Dubourg wins in Andros Trophy; Nordic & Academy calendars; Dizzee Rascal at Speedmachine & more

Peugeot 2008 driver Benjamin Riviere dominated the opening race of the Andros Trophy winter season at Val Thorens, thanks in part to a newly formed relationship with renowned Andros Trophy, rallycross and circuit racing engineer Laurent Fedacou. Evens Stievenard finished second on the first day while carrying the full 60kilograms of success ballast as reigning champion Jean-Baptiste Dubourg climbed up to third in the final. On the second day, Dubourg claimed victory with the DA Racing Renault Captur ahead of Riviere, while Franck Lagorce finished third. Aurelien Panis and Mattieu Vaxiviere claimed victories in the single-make electric category. Results here.

The FIA off-Road Commission will have a new President in 2018 when Gyarfas Olah (below) takes over the role from Andy Lasure. Olah, who has been President of the Hungarian ASN (MNASZ) since 2015, will replace Belgian Lasure who has been in charge since 1999.

Succeeding Briton Les Needham, Lasure (below) has led the Off-Road Commission (which controls rallycross and autocross at the FIA) through several generations of regulatory change and most notably has been President of the commission during the rapid evolution of the World Rallycross Championship. There has also been a recent overhaul of autocross technical regulations focused on improving safety and his tenure in charge comes to an end as the Cross Car concept is launched.

The FIA’s Annual General Assembly formally launched the new Cross Car concept which is intended to provide the entry-point for off-road racing and the first step on a career path to rallycross, autocross and rallying as well as a formula that can be easily adopted in countries with no history of rallycross or autocross. It has been loosely described as ‘Formula 4 for off-road racing’. The vehicle is based on a specific chassis design that can be produced anywhere in the World and recommended for use with motorcycle engines of up to 600cc, 130bhp for adult versions and 75bhp for junior vehicles.

The RallyX Nordic series has revealed its 2018 calendar, which has expanded to take in a third country, Finland, where for the first time the championship will race at former World RX track, Kouvola, having begun the year at Grenland in Norway and then using a current World RX circuit, Holjes for round two. Arvika and a new circuit at Tierp, just to the north of Stockholm, also feature to the six-round schedule. Communication for RallyX Nordic will now be made in English to fall in line with more international competitions.

2018 RallyX Nordic Calendar

1 April 21/22 – Grenland, Norway
2 May 5/6 – Höljes, Sweden
3 May 19/20 – TBA
4 June 2/3 – Arvika, Sweden
5 August 25/26 – Kouvola, Finland
6 October 6/7 – Tierp, Sweden

RX Academy also launched its 2018 calendar this week, which will join RallyX Nordic for rounds at Holjes (Sweden), Kouvola (Finland) and Tierp (Sweden). As part of its five-round calendar, RX Academy will also join two Finnish Championship events at Honkajoki and Jalasjärvi. Single-make Renault Clio RS RX’s will continue be used, while competitors will take part in the three-day pre-season training camp. The winner will receive a free drive in the FIA European Rallycross Championship for Super1600 in 2019 or the European-based rounds of the RX2 International Series.

RX Academy 2018 Calendar

1 May 6 – Holjes (Sweden)
2 June 16 – Honkajoki (Finland)
3 August 11 – Jalasjärvi (Finland)
4 August 26 – Kouvola (Finland)
5 October 7 – Tierp (Sweden)

GRC has announced that it will introduce an entry-point category in 2018 in a new arrangement with Polaris RZR to create a one-make series for ‘side-by-side’ buggies similar to those seen in the national support race at World RX of Canada over the last couple of years.

The Speedmachine event that forms the British round of the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship has announced more of the features in the festival side of the programme with confirmation that Dizzee Rascal and Basement Jaxx will be the headline music acts.

Albatec Racing boss Andy Scott has indicated his intention to return to driving on a regular basis in 2018. Scott expects to tackle the FIA European Rallycross Championship at the wheel of a third Peugeot 208 run by his team. “The car is getting stronger each year and have upgraded suspension, engine and packaging over the last year,” said Scott who expects to have two customer cars in Euro RX and has already announced a full British RX campaign for Alabatec in 2018.