KMS set for three-car attack in World RX electric move. Speed wins Nitro RX.

30 September / The FIA World Rallycross Championship announces that 14 powertrain kits for the new 2022 all-electric World Championship RX1e cars have been reserved. Developed and supplied by Austrian company Kreisel Electric, the powertrain comprises a 500kW battery and two electric motors (one on each axle). The cars will have the equivalent of 680bhp and 880Nm of torque and will be faster than the current Supercars. “Not only that, but rallycross’ short, sharp races lend themselves perfectly to electric propulsion. With no need for energy conservation, drivers will have more power at their disposal than ever before and they can exploit it to the max at every moment. I’ve been lucky enough to go for a ride in the RX1 car myself and I can confirm, it is an absolute rocket!
“Moving forward, we want to ensure that World RX remains the series that brings together the best drivers, the best teams, the best circuits and the best racing, and we have analysed and assessed every single aspect to ensure that ‘Generation Alpha’ rallycross is the very best version of the sport it can possibly be,” said World RX boss Arne Dirks.

30 September / Legendary off-road motorcycle rider Laia Sanz is added to the entry list for the FIA RX2e series in Belgium. Sanz will be one of three female drivers in the event’s 10-car field. The 14-time FIM Women’s World Trials Champion is currently chasing a sixth FIM World Enduro Championship as well as driving in Extreme E. This will be the second time Sanz has taken part in rallycross having previously raced an RX2 car at Barcelona in 2015.

1 October / CARX announces a doube-header weekend on 16-17 October when it will return to Buenos Aires. In a repeat of the successful July event, rounds four and five of the Argentine and South American Rallycross Championship will run alongside TopRace at the historic venue in the Argentine capital.

3 October / Scott Speed wins the second round of the Nitro RX season at ERX Motor Park in Minnesota. Subaru racer Speed pulled out of the final segment of the ‘Battle Brackets’ in the event’s first day, leaving Kevin Hansen to take an unopposed win. The move, aimed at improving strategy for the Subaru team in the second day of the event earned the three-car Subaru team a $10,000 fine. Speed and teammates Travis Pastrana and Andreas Bakkerud went directly to the final after the first round of races on Sunday. Kevin Hansen eventually broke the Subaru stranglehold and claimed third in the final behind Speed and Pastrana. Bakkerud placed fourth ahead of Steve Arpin who was fortunate to escape from a Saturday crash with relatively little damage. Which is more than can be said for Cabot Bigham who rolled heavily in the Last Chance Qualifier. Sixth place in the final was enough to keep Timmy Hansen at the top of the championship table where he equal on points with Speed. Sage Karam won the Next category final leading home George Megennis and Martin Enlund.

6 October / KMS is the first team to be named as a competitor in the FIA’s 2022 move to electric era. Kristoffersson Motorsport has its name on three of the powertrain kits supplied by Kreisel Electric for a move into the World RX series that team boss Tommy Kristoffersson describes as “too good to miss”. KMS has a long and illustrious history in rallycross and circuit racing. “We have already won one World Championship title with our own team last year, but to fight for the first-ever World Championship crown with electric rallycross cars is the ultimate challenge and one that really inspires us – it was simply an opportunity that was far too good to turn down.
“We have a lot of history in rallycross – this is what we do best – and we had several options available to us for 2022, but I was not interested in starting something if we could not do it properly. Thankfully, like us, our new investors truly believe in the future of electric rallycross and are ready to embrace this exciting change.
“We have great faith in the promoter and believe these cars have fantastic development potential and will produce spectacular entertainment – they will be extremely fast. I am absolutely convinced that we will create a product that will make fans raise their eyebrows and drop their jaws. Now, our focus switches to finding a manufacturer we can compete with and the right drivers to do the job…”

This weekend  /  The focus is on Spa-Francorchamps where the World Rallycross Championship returns to action. It’s a full card with RX2e, Euro RX3 and the final round of the Euro RX1 series – finely poised – all on the schedule. The Portuguese Rallycross Championship returns to Lousada for its second visit of the year while the Slovakiaring plays host to the CEZ and Polish Championships in the first of two weekends of racing.

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.

Pics: World RX, Nitro RX, RX2e, CARX