World RX Team Austria has become the third team to announce their 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship plans by confirming Timur Timerzyanov and Janis Baumanis will drive their Ford Fiesta Supercars. Team Manager Max Pucher will drive a third Supercar in the 2016 FIA European Rallycross Championship and selected WorldRX events.
World RX Team Austria made their début in the championship last year with Pucher and Manfred Stohl, along with a guest appearance by Baumanis in the Argentina Finale, where the Latvian driver made the Supercar Final. For 2016, Stohl will focus on the engineering side of the team and will support MJP Racing at all 12 rounds of the Championship.
Timerzyanov, who is the 2012 and 2013 FIA European Rallycross Champion, explained his decision: “Having had several options for 2016, I made a conscious decision to join a great team with an amazing car,” said Timerzyanov “The level of the Championship is growing including team and car development plus more fantastic drivers are joining all the time. I’m really happy to be a full-time member in such a dynamic team that overachieved in 2015. This year will not be any easier but we all know that I am ready for it – now I am just waiting for the light to go green!”
2015 FIA Super 1600 European Rallycross Champion Baumanis is looking forward to his full time move to the Supercar class: “I am thankful for the opportunity with World RX Team Austria,” said Baumanis, “It was brilliant to race with the world’s best drivers in Argentina and I was so happy that I could reach the final on my first outing with the team. I learned that World RX Team Austria has a fantastic group of people and a perfect atmosphere, which made them an easy choice for 2016. Max has invested a lot into the car’s development for this year, and Stohl Racing has performed some technical miracles.”
Team Manager Max Pucker is delighted to have such a strong lineup for 2016: “2015 was a tough but exciting first year for the team. We reached the semi-finals regularly and the fact that we made the final in the last two events of the year shows how competitive both the team and the car were,” explained Pucher, “Timur and Janis have an excellent track record in rallycross and now it is our responsibility to give them the best possible support with both the car and the team.”
Pucher himself is looking forward to the challenge of EuroRX: “Personally I am looking forward to competing in Euro RX this year and to race at some of the fantastic World RX tracks.”
