Wilks for World RX, Orders wins in RXAus

Two-time British Rally Champion and former Junior World Rally Championship event winner Guy Wilks will race full-time in the FIA World Rallycross Championship this season, driving the Volkswagen Polo Supercar that Swede Johan Kristoffersson raced to second overall in World RX last season. Wilks will be supported by LOCO Energy drink, and will run under the LOCO World RX Team banner. Wilks has competed in five World RX events since his debut at Lydden Hill in 2015, and scored a best result of sixth overall in his maiden appearance in a JRM Racing Mini RX but retired from the final with a puncture. “To get an opportunity to do a full World Championship is something I’ve always wished for,” said Wilks. “To compete in a car that finished second in the Championship last year adds pressure but is the ingredient that can make it realistic for me mix it at the top, even though the bar in World RX is getting raised year-on-year. There’s still a lot of work to do but 2017 is going to be an awesome journey.”

FIA European Rallycross Championship Super1600 racer Artis Baumanis, brother of Supercar racer Janis, will move to the Volland Racing team for 2017 to race a brand-new Audi A1 later in the season. Baumanis will join reigning champion Krisztian Szabo in the German team, both drivers competing in Skoda Fabias in the early part of the year before switching to the new cars. “I’m really looking forward to this season. It will be exceptional,” said Baumanis. “I can’t wait to jump in my new race car, prepared by specialists of Super1600, Volland Racing. We have set high targets no doubt about it, but I want to earn the championship trophy for my sponsors and my team.” The first round of the Super1600 Euro RX series takes place at Montalegre in Portugal.

Will Orders (Mitsubishi Evo) won the opening round of the ‘RXAus’ Australian Rallycross Championship at Marulan Circuit, leading home former Irish Rallycross Champion Michael Coyne (Mazda 2) and Troy Dowel (Volkswagen Polo) in the Superfinal. All three drivers had previously won their respective class finals (Orders 4WD open, Coyne two-wheel drive and Dowel 4WD Production) and completed the podium in the six-lap Superfinal. Orders won the event despite technical problems in each of the qualifying heats. “We were really just shaking bugs out of the car for two practices and three heat races,” said Orders. “We thought the day was over but we thought ‘let’s fix it and get it out for the final’ – that’s what it was all about. We had no laps and were guessing on setup on tyre pressures but it all came good.” Mike Conway (Ford Escort) was fourth with Andrew Murdoch (Subaru Impreza) fifth and Sean Bolger (Volkswagen Polo) sixth. The event, which also featured rolling starts, is the latest and most positive in a number of attempts to get rallycross off the ground in Australia. The RXAus series is targeted at existing competitors. Five rounds are due to take place between now and November, with the next round due to be held at Marulan Circuit on May 14.

The BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship will have joint title sponsorship for the next three years, with tyre brand Toyo Tires join Autosport International in supporting the series. The sponsorship will also include cash prizes of £150 to drivers who win in the series using Toyo Tires. “This dramatic motorsport format is enjoying a surge in popularity in its 50th anniversary year,” said Kenta Kuribayashi, President of Toyo Tire Europe. “The excitement and accessibility of the sport make rallycross the perfect partner for Toyo Tires”.

Former British Super1600 Rallycross Champion Craig Lomax is targeting the title in the front-wheel drive category this season, racing his Xtreme RX Citroen C2. The Leeds-based driver is hoping to fight back from a year of technical dramas in 2016. “We’re doing the full year in British RX, and the plan is to fight for the title. We’ve done a lot of work to the car over the winter and hopefully we have solved all of our problems from last year,” he said. “It looks like there will be a competitive amount of Super1600 cars this year and I’m looking forward to a good battle. We’re also planning to go and race in some Belgian Championship events, but the main target is to try and win in the British Championship.” Lomax’s C2 was on display at the North West Stages Rally in Blackpool on Friday, joined Tony Lynch’s 2015 BMW Mini, Stewart Bowes’ Retro Rallycross Mini Clubman and a Swift Sport Rallycross Championship Suzuki Swift.