Americas Rallycross has announced details of its first standalone event, which will take place at the Circuit of Americas during the day and night of 14 July.
The previously unconfirmed event joins three World Rallycross supporting rounds on inaugural ARX schedule. The opening round of the newly-formed series was held at the British World RX round at Silverstone last month, while further events are planned to support the World RX rounds at Circuit Trois-Rivières in Canada and COTA in August and September.
DirtFish will be title sponsor of the second ARX round, which will be the first rallycross event at the Texas venue since X Games in 2015, and the very first to be run on the new purpose-built course at the track.
“I am very excited to announce DirtFish’s partnership with America’s Rallycross as the title partner of the July 14 Circuit of The America’s event in Austin, Texas, as well as being an Associate Partner for the entire 2018 season,” said Malli Sheaffer, General Manager, DirtFish. “Our team at DirtFish has trained the majority of rallycross Lites drivers and we pride ourselves on building professional drivers from the ground up, helping them create a solid foundation to support their future growth.”
“We are delighted to play a part, alongside our partner Subaru of America, in the future of Rallycross in North America,” she added. “IMG brings their globally successful World Rallycross model to a welcoming and knowledgeable motorsport community, that certainly will ensure excitement and entertainment.”
DirtFish’s partnership with the COTA event is just a part of the Seattle rally school’s involvement with the new-for-2018 series and rallycross as a whole in the US. It is expected to play a larger role in the coming years, building upon a strong presence it has had in American rallycross and stage rally since its founding in 2010.
“We are thrilled to welcome DirtFish Rally School as a partner of ARX,” said James Taylor, vice president of rallycross for IMG. “The DirtFish team has already provided fantastic support to the Championship, both on and off the track, and we look forward to working with Steve Rimmer, Malli Sheaffer and their incredible team to grow the sport in 2018 and beyond.”
The event will also mark the ARX debuts of Ken Block and Steve Arpin. Both drivers – who have entered a partnership for this season – opted to skip the season opener at Silverstone. A full entry list will be revealed at a later date.
Those that buy tickets for the September World Rallycross event at COTA will, for a limited time, be eligible for free tickets to the COTA ARX event.
