Pinomäki predicts ‘rallycross in all of its beauty’ in 2024

CE Dealer Team joined the grid two years ago, placing third in the Teams’ table at the international pinnacle of the dual-surface discipline in 2022 before improving to second last year, with Niclas Grönholm securing third spot in the Drivers’ classification on both occasions.

The 2024 season – which will get underway on the Swedish squad’s home soil at Höljes on 6-7 July, with the legendary ‘Magic Weekend’ – is looming ever-larger into view, and Team Principal Pinomäki says everybody involved is preparing hard for the challenges that lie ahead.

“I think we will see rallycross in all of its beauty,” enthused the Finn. “There are a lot of new things in 2024, including the Hoosier Tires. It’s a completely different construction in the tyre to what we’ve had in the past, so there’s a lot to learn in that respect, and the race format will also be something totally new. Before, we always raced for time until we got to the semi-finals, but now it’s all about positions. We will need to try to finish every single heat race as high as possible while simultaneously keeping the cars in one piece!”

Seven-time event-winner Grönholm will be partnered on the driving front once again by rising star Klara Andersson, who continued to build upon her promising rookie campaign in the top-flight by advancing to the final five times out of seven last year, making history in Hong Kong as the first woman ever to top a heat session in World RX. Pinomäki is confident the pair are perfectly-poised to help the team to achieve its ambitions.

“The expectations are pretty high,” acknowledged the former Division 1A and Division 2 FIA European Rallycross Champion. “We’ve been climbing up the standings and now there’s only one more step to take, which is the main objective.

“It won’t be easy, but we have a strong driver line-up, which we’ve always known. One is more experienced; the other is catching up, but catching up constantly so I think we are a lot stronger than we were when we started this project. Klara is picking up the pace I would say even faster than we had thought. Niclas, of course, has been fast all the time, and for him it is more about finding that consistency, but I have no doubt that we have the drivers we need to take the last step.”