Mondello IRX to open 2022 season. Race of Champions. Szaniawski is new FIA Off-Road boss.

3 February / The FIA World Motor Sport Council confirms membership of its specialist commissions. Of particular note for rallycross is the change at the top of the Off-Road Commission (responsible for rallycross and autocross) where Pole Wlodzimierz Szaniawski becomes the new president having been vice president to Hungarian Gyarfas Olah for the last four years. Olah is moving to the Electric and New Energy Championships Commission. Also noteworthy is Petter Solberg’s election as vice-president to Felipe Massa on the Drivers’ Commission where Kenneth Hansen continues to represent rallycross.

4 February / World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson will continue to race in Extreme E this year where he will defend his 2021 title with Rosberg X Racing. RXR has changed its driver lineup replacing Molly Taylor with rallycross and circuit racer Mikaela Ahlin Kottulinsky for the 2022 season.

5-6 February / The Race of Champions is run on snow and ice for the first time at Pite Havsbad in the north of Sweden. In the team event father and son (Norwegian and Swede!) Petter and Oliver Solberg win the title for Norway while in the individual event Sebastien Loeb defeats Sebastian Vettel to win take the title for the fourth time. RX2e cars were used in the event. The new FC1-X Nitro Rallycross car is given its public debut during the event.

This weekend / The season starts here! The Irish Rallycross Championship, IRX, begins its 2022 season at Mondello Park on Sunday. The series will run through until June then take a summer break (summer being a conceptual term in Ireland) before resuming for the last three events in October, November and December.