Larsson & Kristoffersson win RallyX Nordic. Oun in NEZ. Portugal restart this weekend.

2 July    Long time rallycross racer Phil Chicken has abandoned plans to drive in rallies and will return to competition this year and plans to race in the Swift Sport Series that runs as part of the 5 Nations BRX package in the UK. Most recently racing a Citroen C2 in Super1600, Chicken moves to the one-make Swift series as his son, Corey Padgett (below), graduates from Autograss racing to the Junior Rallycross Series. “We bought Corey the Swift for Christmas as it was clear that’s where his ambitions lie. The C2 is all ready for rallying and I thought I’d have a go at a couple of rallies this year and then probably sell the car. But Corey was determined we should rallycross together and chose his moment well, after a bottle of wine, to convince me to do it! So, we did [a Winterseries event at] Lydden in March and I finished third, and actually now it’s given me the bug again to do 5 Nations BRX this year,” said Chicken. 

2 July    The first round of the RallyX Nordic Championship is won by Robin Larsson. Niclas Gronholm is top qualifier in the event that is run over a single day behind closed doors at Holjes. Larsson qualifies second and both he and Gronholm win their semi-finals, but in the final it is the series title holder who makes the better start and leads all the way. Johan Kristoffersson places second in the KMS VW Polo with Gronholm third. The event also features Supercar Lites (RX2) in which Simon Olofsson takes the win while Oskar Andersson and Alex Gustafsson were the winners in Crosskart and Crosskart Junior respectively.

3-4 July    The Circuit Philippe Chanoine de Dreux hosts practice and training days for drivers in the French Junior FFSA Rallycross Championship as well as the FFSA Women’s French Rallycross Cup. Championnat de France Junior FFSA drivers were able to get to grips with the new Renault Clio V RX, freshly delivered by Renault Sport. Coupe de France Féminine FFSA de Rallycross competitors were able to test the R1 spec Renault Twingo used in the series.

4-5 July    RallyX Nordic competitors remain at Holjes for round two of their championship which runs a two-day format over the weekend again without any spectators present. Weather plays a role with rain sweeping in on Sunday after a dry first day. Niclas Gronholm is fastest in the first two qualifiers on Saturday before Oliver Solberg and Johan Kristoffersson take the third and fourth qualifiers on Sunday. Robin Larsson is top qualifier and wins his semi-final while Kristoffersson wins semi-final two. In the final Kristoffersson gets away from the pack in the opening lap and then drives cleanly to record a clear win over Larsson and Solberg. After problems in round one, Jesse Kallio is supreme in Supercar Lites, beaten only in Q4 where Henrik Krogstad is fastest. In the final Kallio leads home Mats Oskarsson and Linus Ostlund. Erik Andersson is first to the chequer in Crosskart Junior but slips to third after collecting a penalty for a track limits offence. That hands the win to Raoul Dahlqvist with Rasmus Persson moving up to second. Max Rundberg is best of the adult Crosskart racers. Five drivers take part in the ‘Legends’ category, Marcus Gronholm running out the clear winner of the final ahead of Henning Solberg, Stig-Olov-Olov Walfridson, Andreas Eriksson and Per Eklund. To relive the event see instructions on how to view video content here.

4-5 July   The North European Zone (NEZ) Championship, Latvian and Lithuanian Championships begin at Bikernieki in Riga. The event is won by Andri Oun (Ford Fiesta) who is chased home by team boss Valdur Reinsalu in a similar car. Local driver Arvydas Galinis, also in a Fiesta, is third. The NEZ Super1600 win is collected by janno Ligur (Skoda Fabia). Second placed Juris Spikis goes on to win category in the Latvian Championship segment of the event.

6 July    British racer Dominic Flitney will move from the Swift Sport Series to Supercar where he will race a self-built Subaru Impreza in the 5 Nations BRX championship this year. A front runner in the Swifts for the last couple of years, Flitney previously used Subarus in Gymkhana events and is eager to begin racing his new Supercar when the British series starts at Lydden on 30-31 August. “I know the Subaru is not a traditional rallycross car and we don’t have 600bhp to play with like the others. However, it’s a car in which I feel very comfortable and I’m hoping the past two seasons in Swifts mean I’ll be able to compete with the very best in 5 Nations BRX. My father Ian and my brother Jason have worked with me to build this car, so it’s been a bit of a labour of love and as a family it’s been very rewarding,” said Flitney.

Calendar    This weekend the Portuguese championship recommences with a two-day event at Lousada which will be run behind closed doors. Campeonato de Portugal de Ralicross will be streamed live, see here for details: facebook.com/Ralicrosse/

We are doing the best to keep our calendar of events and where you can watch rallycross in 2020 up to date for you. Postponed and cancelled events remain shown but marked as a record of the carnage wrought on the 2020 schedule by Covid-19.