A new name has recently been added to the 2017 RX2 International Series grid: 24-year-old Sandra Hultgren, from Charlottenberg, Sweden, is the second female driver to commit to a full season in the feeder series to the FIA World Rallycross Championship, after her compatriot Jessica Bäckman.
Hultgren’s racing career started in 2012, when she competed in Scandinavian folkrace events (a low-budget version of rallycross); two years later, she switched to proper rallycross, entering four events in the RX Lites series, reaching the final at the Finnish round and closing the season eighth overall. The following year, Sandra finished in the top six on four events, while also contesting a one-off appearance at the Las Vegas round of the Global Rallycross Championship, driving for Olsbergs MSE and coming very close to a top-ten finish. In 2016 she only sporadically competed in both the GRC Lites (eighth-place finishes in Atlantic City and Washington, D.C.) and RX Lites series (seventh in Canada).
Now, Hultgren believes a full RX2 campaign will be a perfect opportunity to hone her skillset and prove her potential against the key influencers and competitors on the international stage.
“I’m thrilled to be joining RX2 in 2017,” she enthused. “There’s no question that this is ‘the’ place to be for an aspiring rallycross driver, and my aim will be to develop as the season progresses, perform as consistently as I can and reach as many finals as possible.
“I already know four of the tracks on the schedule which is an early bonus, and racing on the same package as World RX is a great platform with the Supercar team owners looking on. Hopefully I can ultimately convince them that I’m good enough to step up to the next level.”
Hultgren joins reigning RX Lites Champion, Frenchman Cyril Raymond, Swedish young gun William Nilsson, American ace Tanner Whitten, brother and sister Andreas and Jessica Bäckman and rally converts Guillaume De Ridder (Belgium) and Vasiliy Gryazin (Russia) in having signed up to the inaugural campaign of RX2. Further driver announcements will be made over the coming days and weeks.
The RX2 International Series, consisting of seven rounds, will start from the Belgian round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Mettet on 12-14 May.
