Kalliokoski wins in Finland. Karai tops Hungarian CEZ event.

21 May  /  Jenson Button’s Extreme E team, JBXE, announce that Kevin Hansen will replace Button as the male driver for the Ocean X Prix in Dakar. Hansen will share the car with fellow Swede Michaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky. ““I’ve been so involved in the series and developing the car since the beginning, from the early testing programme right to Aragon last year, so to get this opportunity now with Jenson is so nice and I’m super excited to get to Senegal and see what I can do. I’m so happy to be joining Mikaela also. I hope together we can be strong as I believe she is one of the strongest drivers in the championship and I’ve known her for a very long time,” said Hansen. Button is expected to return to the driving seat for the third event in the championship at Greenland in August. The Ocean X Prix takes place on 29-30 May.

22 May  /  Rallycross France shuffles its calendar of events with Essay taking over the June date originally listed for Faleyras. Essay’s proposed August date falls from the calendar, returning the usual summer holiday break to the French series while Faleyras will now close the season on 23-24 October.

22 May  /  Jere Kalliokoski dominated the opening round of the Finnish Rallycross Championship, SM Rallicross at Honkajoki. The 2016 champion was fastest in all three qualifiers and won his semi-final and the final to clean sweep the event. Kalliokoski was joined on the podium by Mika Liimatainen (Ford Fiesta) and Jukka Pykalainen (Skoda Fabia). Joni-Pekka Rajala (Mitsubishi Mirage) placed fifth in the Supercar final and was, as he often has been in the past, also active in the two supporting categories. Driving his Datsun Finn, Rajala won the Autocross class – where he led home the similar Datsun of Tuomas Venalainen and Jori Seppala’s Toyota MR2. Rajala also finished second in the SRC (Supernational) class in which he drives a rear-wheel drive Ford Escort Estate. Olli Lahti (Escort) won the SRC final having been fastest in Q3 and winning SF2. Rajala had been quickest in the first two qualifiers and won SF1. Third place in the final was taken by Ari Salonen (Escort).

24 May / The Matador Rallycross Festival at Mariapocs formed the second round of the Hungarian rallycross Championship and round two of the CEZ series. Tamas Karai (Audi A1) was fastest in Q2 and Q4 before winning SF1 and taking victory in the final ahead of “Luigi”. Mate Banyo (Skoda Fabia) was fastest in Q1 and placed fifth in the final, just behind Laszlo Kiss (Peugeot 208) who was fastest in Q3. Pole Zbigniew Staniszewski (Fiesta) placed third in the final. Elsewhere among the championship’s 11 classes, Balazs Kormoczi (Suzuki Swift) was best of the Super1600 field and Pawel Melon (BMW M2), Roman Castoral (Opel Astra) and Radek Dvorak (Skoda Fabia) won in the three STC classes (+2000cc, -2000cc, 1600cc). The Junior final was won by Akos Kormoczi (Suzuki Swift).

24 May  /  Former FIA President Max Mosley dies at the age of 81. Englishman Mosley was President of the FIA for 16 years during which he notably introduced many initiatives that have resulted in safety improvements in motor sport as well as campaigning for wider recognition for the work of the FIA.

26 May / Organisers of the Latvian Rallycross Championship have been forced to postpone the opening event of the series scheduled for 20 June at Baroni. The season will now start on 10-11 July at Bikernieki in Riga. The organiser hopes to reschedule the postponed event later in the year.

And / There’s something different going on at Loheac…

This weekend  /  The 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship begins at Lydden this weekend, and there will be spectators! Round one of the championship takes place on Saturday with round two on Monday (it is a holiday weekend in the UK). Head to the championship website for links to its social channels and video content. Spectator access is by advance ticket only from the Lydden Hill website.

For our full guide of where to watch rallycross this year see the link below. This is updated regularly but remember to check with event organisers before travelling, even if events are on there may be restrictions on public access.