Championships

FIA RX2e Championship

Sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, RX2e was the first-ever FIA electric rallycross championship. The vision for RX2e – a joint venture between Spanish electro-mobility specialist QEV Technologies and Swedish rallycross powerhouse Olsbergs MSE – is to provide a pathway to the top of the sport for aspiring rallycross stars via an arrive-and-drive concept.

Putting the Driver First

One of RX2e’s key appeals is that the emphasis is placed predominantly on ability behind the wheel in the single-spec series, prioritising driver skill and ingenuity above all else. 

The 30kWh battery – which has been fully safety-tested – is mounted next to the driver in the centre of the car to ensure optimum, 50/50 weight distribution, while power is supplied evenly to the front and rear wheels by a pair of motors and inverters, all of which benefit from a cooling system to prevent excessive temperatures.

The motor pumps out 270kW (equivalent to 362bhp) of power and up to 510Nm torque. A ‘Power Boost’ mode delivers drivers an extra 80kW for 30 seconds during each race to increase overtaking opportunities and encourage more strategic play.

What’s more, in a first for rallycross, drivers have three key parameters to play with before and between races, injecting an extra element of skill into the equation.

From inside the cockpit, competitors can manually adjust the amount of torque produced by the front and rear motors, the total torque deployed by all four wheels during the launch and the degree of regenerative braking on the front and rear axles.

On the outside, noise is generated by the howl of the drivetrain running at more than 12,000rpm as well as the gravel spray and tyre squeals so synonymous with rallycross, treating fans to a mouth-watering feast of fast-paced entertainment.

The Founders 

QEV boasts a long and successful history in the electric vehicle domain. Involved in Formula E from the outset, the company propelled Nelson Piquet Jnr to the title with NEXTEV TCR (now NIO) during the series’ inaugural season in 2014/15 before striking up a long-term operational partnership with Mahindra Racing. 

Its many years of experience in racing – from Formula E to the FIA World Touring Car Championship and TCR – have yielded an impressive track record of success while simultaneously honing the company’s electro-mobility and R&D expertise.

OMSE, meanwhile, is a name synonymous with rallycross success. The 2014 World RX championship-winning team is one of the most decorated outfits in the discipline’s history, consistently excelling on both sides of the Atlantic.

A regular race-winner and podium-finisher in FIA World and European Rallycross competition, the team has also secured multiple championship titles in the United States and earned an astonishing 19 X Games medals, including podium sweeps at the world’s leading action sports contest (Los Angeles, 2011; Brazil, 2013).

FIA European Rallycross Championship

Tracing its history back to 1973, the FIA European Rallycross Championship currently offers two titles – one for drivers of RX1 cars (2,000cc) and one for drivers of RX3 cars (1,600cc).

At events in Europe, the series provides the main support to the FIA World Rallycross Championship.  Until the advent of World RX in 2014, to be European Champion was the ultimate accolade to which any rallycross driver could aspire.

Winning the championship 14 times, Kenneth Hansen is the most successful rallycross driver ever. The Swede brought new levels of professionalism to the discipline and eclipsed the six titles won by Norway’s Martin Schanche.

The European Rallycross Championship enjoyed one of its finest eras between 1987 and 1992, when Group B cars ruled the roost. That period witnessed a hat-trick of titles for Finn Matti Alamäki in a Peugeot 205 T16 E2, and was closed out when Englishman Will Gollop became champion in 1992.

The Group A-based cars introduced in 1993 are the direct ancestors of today’s leading cars. That year’s title was won by Frenchman Jean-Luc Pailler in a Citroën BX. Rallying and rallycross veteran Per Eklund clinched the crown with a Saab in 1999 – at the age of 53 – while Russia’s Timur Timerzyanov won in 2012 and 2013 before stepping up with the creation of the World Championship in 2014.

RX3 is the current ‘feeder’ series at European level. A full FIA European Championship, it has been the proving ground for numerous World Championship drivers.