An Introduction To... World Rallycross

What Is Rallycross?

Rallycross is an exciting sprint race series that sees cars racing for victory on a mixture of tarmac and dirt over the course of each lap. The event format has been designed with entertainment in mind, so the races are short, cars are spectacular, and the grid is lined up with 4 or 5 cars side-by-side at the start which leads to a lot of action and contact, especially at the first corner. With the dirt in mind, the cars are 600bhp fire-spitting four-wheel-drive monsters that can accelerate from 0-60mph in under 2 seconds – which is even quicker than a Formula One car.

Each event is made up of a tournament featuring a number of short heat races, which sees every car taking to the track multiple times to decide who qualifies for the semi-finals, and eventually, the event final. With the races being held over just 4 laps for the heats, there is no time for the drivers to be patient and spend a number of laps lining up an overtake. This also means that in the rare case that a race is less exciting, it isn’t long until the next race with a new set of drivers is ready on the starting grid.

Photo: Side-by-side in the dash to turn 1. ©Ian Gilby 2016

The entry list for each round of the championship features some names that are rally specialists, some that are from circuit racing and others that are exclusively rallycross racers. This variety means that drivers are often good on different parts of the track to each other, which helps to create action in the races. To increase the action further, each driver must complete the ‘joker lap’ once in each race, which sees them drive down an alternative section of track which is longer than the normal lap. This gives the drivers a chance to get past their rival by using the joker lap at a different time, and there a plenty of action when the cars are re-joining the main lap.

Naturally, the focal point of the events is the semi-finals and the final itself. Only the top 12 drivers after the heats qualify for the semis so you are sure to see the best drivers battling it out for a place in the final. With the drivers facing elimination from the event at that stage, the tension builds and the drivers are desperate to avoid making a mistake that might let their rivals past, especially on the slippery dirt sections. The final sees the top 6 battling for a place on the podium and hoping to win the event overall.

A more detailed look at the circuits, the cars, and drivers is below.

Weekend Timetable

Saturday 17th October

World RX Q1 10:10 CET, 09:10 BST (Live on YouTube and Facebook)

World RX Q2 11:45 CET, 10:45 BST (Live on YouTube and Facebook)

World RX Q3 13:35 CET, 12:35 BST (Live on YouTube and Facebook)

World RX Finals 16:00 CET, 15:00 BST (Live on Freesports TV in the UK)

Sunday 18th October

World RX Q1 00:20 CET, 08:20 BST (Live on YouTube and Facebook)

World RX Q2 10:45 CET, 09:45 BST (Live on YouTube and Facebook)

World RX Q3 12:35 CET, 11:35 BST (Live on YouTube and Facebook)

World RX Finals 15:00 CET, 14:00 BST (Live on Freesports TV in the UK)

How to watch

https://www.youtube.com/user/RallycrossRXTV

https://www.facebook.com/fiaworldrallycross

In the UK, all the heat races are shown live on YouTube and Facebook. These can also be watched back on the championship channels at a later date. The main TV coverage of the event is a 2 hour shows highlights from the heat races and leads up to the semis and the finals live. This program is shown live on FreeSports on Freeview, and this is also shown on YouTube for some events.

These exciting races are improved further by the TV coverage and commentary. The lead commentator, Andrew Coley, is knowledgeable and gives the right level of excitement to match the action. Graphics on the screen are great at showing order of the drivers on track and help understand who has taken the ‘joker lap’ so far in the race.

Where Do They Race?

