The FIA has released the entry list for the British round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, to be held at the Lydden Hill Circuit in Wootton, Kent, on 26-28 May.
The English racetrack, well regarded as the Home of Rallycross as the first ever meeting took place there back in 1967, is likely to host a World Championship round for the last time this year, as from next season World RX is set to race at an all-new rallycross venue to be built within the Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
Since the birth of the World Rallycross Championship in 2014, Norwegians Andreas Bakkerud and Petter Solberg, as well as Sweden’s Mattias Ekström, have added their names to the list of winners: this year, the regular 18-strong Supercar field will be joined by an additional six drivers, well supported by the Euro RX‘s Touring Car class as well as round two of the RX2 International Series.
As for the Supercars, MJP Racing Team Austria‘s Timo Scheider will miss the meeting, due to clashing commitments, and will be replaced by 2013 British Touring Car champion Andrew Jordan, who finished on the podium in 2014, at the wheel of an Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta, and also competed the following two years, first with Team Peugeot-Hansen, then with EKS.
Also from British motorsport, former national rallycross champion Ollie O’Donovan, fresh from his maiden ERX podium in Barcelona, as well as BRX newcomer Oliver Bennett will join the party, both at the wheel of privately entered Ford Fiestas.
Regular Euro RX competitor Martin Kaczmarski of Poland, who fared comparatively well against more experienced opposition at Hockenheim, will be on the grid, alongside former WTCC competitor Grégoire Demoustier, set to race in DA Racing‘s second Peugeot 208.
Germany’s Rene Muennich (SEAT Ibiza) will miss this weekend’s event in Belgium, returning for Lydden Hill, where former ERX Super1600 and Touring Car champion, Michael De Keersmaecker (MDK) of Belgium, will compete, too.
Moving on to the European Rallycross Touring Car class, consisting of rear-wheel-drive cars with 2.0-litre, naturally-aspirated engines, a 13-strong grid is announced for the series’ third round: the season began at Barcelona, with Philip Gehrman‘s victory, and the Swede is certainly looking to defend his championship lead this weekend at Mettet, round two of the championship.
As said above, the RX2 Series will also call at Lydden, and other drivers might announce their participation, in addition to the eighteen who already confirmed their commitment.
Complete entry lists for Supercars and Touring Cars at Lydden Hill can be found at the following links:
