Pailler bros. boss RX France. Eriksson in Nordic. Heikkinen & Hansen in Titans. More…

27 July   In the third round of the Finnish Rallycross Championship on the Botniaring at Jurva Riku Tahko guides his Mini to its first win. Tahko is fastest in the third qualifier and second in Q1 and Q2 to top the Intermediate Classification. Victory in his semi-final came after passing Ari Perkiomaki (Fiesta). Championship leader Juha Rytkonen (Fiesta) challenged in the final where Tahko won. Henri Haapamaki (BMW M3) was best of the Supernational field and Jere Tikka (Toyota MR2) won in the autocross class.

27 July    Round three of Titans RX is won by Toomas Heikkinen. Nelson Piquet Jnr. is top qualifier but falls in the semi-finals where Heikkinen and Timmy Hansen win. Hansen is then second in the final, chased home by younger brother Kevin. Rallycross debutant Oli Webb is fourth from Dan Rooke and Tamara Molinaro.

28 July   Fabien Pailler wins the sixth round of the French Rallycross Championship  on home ground at Kerlabo. The former champion is top qualifier, wins semi-final one and leads home younger brother Jonathan (second qualifier and winner of semi-final two) in the final to round out a perfect event for Pailler Competition. Laurent Boulliou is third, making it an all Peugeot 208 podium. Championship leader Samuel Peu (208) did not progress beyond the semi-finals and was classified tenth but retains the series lead as closest rival Philippe Maloigne (Renault Clio) also missed the final and ended the event in ninth place. The Super1600 battle Yvonnick Jagu (Skoda Fabia) and Jimmy Terpereau (Citroen C2) continued with Jagu top qualifier and each winning their semi-final before Jagu won the final ahead of Terpereau. Nicolas Eouzan (Renault Twingo) placed third. Dylan Dufas claims his second Twingo Cup win of the year and Alizee Pottier wins the Ladies Cup. Romain Houiller (Ford Fiesta) achieves his first victory after Division Three favourites David Vincent (false start) and Xavier Brifaud (DNS) fail in the semi-finals. Xavier Goubill (Peugeot 306) dominates Division Four.

28 July    The Finnskogbanen near Flisa in Norway hosts the fifth RallyX Nordic event of the year and is the scene of the third event win by Oliver Eriksson (Honda Civic). Eriksson, Robin Larsson (Audi S1) and Jere Kalliokoski (Fiesta) win in the qualifiers before Eriksson and Larsson won semi-finals. The final is decided in the first corner where Eriksson fights off Larsson to break free. Larsson slips down the field but recovers to second at the chequer with Kalliokoski third. 

Local racer Ben-Philip Gundersen is on course for victory in Supercar Lites but a puncture late in the race slows him. Linus Ostlund pounces to take his first in the category and is flanked on the podium by Mats Oskarsson and Anders Michalak. Jimmie Osterberg wins in Crosscar, leading home Isac Egonsson and Isak Reiersen, the latter recovering from a Q4 roll to make the top three.

28 July  The second day of Titans RX racing at Lydden provides Kevin Hansen with victory and the points lead in the series. Timmy Hansen is second again, the podium completed by Andrew Jordan who bounces back from engine problems on the first day and steals third from Heikkinen in the last lap. Heikkinen, Ronny C Rock and Molinaro complete the finalists. The event also includes races for Supercars which is won by Rene Munnich (Seat Ibiza) ahead of Julian Godfrey (Fiesta VI) and Oliver Bennett (Fiesta). Roberts Vitols wins the Junior final and Steve Harris (RS200) is best of the Retro Rallycross field.

28 July    The third round of the Argentine Rallycross Championship is run at Rosario where Mario Terraza (VW Gol) is the winner on a day when championship-favourite Federico Villagra does not make it to the final. Terraza wins semi one to start from pole ahead of Gaston Gonzalez (VW Polo) and Nicolas Fuchs (Ford Fiesta), the top three unchanged in position during the final. The Maxi Rally Light class is won by Federico Bassi (Renault Clio) and Gustavo Trelles (Mitsubishi Lancer) wins the the RC2N final.\

30 July    Czech driver Dan Skocdopole (16) will drive a Hedstroms Motorsport VW Polo Supercar in the third round of the Italian Rallycross Championship at Adria this weekend (2-3 August). The teenager last raced in the series in 2018 when he drove a Skoda Super1600 belonging to compatriot Josef Susta. Gigi Galli leads the entry for the event in his Kia Rio.

31 July    American kart racer Lana Vacala is confirmed as a new driver with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in ARX2. The 22-year-old will make his debut at Trois-Rivieres this weekend and is also slated to drive in RX2 in France and South Africa. “We are very pleased to bring in a young driver like Lane with his past racing credentials,” said Dennis Reinbold, team owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “We have been very successful bringing in karting racers in the past and Lane’s testing was impressive in our ARX2 cars. We’re anxious to see him compete this weekend at Trois-Rivieres. I think he has a great future in ARX and with our race team.”

1 August    World RX team ESmotorsport Labas Gas will be a non-starter in the seventh round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. The Lithuanian team, in its first season, split with driver Rokas Baciuska on the eve of round three in Belgium where Francois Duval was drafted-in to drive its Skoda Fabia Supercar. The team missed the British round of the championship where it was handed a €50,000 fine, suspended until round five. Placing test driver Kevin Abbring in the car for the fifth event of the year in Norway and the subsequent round in Sweden, ESmotorsport Labas Gas placed fourth in each event, its Dutch driver having led the final in Norway. In a statement team manager Robertas Maneikis said: “I would like to sincerely apologise on behalf of ESmotorsport – LabasGas to our Fans, FIA and IMG about our decision and the difficulties caused. To the organisers of Canada event and the stewards, and to our dearest partners and sponsors.”