkswagen Beetle) took a victory apiece at the third and fourth rounds of the Global Rallycross Championship at the Daytona International Speedway. In Saturday’s final, Aprin won his first event and that of the Chip Ganassi Racing team. Foust again dominated the heat stages and started on pole position for the final from where he led until hitting a track marker and breaking his suspension, before being collected by Patrik Sandell (Ford Fiesta). Scott Speed (Volkswagen Beetle) inherited the lead before his car caught fire, handing victory to Arpin, with Brian Deegan (Ford Fiesta) second and Sebastian Eriksson (Honda Civic) third. Foust fought back in Sunday’s final to win and extend his championship lead, while Speed fought back from the back after a challenging weekend to finish second. Eriksson claimed his second podium of the weekend.

In the GRC Lites category, both Oliver Eriksson and Tanner Whitten claimed a victory and a second place over the two days, Eriksson extending his lead at the top of the support category table to 16 points over Conner Martell, who twice finished fourth in Daytona.

All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport drivers Rene Munnich (Seat Ibiza) and Mandie August (Volkswagen Polo) shared the spoils at the joint Belgian and German Rallycross Championship at the Estering a fortnight ago, Munnich taking top honours in the Belgian Championship Supercar category ahead of Jos Jansen (Ford Focus) and Jochen Coox (Volkswagen Polo), while August claimed top spot in the German ranks ahead of Matthias Meyer (Skoda Fabia) and Bernd Schomaker (Seat Leon). In the Super1600 division, Sven Seeliger (Ford Fiesta) was top German competitor, while compatriot Andreas Steffen (Skoda Fabia) ran in the Belgian Super1600 category and won, still waiting on parts for his Ford Fiesta Supercar ahead of the third round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship this weekend at Holjes in Sweden. He beat Belgian Davy Van Den Branden (Citroen DS3). In the German SuperNational/TouringCar category Bartlomiej Ruszczynski (Alfa Romeo 156) won, while Martijn Vanhove (BMW 1M) won the Belgian Supernational- final and Steve Volders (Ford Escort) won in Supernational+. In the German Prodiction under 1400cc division Jan Eriksson (Toyota Starlet) won and in the over 1400cc it was Lukas Ney (Citroen Xsara) who claimed the victory spoils.

World RX Team Austria driver Janis Baumanis (Ford Fiesta) won the third round of the Estonian Rallycross Championship at Misso in a one-off appearance in the championship he won last season. Ricardo Bortkevits (Mitsubishi Evo) finished second with Andri Oun (Ford Fiesta) third. Janno Ligur (Skoda Fabia) won the Super1600 final ahead of championship leader and fellow Euro RX driver Siim Saluri (Citroen C2). Arvo Kask (Volkswagen Golf) was third. Sami-Matti Trogen (Ford KA) was top finisher in the Junior1600 division. In the TouringCar category, series leader Margo Soomets (BMW 318) won with Ruve Veski (BMW 120) finished second with Siim Sundema (BMW 318) third.

British Supernational racer Stuart Emery has been forced out of the second half of the MSA British Rallycross Championship due to injury, after suffering a crash on a bicycle. The Peugeot 206 driver spent four days in hospital with a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a punctured lung and is hoping to return for the final round of the championship at Croft in October.

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