As the rallycross circuits feature a mixture of tarmac and dirt over the course of a lap, the circuits used are all unique to rallycross. The World Rallycross championship holds events at some special layouts at familiar F1 venues, such as Spa and Catalunya, as well as a number of specific rallycross venues. So far in 2020, the calendar has seen three double-header rounds, including the classic rallycross track in Höljes in Sweden, followed by events in Finland and Latvia. The remaining 4 rounds are as follows:

Round 7-8 17th-18th October – Catalunya Circuit, Spain

The rallycross circuit at the event held just outside Barcelona is based in the stadium section towards the end of the venues F1 circuit. After a tight hairpin for the first corner, the cars head towards the dirt section including a fast chicane and a jump before the cars return to tarmac for the split for the joker lap. The joker lap at this circuit is a longer version of the circuits double left hander, with the cars rejoining the main track at much higher speed than anyone on the standard lap. This gives anyone taking a later joker lap a great chance to slingshot past their rivals on the fastest part of the circuit. The lap ends with a tight dirt section and hairpin which often sees mistakes with the cars sliding about.

This weekend’s event is the final double header of the season, which sees two single day events where the cars have three Qualifying heats instead of the usual four, before the semi-finals and final. Timmy Hansen was the winner in Catalunya in 2019 - his first of 4 wins on his way to becoming World Champion.

Round 9 21st-22nd November – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

For the Belgian round, the championship returns to Spa-Francorchamps for the second season in a row. The circuit is based at the Eau Rouge/Radillon section of corners with a final corner joker lap that is likely to cause late drama in the races. Last year’s event was won by Russian driver Timur Timerzyanov, who will be hoping for a good result there again after only 1 podium finish so far in 2020.

Round 10 12th-13th December – Nurburgring, Germany

Rallycross makes its debut at the famous German venue to finish the 2020 season, with mid-December temperatures likely to add some extra drama to the event. The layout is based in the bowl section that is the lowest point of the F1 circuit, with a 90 degree right-hander as the first corner. The joker lap is towards the end of the lap with the merge running straight into a chicane onto a gravel section on the uphill run to the finish line.

What are the cars like and who are the drivers?

The cars in Rallycross are built to deal with the punishment of the dirt sections of the tracks and are naturally based on hatchback models that are also used as rally cars. These are fitted with large turbochargers which boost the power from the 1.6-litre engines up to 600bhp – around twice that of the similar looking World Rally Championship machines. Some of the cars feature manufacturer support, while there are also cars that are independently designed by teams. The brands represented on the grid include Audi, Ford, Hyundai, and last years world champions, Peugeot.

The benchmark however is set by the VW Polo GTI RX of returning driver Johan Kristoffersson. The Swedish driver was the dominant driver of the field on the way to being World Rallycross Champion in 2017 & 2018, before finishing 5th in the World TCR (touring car) Championship last season. Johan is the most consistently quick driver in the field and each other driver has to perform at their best to prevail in the races. He has finished on the podium at all but 1 of the 6 events so far in 2020, winning 3 of them to lead the championship. Despite only being a single car team, it would be a shock result to see Johan knocked out before the final.

Two drivers have managed to beat Kristoffersson to the event win in finals and they both have familiar names – Mattias Ekstrom and Niclas Gronholm. Ekstrom was the 2016 World Rallycross Champion and is also a multiple DTM (German Touring Car) champion who made a surprise return to the championship this season after stepping back from full time racing at the end of 2018. Ekstrom drives an Audi S1 that was originally developed by his own EKS RX team but is now run by the privateer KYB Team JC squad. Originally only entered as a guest entry for the opening event of the season, Ekstrom took the win in the Sunday event and has since chosen to continue on in the season. With 2 wins and three second place finishes, he is running a close second to Johan Kristoffersson at the top of the championship table and this challenge should continue this weekend.

Photo: Mattias Ekstrom leads over the jump. ©Ian Gilby 2016

Niclas Gronholm may sound familiar even though he is relatively new in top level motorsport – he is the son of double World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm. The Finnish driver has seen himself move closer and closer to the front of the races in the last couple of seasons and now has 3 event wins in World RX, including 1 in his home event in Finland this season. Niclas was 4th in the championship in his Hyundai I20 last season despite missing two of the 10 rounds through illness. He and GRX Hyundai team-mate Timur Timerzyanov are solid bets for reaching the semi-finals but need to avoid mistakes to make the finals.

The 2019 World Rallycross Championship ended in a titanic battle between Timmy Hansen and Andreas Bakkerud which ended up being settled on countback after the pair tied on points over the season. Hansen had 4 event wins to Bakkerud’s 1 to give him the title after the pair came together on track on the final race of the season, causing both cars to spin out. Timmy and brother, and Team Hansen team-mate, Kevin have struggled for pace in their Peugeot 208 RXs this season against the other manufacturers and are often seen on the edge of being eliminated at the semi-finals stage of events.

Norwegian driver Andreas Bakkerud has had an even more challenging season after switching from the proven Audi S1 to the more temperamental Renault Megane R.S. RX model. The car, originally developed by British company Prodrive, features a number of innovations in rallycross such as inboard brakes to improve the weight distribution and vehicle dynamics but has yet to achieve its potential at this level. Andreas is one of the most likable and talented drivers on the grid but reaching the final should be seen as good as an event win until the team get to grips more with the Megane.

With around 16 drivers entered to each event, with many being full season entries, there is always the chance of shocks as only the top 12 drivers will qualify for the semi-finals. The Seat Ibiza of Timo Scheider and Audi of Robin Larsson are also likely to be challenging for a place in the final.

Things to look out for

The heat races see the each driver compete in 4 qualifying races with up to 5 cars starting each race side-by-side. Each group of heat races is known as a ‘Qualifying Session’ with each drivers race time deciding their score for the session. This means all drivers are scored against the whole field even if they are not racing on track against each other directly. This is described well with the graphics of the TV coverage showing how each driver’s race time slots into the leaderboard after each race. This chase for time – and not track position – gives the drivers a dilemma between challenging their rival to try to overtake them (which may cause them to defend and lose both drivers time) and holding position behind to help both to better race times. The fastest race time for each qualifying session is given 50 points with the slower times given reduced scores. Drivers only have a limited number of tyres for the weekend so you may see drivers try to save new rubber for the later races to get an advantage.

This becomes especially important at the end of Q4 (or Q3 in the single day double-header events) as only the drivers with one of the top 12 combined scores will make the semi-finals. This can provide an early shock to see a top driver eliminated, especially if they have failed to finish on of the qualifying heat races. This is certainly a huge strength of the TV coverage, as this is shown clearly on screen and given a huge emphasis by the commentary team.

Photo: The joker lap tactics are hugely important. ©Ian Gilby 2016

The semi-finals and final are obviously the main focus of the event and these are the races that often provide the most drama. The top 12 drivers after the qualifying races are split into odds into Semi 1 and evens into Semi 2. These races see a more standard 2-by-2 grid formation to give the advantage to the drivers with the higher score from the qualifiers but can often add an element of giant-killing efforts by the drivers on the back row to try to finish in the top 3 to make the final. The two semi-final race winners will start on the front row for the final so this can also be a good battle.

The final needs no introduction, as it is likely to see the best 6 drivers at the event battling on track without worrying about the repair time for the next race. With Johan Kristoffersson as the series benchmark once again this season, he is often marked like a star striker might be in a game of football, with drivers almost teaming up to try to beat him. The joker lap is especially important in the final and usually leads to final lap drama. Round 4 of this years championship in Finland saw difficult wet conditions and it seemed that Kristoffersson would win again before a slow joker lap saw Niclas Gronholm prevail on the final corner.

Have a go yourself!

If you only watch 1 of the motorsports that I have written about so far, I would definitely recommend watching Rallycross. The short races are perfect for entertainment and the side-by-side starts with these high powered machines is a massive spectacle. Seeing the different styles of the drivers is great as well, as some have a flamboyant sideways style familiar to fans of rallying, while others have a neater circuit racing style. Seeing how the strategy of the joker lap unfolds in such a short race is also a huge draw to this type of racing. It is certainly worth watching a few races on YouTube or Freesports this weekend to see if anyone can topple the championship lead of Johan Kristoffersson.

Photo: Larsson and Timerzyanov get close! ©Ian Gilby 2016