Hungary welcomes RX Heroes for 2025 showdown

Fans of the FIA World and European Rallycross Championships were treated to a sneak preview of the sights and sounds of the coming storm in Nyirád, as rallycross rolled into town for a special launch event ahead of the weekend.

Already one of the most accessible forms of motor sport, the town centre in Tapolca turned into a high-performance concourse and drew a huge crowd of local fans who were able to get up close to the drivers and cars across the World RX and Euro RX fields.

People of all ages packed the streets around the town centre to hear from their favourite drivers, all of whom are looking forward to getting out on track tomorrow for their first stir of the ‘Red Cauldron’.

Winner last time out in Sweden, Johan Kristoffersson is aiming for back-to-back victories at Nyirád. “I’m enjoying being back at this track, it was my first time here last year and yeah, the track is very cool, with a very exciting first corner of course..!

“We'll just see it as a big challenge and try to focus on ourselves and see what kind of results we can achieve this weekend.”

Current standings leader Niclas Grönholm was a winner last time the FIA World Rallycross Championship visited Hungary, and is hopeful of a repeat performance this time around. “Of course, that's the goal, to keep the lead in the championship,” said the fast Finn. “It's going to be tough but we're going to do our best - we had a good result here last year and have made a good start to the season so far so let's try to keep it up.”

Weather can turn the tide of a race weekend, and with temperatures set high in the weekend forecast, it’s at the front of mind for the drivers as well. Grönholm added, “Of course, the weather is more or less the same as last year, but the track condition was quite far from what it used to be.”

The Hansen brothers reminded the crowds of an action-packed final in 2024, and paid tribute to the impressive and challenging circuit at Nyirád. “For sure it's going to be hot, but the track down there is fantastic,” said Timmy. “It's one of the best rallycross tracks in the world, and I think we can expect a lot of good racing. We saw some crazy moments last year – Kevin's little moment with Johan, crash in the first corner in the final… You can always expect drama around here!”

As always, you can watch all the action live and free on the FIA World Rallycross Championship YouTube Channel.