Reigning world championship-winning outfit
Kristoffersson Motorsport is evaluating a five-strong entry into the FIA World
Rallycross Championship in 2024, with a mixed stable of electric and
sustainably-fuelled internal combustion cars for the first year of the series’ forthcoming
‘Battle of Technologies’ era.
Under the Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS banner,
KMS has clinched both the Drivers’ and Teams’ crowns for the past two seasons
at the international pinnacle of the sport, with Johan Kristoffersson securing
his sixth career title in Hong Kong last month.
Buoyed by that success and the opportunities
opened up by the championship’s new concept, Team Principal Tommy
Kristoffersson is considering the possibility of the Arvika-based outfit’s
biggest-ever commitment to World RX, by bolstering its three-car electric
effort with a pair of combustion-powered Polos, based upon a chassis identical
to that underpinning the all-conquering Volkswagen RX1e.
“I honestly don’t think anybody has ever pushed
the envelope this far in the design of an ICE Supercar,” the Swede told regional
daily newspaper, the Arvika Nyheter. “Unlike our previous versions of the Polo which
were initially conceived for rallying and subsequently modified for rallycross,
these new cars have been built to stick as closely as possible to FIA rallycross
regulations – a real ‘first’.
“We have exploited a lot of the ideas already successfully
trialled in the development of our electric VWs, which has resulted in some
economies of scale, and the first car should be completed early in the new year,
followed by the second sometime in February or March.
“I think it would be some kind of record to run
five cars in World RX, but there is a long way still to go. As ever, it all
depends upon how much budget we can raise, as well as the new technical
regulations and how the ‘Equivalence of Technologies’ element will work – it
goes without saying that the rules need to be as equal as possible.
“In a straight line, we know that the RX1es are
a bit faster than the RX1s, but at more technical circuits where there isn’t so
much grip, such as Höljes, I believe combustion cars could just have the edge...”
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