Former British Rally champion Guy Wilks has been confirmed to return to World RX duties by re-joining JRM World RX at the wheel of one their BMW Mini Supercars for the World RX of Spain and the World RX of Latvia.
Wilks, who is a regular guest commentator for the FIA World Rallycross Championship, returns to the team after making his debut at the 2014 World RX of Great Britain where he qualified for the Supercar Final in the BMW Mini fitted with a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine. For the two World RX events that he is contesting this season, Wilks will be using the updated car with the 2-litre turbocharged engine and is looking to provide some impressive performances over the two events. Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit has already been confirmed to drive the second car in both France and Spain this season, meaning there will be two BMW Mini’s in action at the Spanish event.
Wilks is excited to get back into competitive World RX action:
“I can’t wait to get back on the World RX grid with JRM and its big thanks to LOCO energy drink for giving me this awesome opportunity,” explained the two time BRC champion.
“I’ve been to many of the World RX events this season to commentate and, while that’s great fun and has given me a chance to assess the competition at close quarters, there’s nothing like the buzz of competing. I want to repay LOCO’s faith in me by scoring some strong results and putting on a spectacular show.”
However the former WRC driver is also aware that there will be a marked difference between the previous version of the BMW Mini he drove last year and the updated car he will drive this season, which will require some homework:
“It’s been more than a year since I last drove the MINI RX so I’m interested to see how the car has developed with its new two-litre engine and to see if I can discover the kind of performance that will really give us a fair chance at the front of the World RX field. One thing’s for sure, the power will be very different from the 1.6-litre engine I used last year! My focus is already on testing as there is work to do before we get to the track in Barcelona.”
Team Principal James Rumsey is excited to have Wilks back in the team again and is fully aware of the experience he can bring to the car:
“We all know what Guy’s capable of in World RX so we’re thrilled to have him back in the MINI RX and we’re looking forward to working with him as we continue the development of our two-litre engine and car.” explained Rumsey.
“Guy’s input will be massive in the coming months. He was a works driver in rallying for many years so his experience of competing at the highest level and knowing what he wants from a car set up is significant. That counts for a lot in a championship where every hundredth of a second is vital and we’re expecting that to make a difference on track.”
