Former champion comes out of retirement to race in Hell

The entry lists for World RX of Norway in Hell (17-18 June) have today been revealed, with a former European champion preparing to return to battle in Euro RX1 – and promising not to hold back...

A one-off crosskart outing at Höljes aside, the last time Sverre Isachsen competed was back in 2016, and he has been absent from Euro RX – which he dominated between 2009 and 2011, clinching three consecutive crowns in a Ford Focus – for more than a decade.

A phone call from Frank Valle last week, however, has tempted the Norwegian out of retirement, and he will duly line up in the Euro RX1 field in Hell alongside his countryman in a pair of potent Ford Fiesta Mk8s – amongst the final batch of combustion-engined Supercars built by Swedish rallycross powerhouse Olsbergs MSE.

The deal came about following an agreement between the event promoter and Valle’s Tribunemannen company, which is building the grandstands for both Hell and Höljes. Isachsen – who played a key role in bringing the European Championship to Hell back in 2011 – is excited to get back out on-track and see how he shapes up against the very best drivers of the modern era.

“It’s all been a bit last-minute!” the 52-year-old joked. “Frank called me last Friday, and to be honest everything moved very quickly. I’ve had the feeling in my body in recent years that I wanted to drive again and I had been talking about it with my old team, so when the chance came, I had to grab it. Hopefully the fans will be happy to see me back.

“I obviously have a very personal connection to Hell and it’s a really fun track to drive, with a lot of different elements to the lap, so I’m looking forward to some good battles. There are clearly a lot of fast drivers in the field, but I was born optimistic and I’m not afraid of anybody. I’ve been away from Euro RX for more than 11 years and I’m an old man now, of course, but maybe that also makes me a little bit wiser and I still remember a lot of the old tricks...

“On Friday, this was only for fun, but now it’s getting a bit more serious and I can promise you I will push flat-out – I’m certainly not planning to brake!”

Isachsen and Valle will form part of a 17-strong Euro RX1 field in Hell, featuring five of the six finalists from the opening round of the season in Hungary last month. The full event entry lists for World RX, Euro RX1 and Euro RX3 are below, with RX2e to be published at a later date.