WRC Promoter to take over World RX. Poland, Britain, Portugal.

11 February   The FIA and WRC Promoter publish statements to say they will “work together to implement the 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship and look forward to concluding a multi-year promoter agreement for the German-based company to be entrusted with commercial and media rights for the series.” IMG became the commercial rights holder to the FIA European rallycross Championship from the start of 2013, growing the series rapidly and gaining World Championship status in 2014. However, at the end of 2020 the American company decided to end its involvement, prompting the FIA to seek a new promoter for World RX.
The published statements underline the planned shift to electric cars for the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship: “As part of the collaboration with WRC Promoter, the company has committed to investment in the world championship and in particular the development of the future electrification of rallycross.”
Peter Bayer, Secretary General for Sport, FIA said: “We are pleased to be aligning with WRC Promoter as we build towards a ground-breaking electric future for the FIA World Rallycross Championship. The FIA and WRC Promoter have reached a common vision on how to work together for the benefit and the growth of rallycross. Our respective teams are working on a long-form agreement, look forward to commencing work on the 2021 championship and to the move of the sport towards a bright, more sustainable and greener future. We have worked extensively with the company as the promoter of the FIA World Rally Championship for a number of years and we anticipate they will bring the same energy and dynamism to the promotion of rallycross.”
WRC Promoter is a German company based in Munich and jointly owned by Red Bull Media House and KW25 and which has been the commercial rights holder for the World Rally Championship since 2013. For WRC Promoter, managing director Jona Siebel said: “World Rallycross sits on the verge of an innovative and pioneering future. We see strong growth potential in all areas and WRC Promoter is delighted to be at the forefront of a series focused on sustainable technology and e-mobility. Rallycross provides breathtaking thrills and spills and we will build new foundations to create an engaging and progressive platform for our global audience and partners.”
In January the FIA also launched a separate request seeking a promoter for the FIA European Rallycross Championships from 2022 (Euro RX and World RX will run together in the 2021 season).

17 February Oponeo Motorsport says that the Polish Rallycross Championship will not race at Torun in 2021. The published calendar for the series lists an event at Torun in June. “We informed PZM (the Polish ASN) that we were fully ready to organise the competition in Torun. Many people put a lot of work and resources into making the competition possible here, and the facility has approval valid until the end of 2021, so we decided that it was worth taking advantage of. We asked the union to respond by the end of 2020 so that we could plan our actions accordingly. However, we did not receive any information,” said Marcin Bilski of Oponeo Motorsport.

17 February Former Irish Rallycross Champion Declan Kelly says he hopes to drive in the 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship in 2021. “Number one on my bucket list was to own a real Supercar, number two is to drive it at Lydden Hill.  Covid restrictions permitting, I hope to achieve number two real soon,” said Kelly who races an ex-OMSE Ford Fiesta Supercar. The British series is scheduled to run across seven weekends and includes a July visit to Kelly’s home Mondello Park circuit in Ireland.

17 February The schedule for the 2021 Portuguese Rallycross Championship is announced by the Portuguese ASN (FPAK) and GO.NOW Motorsport, the newly appointed promoter for the Campeonato de Portugal de Ralicross. The reduce costs, the series has been reduced from nine to seven events with the events more evenly spaced across the year. “We believe that this decision could also prove to be an incentive for the drivers to carry out the entire championship,” said Fernando Vaz who has formed GO.NOW Motorsport together with Luis Marinho. The series will also add a five-event championship for Junior Crosskart aimed at drivers from 13 to 16-years-old. The full calendar is here.

2021 season    The newly announced dates for Campeonato de Portugal de Ralicross have been added to our guide of rallycross events for 2021. We will keep this as up to date as possible and add further dates and events as details become available. We hope that everyone has the chance to get out there and see some rallycross this year.

And… We like this driver’s high speed reverse escape from this little crash in Rallycross Russia’s recent ice event at Istra