European Rallycross: Two halves equals nothing?

European Rallycross: Two halves equals nothing?

by Martijn Kösters

This has been bugging my mind for a while now, actually ever since the split of the European Rallycross Championship (back then the only series to be abbreviated to ERC) into the IMG European Rallycross Championship and The Rallycross Challenge. Why? Because break-ups never work out, and probably never will.

Most recent example comes from The States, Champcar and Indycar split in the 1990s and went there own way for a while. One focusing more on so called 'Road Courses', the other practiced the fine art of going counter-clockwise very fast. Yet in the end, with a little help from the financial crisis, they were forced into eachother's arms again. The United States could not hold up two major open wheel racing categories. If two similar series, in one of the biggest categories of motor racing in one of the biggest consumer markets on the planet is not achievable. Can a much smaller form of motorsport like Rallycross make a split work?

Given, despite the current financial climate the IMG championship can rely on more than decent backing. Its outlook for the coming years looks very good, with more TV coverage, and more revenue for both teams and drivers. IMG seem to have a vantage point on the horizon where they want to take Rallycross to, and so far teams and drivers are more than willing to jump the IMG-train.

In a way, something needed to happen in order to take Rallycross to the next level. Coverage was virtually non-existent except when you were in one of the Scandinavian countries and some successful drivers like Isachsen, Foust and Doran were moving to the US to compete in the Global Rallycross Championship. The GRC might not be what Europeans call Rallycross, if only for the lack of off-road driving. Tracks might have been very basic in their lay-outs as they often used pit-lanes at oval circuits combined with some (very exciting) jumps. Still, GRC did get one thing right, positioning GRC as a dessert after NASCAR-races meant the spectators were already there, and major channels like ESPN were too. It provides prime racing (great driver line-up) on a prime channel (ESPN) on a prime slot (right after NASCAR) in front of a prime audience. For 2013 GRC takes another step by hosting events in line with the X-Games in Brazil, Spain, Germany and the US.

The big question is what the future of European Rallycross will look like. Will both series survive, will only one remain or will the split lead to the complete demise of Rallycross? Virtually it is anybody's guess with no events being run yet and no feedback from drivers or spectators. Yet from what we have seen in the build-up to the 2013 season I'll have to say that the IMG Championship seems to have a very strong package. Not only in terms of resources, but also in terms of FIA backing and a driver line-up which is right up there.

The Rallycross Challenge has been cloaked in silence so far, having only released a calendar which lists planned events. The Challenge is founded on the slogan 'Rallycross the way it is meant to be' and promises accessibility for both drivers and spectators. The focus on old-school rallycross is one that appeals to a general audience, but it may be a dead-end street. In the end the teams need to pay their bills, something IMG promises to do in their Championship. Combined with the more progressive focus of IMG into new markets like Portugal, Hungary and good-old Scandinavia which the Challenge misses out on, IMG provides a commercially more appealing package.

This whole opinion might be redundant as soon when The Rallycross Challenge reveal their plans in detail, but as it stands now the IMG has everything the drivers and teams could like. And although both calendars do not interfere with each other, it seems unlikely that any team can pull off 15 Rallycross events in a year. Drivers and teams who have signed up for the IMG ERC might occasionally join the Rallycross Challenge, but I'm afraid the latter one will boast perhaps a better atmosphere, but a starting grid without any headliners.

ERC/GRC Rallycross Review: Action on and off track

ERC/GRC Rallycross Review: Action on and off track

by Martijn Kösters

Double the action this weekend as both major Rallycross series had an outing on either side of the globe. The Global Rallycross Championship had its first of two events in Las Vegas (with a race at SEMA in four weeks time) and the European Rallycross Championship went for its final spin at the Estering in Germany.

Although the Global Rallycross Championship had its final on Saturday evening local time, we will start of with the ERC since important developments took place over the weekend. As you may know, next year's FIA Rallycross Championship is undergoing some changes including a new promoting party, IMG. As IMG basically organises this championship, she has the right to select venues on which to stage events, meaning some tracks might be left out. This has resulted in the formation of a break-away series, going by the name of FIA Rallycross Challenge. The Challenge will use the same Rallycross regulations written by FIA. One issue is that the series has yet to be approved by the FIA, who will not be overly pleased with two European Championship in the same class of motorsport on roughly similar tracks. To Be Continued...


