I helgen braker det løs i rallycross-VM. 21 førere stiller til start i første runde i SuperCar i Portugal. Blant dem tre norske.
Petter Solberg, Andreas Bakkerud og Tord Linnerud er alle på plass i Montalegre i Portugal. I tillegg stiller Simon Wågo Syversen og Joachim Hvaal i gjesteklassen RX Lites.
Det er åtte team som er anmeldt til VM for team i år. Petter Solberg har som kjent dannet team sammen med britiske Liam Doran. Andreas Bakkerud kjører også i år for fjorårets verdensmester-team Ford Olsberg MSE, sammen med Reinis Nitiss fra Latvia. Tord Linnerud kjører for svenske Volkswagen Team Sweden sammen med Johan Kristoffersson i en VW Polo.
Totalt skal det kjøres 13 VM-runder i rallycross i år. Den norske runden på Lånke kjøres 21.-23. august.
Viasat sender fra samtlige VM-runder, og på søndag er det direktesending på Viasat Motor fra Portugal fra klokken 15.00.
Alt om løpet i Portugal:
http://rallycrossrx.com/event/33/montalegre
Terminliste 2015:
- APRIL – MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL
- MAI – HOCKENHEIMRING, TYSKLAND
- MAI – METTET, BELGIA
- MAI – LYDDEN HILL, ENGLAND
- JUNI – ESTERING, TYSKLAND
- JULI – HÖLJES, SVERIGE
- AUGUST – GP3R, CANADA
- AUGUST – HELL, NORGE
- SEPTEMBER – LOHEAC, FRANKRIKE
- SEPTEMBER – BARCELONA, SPANIA
- OKTOBER – ISTANBUL, TYRKIA
- OKTOBER – FRANCIACORTA, ITALIA
- NOVEMBER – SAN LUIS, ARGENTINA
Permanente VM-team og førere i rallycross 2015
SDRX: Petter Solberg (Norway), Citroën DS3
SDRX: Liam Doran (UK) Citroën DS3
Ford Olsbergs MSE: Reinis Nitiss (Latvia) Ford Fiesta ST
Ford Olsbergs MSE: Andreas Bakkerud (Norway) Ford Fiesta ST
Marklund Motorsport: Topi Heikkinen (Finland) VW Polo
Marklund Motorsport: PG Andersson (Sweden) VW Polo
Team Peugeot-Hansen: Timmy Hansen (Sweden) Peugeot 208
Team Peugeot-Hansen: Davy Jeanney (France) Peugeot 208
Volkswagen Team Sweden: Johan Kristofferson (Sweden) VW Polo
Volkswagen Team Sweden: Tord Linnerud (Norway) VW Polo
EKS: Mattias Ekström (Sweden) Audi S1
EKS: Anton Marklund (Sweden) Audi S1
EKS: Edward Sandström (Sweden) Audi S1
ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport: Rene Muennich (Germany) Audi S3
ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport: Alx Danielsson (Sweden) Audi S3
World RX Team Austria: Manfred Stohl (Austria) Fiesta ST
World RX Team Austria: Max Pucher (Austria) Fiesta ST
Permanente individuelt påmeldte: Timur Timerzyanov (Russia) Fiesta ST & Robin Larsson (Sweden) Audi A1
Oppdatering fra teamene på engelsk foran VM-åpningen:
SDRX. Solberg and Britain’s Liam Doran have teamed up under the new-for-2015 SDRX banner in a pair of Monster Energy backed Citroen DS3 Supercars. Both drivers have made tweaks to their car’s chassis, engine and suspension over the season break and have spent the last few days testing in Lousada (Portugal) in preparation for this weekend.
Solberg commented: “Defending the drivers’ title and pushing for a team championship under SDRX feels like a dream come true. I will of course continue with my engineers and mechanics to push as hard as I can to retain my title. We have developed the car extensively, and I can’t wait to get out on track. We, as SDRX are a private team, but we have everything it takes and more to give the factory teams a huge fight for the main trophies.”
Doran added: “It’s hard to express how much I am looking forward to getting back to racing this year. It’s been a rollercoaster ride over the past 12 months, and now it’s time to put it all behind us and get back to racing and winning! Working alongside Petter is going to be a great experience. His name and achievements go before him, and I think the dynamic between us will work really well.”
Ford Olsbergs MSE. Last year’s World RX Teams’ Championship winners Ford Olsbergs MSE will return this season with young guns Reinis Nitiss and Andreas Bakkerud. Nitiss won the Norwegian RX round in 2014 while Bakkerud took two event victories (Turkey and UK).
Marklund Motorsport. Topi Heikkinen – runner-up in last year’s Drivers’ Championship – will return to Swedish based squad Marklund Motorsport this year. Heikkinen, who won the Belgian RX race, will be joined by former WRC driver PG Andersson in the team’s second Polo RX Supercars.
Team Peugeot-Hansen. Run by multiple European Rallycross Champion Kenneth Hansen, the 2015 Team Peugeot-Hansen line-up includes Timmy Hansen, who won his first World RX event in Italy last year. He is joined by the 2013 European Rallycross Vice-Champion Davy Jeanney in the team’s second Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar.
Volkswagen Team Sweden. Another new team in World RX, Volkswagen Team Sweden will be headed up by Sweden’s Johan Kristofferson, who scored a podium in Belgium last year. Norway’s Tord Linnerud, an accomplished rally and Touring Car driver will also drive for the team. Both drivers will pilot Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars.
EKS. After entering selected rounds in 2014, EKS have returned in 2015 as a full World Championship team. Double DTM Champion Mattias Ekstrom will compete at the majority of events with GT racer Edward Sandstrom to step in for Ekstrom at Hockenheim RX. Anton Marklund has switched from Marklund Motorsport in 2015 and will drive the team’s second Audi S1 Quattro.
ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport. Another new team in World RX, the Muennich Motorsport outfit is headed up by Rene Muennich – team chief and driver when Muennich Motorsport won the 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship. Driving the team’s second Audi S3 RX Supercar is Sweden’s Alx Danielsson – a former NASCAR driver and winner of the 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
World RX Team Austria. The fourth new team to enter World RX this year is run by Austrian entrepreneur, Max Pucher, who will also drive for the squad. He will be joined by former WRC star Manfred Stohl. Both Austrians will drive Ford Fiesta RX Supercars.
Permanent entries. Timur Timerzyanov and Robin Larsson will start their 2015 World RX campaigns in Portugal as individual World Championship entrants. Both drivers will be serious contenders for this year’s Drivers’ Championship having previously won the highly-competitive European Rallycross Championship (Timerzyanov in 2012/2013 and Larsson last year).
Other entrants. Jean-Baptiste Dubourg – who finished runner-up in last year’s French Rallycross Championship – will drive a Citroen C4 Supercar in Portugal with a new engine from French company, Oreca. Two Portuguese drivers will also compete in front of their home crowd: Joaquim Santos in a Ford Focus and Mario Barbosa in a Citroen DS3.
Startliste i Portugal: http://media.rallycrossrx.com/docs/2015%20Portugal%20RX%20entry%20list%20PDF.pdf