Volland relishing opportunity to go wheel-to-wheel with World RX greats

Following the conclusion of the 2025 FIA European Rallycross Championship campaign on Saturday at Istanbul Park Circuit – a venue that returned to the World RX schedule last year after an absence of almost a decade – the ten Euro RX1 protagonists will step up to the highest level on Sunday, as they prepare to go toe-to-toe with the likes of multiple world champion Johan Kristoffersson.

Championship points might not be at stake for the ‘wildcard’ entries, but what is on offer is a golden opportunity to impress some of the dual-surface discipline’s biggest movers-and-shakers. For 25-year-old Volland – a rising star of the sport approaching the end of his first season in the European Championship’s top-flight – it is an enticing prospect... 

“It’s a cool opportunity, and the calibre is obviously the highest it can be,” he enthused. “It will be interesting to see how we shape up against the World RX regulars in terms of pace, and you can see how hard they fight! I don’t have any expectations as such, but one thing’s for sure – with 14 cars in the field, it will make for a really exciting season finale for the fans!”

Volland’s maiden campaign in Euro RX1 has been an eventful one, characterised by highs-and-lows. The German – last year’s Euro RX3 title-winner – got off to a flying start on the opening day, sitting second in the overnight standings at Lousada back at the end of May, but a mistake while leading in heat four 24 hours later sent his Audi S1 spearing into the Turn Six barriers, with the resultant damage ruling him out of the remainder of the weekend.

In round two at Höljes, Volland missed out on advancing past the semi-final stage by less than half-a-second to team-mate Yury Belevskiy, but Nyirád in Hungary saw the Roth native belatedly make it into the final for the first time in the category. While his challenge was curtailed in the semi-finals last time out at Finland’s KymiRing, he nonetheless holds fourth position overall arriving in Istanbul. 

“The season has not been so easy,” reflected the son of record-breaking 13-time German Rallycross Champion Rolf Volland. “It began quite well on the first day in Portugal, but then obviously I had the crash that adversely affected my performance a little bit, knocking me out of my rhythm slightly and staying in the back of my mind for a while.

“To add to that, while usually, our plan is to test at the tracks where we are going to race, we weren’t able to do that before the following rounds. You could see the benefit of that extra preparation at Lousada – Yury [Belevskiy] and I were immediately on the pace, because we’d had two days of testing there. Elsewhere, with only two short free practice sessions and being in a new car, it’s clearly been trickier, but that’s all part of rallycross, of course.

“I must say, the Audi S1 is so much fun. You can really feel the benefit of having four wheel-drive, which enables you to go more sideways and still be quick. I was so accustomed to being told to keep everything neat-and-tidy in Euro RX3, where normally the cleanest approach is the fastest approach. In Euro RX1, you can’t brake so hard because the car is heavier and you have to send it more into the corners, which I hadn’t been used to so much.

“I feel like I’ve been settling back into a good rhythm recently, though, after my early-season accident, and as I’m personally not really fighting for anything in the championship anymore, the main focus this weekend is on helping Yury to secure the title.”