Back to on-track action, the ERC came to Buxtehude for round ten out of ten of the season. All the titles were awarded last week, but championship standings provide enough excitement for 2^nd and 3^rd place in the championship. In Supercars Liam Doran, Davy Jeanney and possible Alexander Hvaal hoped to profit from #2 in the standings Tanner Foust. In Super 1600 Skorupski, Leppihalme, Linnemann and Rakhmatullin had a chance at taking 'silver' for the 2012 championship. Touringcars had less battles still in the championship, although Robin Larsson could reward his great run in the second half of the season with third place in the Championship.

The A-finals on Sunday saw plenty of action, with some of the favourites being caught out in crashes. In Touringcars Anton Marklund and outgoing champion Lars Oivind Enerberg retired from the gravel trap. Robin Larsson took his fifth victory of the season, and his fourth from the second half of the season, giving him maximum points from the second half of the year. Ole Habjorg finished second ahead of Castoral, Enlund and Lundh. Both Koen Pauwels and Derek Tohill were absent from the A-final.
Ch. Result: 1. Anton Marklund 142pt., 2 Derek Tohill 121pt., 3 Roman Castoral 115pt.

In Super 1600 it took a few tries to decide a winner. Jussi Leppihalme caused a red flag in the first take of the A-final, and also had to retire. Take two saw chaos in the first corner, leaving Joni Wiman unable to compete. Eventually Teemu Suninen, who was fast all weekend took the win ahead of this year's champ Bakkerud and Sergey Zagumennov.
Ch. Result: 1. Andreas Bakkerud 138pt., 2 Krzystof Skorupski 114pt., 3 Jussi-Petteri Leppihalme 113pt.

In Supercars, a spectecular crash saw two cars out after the first lap. Peter Hedström hit the armco barrier on the inside, sending his car across the track into the path of Pavel Koutný, who as a result barrel-rolled along the armco, and straight over Hedström's car. After the restart, Liam Doran profited from both Tanner Foust's and more surprisingly Timerzyanov's absence from the final to take the win. Jeanney second, Stig-Olov Walfridsson scored his best 2012 result with third.
Ch. Result: 1. Timur Timerzyanov 148pt., 2 Liam Doran 104pt., 3 Tanner Foust 100pt.



Over in the United States, the Global Rallycross Championship worked off round 5 out of 6, with the Discount Tire-America's Tire Cup concluding already this weekend. Tanner Foust wanted to score here, he skipped the European Rallycross round in Germany (and others) in order to take a shot at the GRC. Foust did not let himself down by being fastest in practice and eventually taking the win. Fellow Rockstar teammate Brian Deegan finished second ahead of 2011 European Champion Sverre Isachsen, Toomas Heikkinen and Stéphane Verdier. Foust's win secured him the Discount Tire Cup, which he also won ahead of Brian Deegan. This result also puts him another step closer to the Global Championship, as he increases his Championship lead on Brian Deegan to 16 points.
The GRC will be finishing at the SEMA centre in Vegas, during the last weekend of October.

Vegas showdown to conclude Global Rallycross Championship

GRC Preview: Vegas showdown to conclude Global Rallycross Championship

by Martijn Kösters

After last weeks European semi-finale produced three new champions, there is another championship decider awaiting, on the other side of the pond. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway sees the finale of the Global Rallycross Championship, with six drivers mathematically still with a shot for the title.

The standings prior to this weekend: Tanner Foust leads the championship with 62 points, with a comfortable lead of 12 points on Samuel Hubinette. Brian Deegan is third with 49 points. Further down Grönholm (43 points but absent this weekend), Binks (42), Block (40) and Verdier (39) could mathematically still take the title.

Though it seems most likely the focus this weekend will be on Foust, Hubinette and Deegan. Foust can comfortably start his weekend with the notion that a 6^th place in the Final would grant him the title by default. Surviving the heats and cruising in the final will be his target, but taking the title in style and amusing the crowd is more fun, Foust will now that. Note that Foust's worst result was a sixth place during the X-games which were dominated by Sebastien Loeb.

Hubinette (Saab 9-3) and Brian Deegan (Fiesta) will be trying their best for maximum points, rightaway from the first heats as an extra point are awarded for winning your heat. A win would be absolutely necessary for Hubinette and Deegan, giving them 20 points. Note Hubinette's best result was second place in New Hampshire, and Deegan finished third three times in a row in the last three events.

The sub-championship complementing the Global Rallycross Championship is much more exciting, and far, far from over. The Discount Tire-Americas Tire Cup takes scores from three events (Texas, New Hampshire and Las Vegas) to crown a champion. Because only two race in the DT-AT Cup have been driven so far, there are no less than 12(!) drivers capable of the title. Foust and Deegan are sharing the lead on 32 points, Hubinette follows on 28, Pastrana fourth on 23, with Grönholm, Binks and Block in his wake on 21 points.

