Riga confirms World RX date. Rallycross France calendar. Lhoste gets Andros drive.

15 November   In a short statement published across social media channels for the series, IMG announces that it is not able to continue with the Americas Rallycross Championship ARX in 2020. The statement said: “After consultation with a wide group of stakeholders and interested parties, IMG has taken the difficult decision to not extend the Americas Rallycross Championship beyond the 2019 season. We would like to thank our passionate fans, teams, drivers, partners and event hosts for their support and participation in Americas Rallycross.”

15 November   Trophee Andros team Sylvain Pussier Competition names young rallycross driver Clementine Lhoste in its two-car, four-driver squad for the six-event series that starts in Val Thorens on 7 December. Lhoste, who has raced in the RX Academy this year, is paired with former rallycross driver Benjamin Riviere in a Peugeot 208. The team’s second car is driven by Nathanael Berthon and Sylvain Pussier. The Trophy Andros moves to a fully electric series this winter.

16 November    The virtual Rallycross World Championship run on iRacing returns to Sonoma for its seventh event in which SET Esports pairing Joni Heikkinen and Sami-Matti Trogen take a one-two finish. Bobby Zalenski placed third for Coanda Simsport. Heikkinen and Trogen got the drop on the field in the first lap and were then able to race between themselves. Trogen maintains his championship lead, now 87 points clear of Mitchell deJong (Coanda Simsport) who placed fourth in this event. Heikkinen is third in the series which has three events remaining.

18 November   Sebastien Loeb Racing will run a pair of cars in the Trophee Andros with its eponymous team boss also slated to drive in the events at Val Thorens and Super Besse. Olivier Panis and Louis Rousset will handle the team’s lead car, with Loeb, Quentin Giordano and Jeremy Sahy in the second car.

20 November    If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to race for the World championship, to come within touching distance of winning it, but to lose out in the last six laps of the year, take a look at the latest episode of Bakkerud Life.

21 November   Rallycross France publishes the calendar for the 2020 Championnat de France de Rallycross. Scheduled for eight events the series starts at Lessay on 18-19 April and will conclude at Dreux on 10-11 October.Rallycross France 2020: 1, 18-19 April – Lessay; 2, 23-24 May – Essay; 3, 6-7 June – Faleyras; 4, 20-21 June – Chateauroux; 5, 4-5 July – Pont de Ruan; 6 25-26 July – Kerlabo; 7 19-20 September – Mayenne; 8, 10-11 October – Dreux.

21 November    One of the two ’TBC’ events on the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship calendar published last month is confirmed with news that Latvia will return to the series in 2020. The event had been in doubt since mid-year because government budgets which included funding allocated to the event were not to be approved until after the calendar became final. The Bikernieki circuit in Riga will host round nine of the world championship – the Neste World RX of Riga – on 19-20 September. The announcement was made at a press conference at the Riga Motor Museum attended by Riga City Mayor Olegs Burovs, Latvian World RX driver Janis Baumanis, Raimonds Strokss, the director of RA Events, the local promoter and IMG’s Commercial Director David Gillett. “The work towards securing the 2020 event has started way back and although it seemed barely possible, we did not lose hope to fill a spot on the 2020 World RX calendar. I am extremely grateful to Riga City Council and IMG for their support, and decisiveness to reach an agreement and secure the necessary funding, that allows us to once again welcome you back to the Bikernieki circuit for a round of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship,” said Strokss.