Former Double DTM champion Timo Scheider has confirmed that he will contest his first full season as a Supercar driver in the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Scheider, who competed in several rounds in the 2016 season for the Munnich Motorsport team at the wheel of their SEAT Ibiza, will drive for Max Pucher‘s renamed squad MJP Racing Team Austria at the wheel of one of their newly built Ford Fiesta’s. The deal announced is a multi year signing with the team.
Scheider is very happy to have confirmed his participation in the series for this season.
“I am very excited to join MJP Racing Team Austria and to be able to compete the full 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship. We had been talking since some time but now we realised a great partnership,” explained the Austrian.
“The level of the Championship goes up in 2017 with more manufacturers entering, but MJP Racing has built a new car for 2017 that will be a serious contender. They not only have great dedication but also employ a high-tech approach to designing and building race cars that is unique. We found ourselves to be very compatible as partners.”
Timo Scheider competed in several World RX events in 2016 for the Munnich Motorsport team. Credit: IMG / FIA World RX
Team owner Max Pucher expressed his happiness at having Scheider joining the squad for 2017.
“Having Timo Scheider with us in the team is just fantastic and makes all of us in the team really proud. The fact that Timo lives in Austria since 17 years and also races under an Austrian licence achieves our goals to bring an “Austrian” driver to World RX. I do look very much forward to the 2017 season with him.”
Pucher also went on to express his pride in how the team performed during the 2016 season.
“In 2016 our team has achieved great results, including three new track records in World RX. We reached semi-finals regularly and the fact that we placed 3rd and 4th in Barcelona final showed how competitive both the team and the cars are. As our infrastructure and capability has grown substantially during the past 9 months we were able to realise our plan for a more competitive car for 2017.”
Negotiations are underway to fill the second team seat for 2017 are ongoing.