Plenty of contenders, and in typical Vegas style a big prize up for grabs, 25000$ for the Winner of the Discount Tire-Americas Tire Cup. All will be decided this weekend, ESPN2 starts coverage at 6:00PM (EDT) on Sunday. Keep posted on our twitter as we expect youtube videos to pop up early next week.

#ERC Finland: New stars shine, but old ones shine brighter

#ERC Finland: New stars shine, but old stars shine brighter

by Martijn Kösters

The European Rallycross Championship came to a wet Kuovola for the penultimate round. In every category there was the possibility of the title race being concluded this weekend, yet this didn't mean the weekend was only dominated by possible new champions. The weekend in Kuovola also saw some future stars trying to outshine the heroes of 2012.

In the Supercar category Tanner Foust was the only challenger to Championship leader Timur Timerzyanov, all be it only mathematically. The title fight was effectively ended by Foust himself when he revealed not to compete in next weekend's German round, as he will try to obtain the Global Rallycross Championship in 'Vegas. Nonetheless Foust started off well by being fastest in Saturday's first heat ahead of Citroën driver Liam Doran and Mats Lysen in his trusty Renault Clio. Timerzyanov concluded Saturday in fourth place.

New boy on the Supercar block represented a more than well-known name. Hansen, Timmy is better known for his outings in formula racing, yet after breaking with his team the son of 14-time Champion Kenneth had time on his hands to try different kinds of motorsport. Given the opportunity to drive a Citroën DS3 Supercar (previously used by Sebastien Loeb to win the X-games) he ended day one in tenth.

Old name, new tricks. Timmy Hansen brings a famous name back.

Super 1600 could see a fight between Andreas Bakkerud and Ulrik Linnemann who were both still in the title chase. Bakkerud supported a ten point lead coming into Finland. Though day one did not see many action between the two, as Linnemann had to deal with a misfiring engine he finished Saturday in 19^th. Jussi Pinomäki of the Set Promotion team had all the reasons to be content after day one, his two Finnish rookies Suninen and Wiman were first and second in the first heat, with fellow Finn Leppihalme in third and Bakkerud in fourth.

Where the Finns dominated Super 1600, the Touringcar division was an all Swedish affair. Robin Larsson continued to show form by beating main championship contender Anton Marklund in the first heat, with Daniel Lundh (in a Volvo) making it three Swedes in the top-3. Marklund's main rival Derek Tohill ended the Saturday in fourth.

On Sunday, the second and third heats saw similar drivers on top of the time sheets. Peter Hedström took Supercar pole by being fastest in Heat 2 and 3, Doran and Timerzyanov were second and third in both of sunday's heats. After three heats Lysen, Jeanney and de Keersmaecker were the other three drivers who qualified directly for the A-Final. Tanner Foust only just qualified for the B-final after P20 in heat 2 and a DNF in heat three. Timmy Hansen had to settle for the C-final, as he didn't make the top 10 in any session on Sunday.

As mentioned before, Joni Wiman dominated in Sunday's quali heats, with a first place in Heat two ahead of Minnikhanov and Färén. Heat three resulted in second place behind Skorupski for the young Finn. These good results meant Wiman would start the A-final from pole, alongside him fellow Finnish rookie Teemu Suninen and Minnikhanov on P3. Skorupski, Färén and Bakkerud complete the A-final. Linnemann didn't overcome his engine issues and would start in the C-final. In Touringcars Robin Larsson and Anton Marklund secured P1 and P2 in the A-final by finishing first and second in Heat Three. Though he won heat 2, Roman Castoral had to settle for 3^rd place on the grid, ahead of Tohill and Lundh.

Wet conditions added extra action into the game

Finals started great for Timur Timerzyanov, not only could he start from third in the A-final, that position also granted him the title as he only needed a single point for the title. Rival Tanner Foust did make it up to the A-final, as did Timmy Hansen all the way from Finale C. The A-final itself was dominated by Timerzyanov in his almost traditional style, he drove to a clear victory, his sixth of the season. Doran and Hedström completed the podium. Lysen finished fourth, only just ahead of Timmy Hansen and Tanner Foust, who ended his year with a mediocre result.

In Super 1600 would become a Set Promotion party. Without Ulrik Linnemann in the A-final, it would be a lap of honour for Andreas Bakkerud who only needed fifth in order to take the title. The race was won by Jussi Leppihalme, ahead of team mate Suninen. Skorupski came third and now holds second in the championship. As Skorupski would need to drop his score of seven points in Austria he can only score an additional 13 points in Germany, not enough to bridge the 17-point gap to Bakkerud.

