Next weekend’s Canadian round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship (5-6 August) will be complemented by a host of support races: alongside the RX2 International Series, official feeder series to the Championship, other lesser categories will compete, and their line-ups are set to feature such prominent names as Nicolas Hamilton and Oliver Solberg.
25-year-old Hamilton, younger brother of three-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, is currently committed to the Renault UK Clio Cup and will make his rallycross début in Canada, at the wheel of a Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side ATV, tuned by local outfit Fuca Racing.
“I’m very honoured to have been chosen to compete. For me it’s always been a dream to be part of a World Rallycross weekend. Being an on-road driver myself, I’m really looking forward to doing some off-road stuff, to drift and control the car on different terrains,” said Hamilton.
“I’m just going to go out and have fun – I’ve got a lot to learn but I’m really looking forward to it and I’m definitely up for the challenge.”
Oliver Solberg, meanwhile, needs little presentation: the son of two-time World Rallycross Champion as well as 2003 World Rally Championship winner Petter Solberg, currently races his father’s World Championship-winning Citroen DS3 Supercar in the Scandinavian-based RallyX Nordic series, winning round two in Arvika, Sweden, earlier this year.
The 15-year-old also competes in the Latvian Rally Championship in a front-wheel-drive Peugeot 208: here in Canada, Oliver will star in the 4WD CXE National category, while his dad will, of course, be driving in the World Championship heats, alongside PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team-mate, Johan Kristoffersson.
“It’s a cool track, I always love going to it,” said Solberg Jnr.
“It’s like a rally stage with big jumps and big gravel. It’s a bit of a different car than I’m used to, but it will be very good fun.”
While the actual racing action at Trois-Rivières will start on Saturday, 5 August, the true event opener, the World RX cars and drivers parade in the city centre, will take place on Friday evening, 4 August.
