Thierry Neuville and Timmy Hansen are the latest big names to join the fantastic field for next month’s blockbuster ‘All-Star’ Magic Weekend at Holjes in Sweden (2-5 July).
This year’s Rally Monte Carlo winner Neuville will drive in the CrossCar class with his vehicle bearing his own initials, LifeLive Nordic TN5.
Although the 13-time WRC winner has contested some CrossCar events in his native Belgium, he has no prior experience on Scandinavian tracks so acknowledges that he will face a learning curve.
“It offers us a great opportunity to get our TN5 into Nordic competition. This CrossCar has never been driven in Sweden before, so it’s a new chapter for LifeLive Nordic and the ongoing development of our car – the ‘All-Star’ Magic Weekend will be a big premiere for us,” said Neuville.
“We are very aware that it’s going to be a huge challenge for our team; we have a lot of work to do, since it’s a very particular market in Scandinavia and most drivers run with the same brand of car.
We would like to change that in the future, which is why we are coming over to get some mileage on these special tracks, which are probably the best rallycross tracks in the world.
“All the other competitors have a lot of experience, so we are coming to get a first impression about the speed and the improvements that will need to be made. I want to be there to show that we have already made progress, and on a personal level, I’m really looking forward to the event and to getting behind the wheel. It’ll be good to be back in competition again!”
Timmy Hansen will partner Neuville in the LifeLive Nordic fold and should be competing for victory in the class having had several CrossCar appearances in the past. Both Hansen and Neuville will race in both rounds at Holjes meaning lots of starts and practice to get them up to speed in real life racing again.
Hansen added, “This will be the first proper event of the year after a lot of esports races, and I can’t wait to do the real thing again! I might not be in the Supercar this time, but still, that sensation of the G-forces, the jumps and just driving Höljes in itself is magic – it’s the ‘Magic Weekend’, and for many different reasons.
“I think the CrossCar category will be very tough. I’ve followed it closely, especially through #YellowSquad last year, so I know the level is very high and that these young guys are extremely fast and experienced in the class. I’ll have to stay super-focussed on my performance and try to get everything right, as in any race that I do.
“It will be a lot of fun to race together with Thierry. We’ve known each other for a long time and have always talked about Crosskarts, and now finally, we’ll both drive with his chassis. It will be interesting to get a proper feel for his car and to see how we perform out on-track.“
The official distributor for the LifeLive Nordic is Hansen Motorsport who will also field cars at Holjes for teenage talents Kobe Pauwels (CrossCar/Crosskart) and Thomas Martens (CrossCar Junior).
Sister outfit #YellowSquad will run Supercar Lites entries for Henrik Krogstad and Dan Skocdopole under the stewardship of World RX race-winner Kevin Hansen.