Would the third champion of the day come from the Touringcar class today? Well yes, Derek Tohill never got in front of Anton Marklund during the final, who 'cruised' to second place and the title in Touringcars. Robin Larsson continued his end of season sprint by taking yet another victory, ahead of Marklund and Castoral.

Timerzyanov still seemed surprised with his title

At the end of the day we had three great champions in the names of Timur Timerzyanov for Russia in Supercars, Andreas Bakkerud for Norway in S1600 and Anton Marklund for Sweden in Touringcars. What Germany will bring? There are no titles left to race for, an invitation for all drivers to drive freely and put up a good show, next week in Buxtehude.

ERC Season Finale Preview

Who will take the silver? - A brief guide

by Martijn Kösters



As the final two rounds of this year's European Rallycross Championship in Finland and Germany are coming up, time for a quick brush up of all standings and title candidates.

Some of you might know that the European Rallycross Championship is divided into three categories. Supercars are four-wheel-driven vehicles fitted with a turbocharged two-liter engine. This might sound like a similar recipe as the WRC cars used throughout the 90s and 00s, but one must note that power output of ERC Supercars easily doubles that of WRC cars. Although exact numbers are kept secret, expect Supercars to put out around 600 horsepower, where WRC cars “only” have about 300 at best. The other two categories are Super 1600 (FWD, 1.6 liter atmospheric engines) and Touringcars (RWD, 2 liter atmospheric engines).

The Supercar category has been dominated throughout the season by one man: 'Czar' Timur Timerzyanov. Out of the seven rounds in which he competed d he managed to win five, of which three out of the last three rounds. Timerzyanov currently leads the championship with 128 points, his closest and only rival Tanner Foust is another 39 points down the road. Foust is the only driver who managed to keep Timerzyanov from a victory, yet as he is competing for the US-based Global Rallycross Championship as well he had to skip the Austrian and Swedish round of the championship. Mediocre results in France and the Netherlands put him only just ahead of #3 in the championship Alexander Hvaal, who is out of the title chase with 82 points.

The way in which the ERC is set up means there is another factor to be taken into account: drop-scores. Of both halves of the season each driver has to drop his worst result. In the first halve of the season, Timerzyanov dropped his non-entry at the season premier in the United Kingdom, where he couldn't enter because of visa issues. Other title candidate Tanner Foust skipped the Austrian round.

Standings at the moment come in two versions: one with and one without drop-scores. With drop-scores Timerzyanov would be on 108 points prior to the last two rounds, Foust would stay at 89 points (non-entry in Sweden). This decreases the gap in the championship from 39 to 19 points, leaving Foust with a chance for the title. On the other hand, a retirement would cost Timerzyanov absolutely nothing, since a 0-score would become his mandatory drop-score. To clinch the title this weekend, Timerzyanov would only need a single point (15^th place), since Foust could only reach a total 129 points.

Prediction: Timur Timerzyanov


In Super 1600 matters are not so clear as in Supercars, since there are many more drivers still competing for the title, five to be precise. Leading the Championship is Andreas Bakkerud, with a 119 points he has a nice but not comfortable lead of 10 points over Ulrik Linnemann. Third is Krzystof Skorupski on 99 points, closely followed by Ildar Rakhmatullin on 94 and Bakkerud's team mate Jussi Leppihalme on 91 points.

Andreas Bakkerud can take the title his this weekend, if he wins and Linnemann would finish no higher than third the scores would be 139 against 124. If Linnemann would then win in Germany he would need to drop his 5 points scored in Belgium putting him on 139 points. Bakkerud would then be champion on four wins to three for Linnemann.

Bakkerud's worst score was 7^th place in Belgium, still an A-final finish. He's great at fighting his way up from a B-final position to the A-final. Linnemann can only try to win and hope Bakkerud doesn't do well.

Prediction: Andreas Bakkerud

In the Touringcar class there are only two title candidates left: Anton Marklund leads on 125 points with 2010 champion Derek Tohill second on 108 points. Marklund has had an absolutely fantastic season with two wins and five second places. Only time Marklund didn't make the podium was in Norway, and that score doesn't count for the championship anymore (dropped). Tohill is on two wins as well, yet finishing 4^th, 9^th and 3^rd in the last three rounds has cost him the lead he held after the first half of the season. Outsider for this weekend could be Robin Larsson, he either did not score or finished on the podium (4 times out of 6 starts).

In order for Marklund to take the title in Finland he would 'only' need to finish second. This would put him on 142 points, whereas Tohill can only reach 140 given he wins twice (drops 8 points from Belgium).

Prediction: Anton Marklund