#YellowSquad signs up to RX2e with race-winner Sjökvist

Hansen Motorsport junior team #YellowSquad will enter the FIA RX2e Championship this year with series front-runner Isak Sjökvist, as the Swede bids to take the next step from race-winner to title contender.

Following a formative career in karting, Sjökvist only debuted in rallycross in 2021, but he has wasted no time at all in establishing himself as one of the dual-surface discipline’s brightest rising stars.

A podium-finisher first time out in RX2e on home soil at Höljes two years ago, the highly-rated Swede missed the rostrum just once last season, capping his maiden full campaign in the all-electric, single-spec FIA World Rallycross Championship feeder series with a popular breakthrough victory in Catalunya to seal the runner-up spot in the overall standings behind Viktor Vranckx.

Now, exploiting the experience he has gained and coupling that with the expertise of #YellowSquad – a leading light in various different rallycross categories since its inception in 2019 – Sjökvist has his sights firmly set on fighting for the coveted crown over the coming months, beginning in Hell, Norway on 17-18 June.

“I’m so excited for this extremely rare and extraordinary opportunity that I’ve got in my hands this season,” enthused the 21-year-old Uppsala native. “I’ve been in motorsport for almost ten years, and I’ve always had eyes on climbing to the highest level.

“When I started in rallycross two years ago, it felt like a natural habitat to me. That’s the same with joining #YellowSquad and the Hansen Motorsport family; it feels so natural and yet so special at the same time to get this kind of opportunity. Getting to work with some of the greatest rallycross drivers ever is almost indescribable – this is a childhood dream becoming a reality.

“I’ve always tried to push myself to the limit and aim higher and higher. To join #YellowSquad is a really big step in the right direction for me, as they have all the tools I need to develop my career. There will be a lot of very good drivers in the series this year, but everyone starts from zero and we will work as hard as we can to secure the best results possible.

“There is always room for development. As one of the greatest Swedish sportsmen, Ingemar Stenmark, once said, ‘the more you try, the more luck you get’. I think that really suits what I’m doing. I need to train harder, work harder and I’m sure that with #YellowSquad, we can make the opportunities even bigger.”

The new commitment falls in-line with the vision of #YellowSquad’s parent company, Hansen Motorsport, for a more sustainable future, with the Swedish squad similarly set to field cars for brothers Timmy and Kevin Hansen at the highest level in World RX in 2023. The team joins fellow World Championship outfit Kristoffersson Motorsport on the RX2e grid.

“I’ve been watching Isak since he started his rallycross career and I’ve always been impressed by both his attitude and his performance, especially against far more experienced drivers,” commented #YellowSquad Team Manager, Eric Färén. “We’re very excited to bring him into #YellowSquad for 2023 and to work with him on fighting for the title, because that has to be our goal.

“I think Isak and #YellowSquad is a very good match, so hopefully we can give him the extra support he needs to take the next step and come away with some big results this year. And for us at #YellowSquad, it’s also exciting to be doing something new in RX2e, where we will push ourselves to continue achieving what we know we are capable of.”