The FIA World Rallycross Championship has announced today that it has signed a deal with the Circuit of the America’s in Texas to host a round of World RX starting in 2018.
Championship rights holder IMG has confirmed today that the US Venue has signed a five year deal to be a part of the calendar for one of the most popular FIA World Championships in action at this time. The first ever World RX of the United States will take place next year over the weekend of September 29 – 30.
World RX will race at the Circuit of the America’s in 2018. Credit: IMG / FIA World RX
With COTA already hosting the likes of Formula One, MotoGP and the World Endurance Championship, adding World RX to the roster sees another exciting form of Motorsport descend on the Texas based venue. The plan for the 2018 event is likely to be a similar format to the UK based SpeedMachine Festival that includes the World RX of Great Britain.
World RX Managing Director for IMG, Paul Bellamy added further on the details of the newest event on the World RX calendar.
The Rallycross layout will be built between turns 12 and 15 at the venue. Credit: IMG / FIA World RX
“The United States of America has been on our radar since the World Championship began in 2014 but we were determined to wait for the right opportunity,” explained Bellamy. “With IMG’s strong presence throughout the US we are confident that the COTA World RX event will be a huge success.”
“Other elements of the weekend that we are working on include music, food festivals and action sports – allowing fans from a variety of backgrounds to attend and enjoy an action-packed weekend in the “live music capital of the world”
COTA Chair Bobby Epstein expressed his excitement to have World RX compete at the venue in 2018.
2018 will be the first year of a five year deal that sees World RX racing at COTA. Credit: IMG / FIA World RX
“We are delighted to announce that another FIA World Championship will be coming to COTA,” explained Epstein. “There is no doubt that rallycross is a rapidly growing discipline – the fans can watch races in quick succession and the 600bhp cars are mightily impressive.”
“The addition of a world-class rallycross circuit will be a welcome addition to our growing venue, and we look forward to working closely with IMG in making the first ever World RX event in the USA a resounding success.”
In addition to this announcement, IMG and the FIA World Rallycross Championship have confirmed that they will release their 2018 Calendar on Tuesday, with confirmation that there will be only nine European rounds on the rosta next year alongside COTA, Canada and South Africa.
