The Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy Presented by Cooper Tires have announced the championship will be becoming the first high-level series in the United Kingdom to feature mixed grids this season by allowing the all-electric Supercars to compete together with the regular internal combustion engined Supercars.
The plans are currently under development and the Motorsport UK are now working hard to ensure the new cars will be fitted in the new regulations that will be introduced for this season in the championship. This move will make it possible to use the STARD ERX drivetrains that can be fitted in the rallycross cars by using the conversation kit offered by the Austrian firm.
“Rallycross itself was innovative from the outset and lends itself so well to the next era of motorsport. To be the first in the UK to combine the two types of power is very exciting and we’re very much hoping to have a few STARD powertrain equipped cars on the Lydden grid in May. We have been working on this behind the scenes for a long time so it’s great to see it becoming reality. It will be interesting to see the different performance characteristics and how that plays out with strategy during the course of races.” Hannah Rynston, 5 Nations BRX Coordinator, said.
The Projekt E as the series that was run in conjunction with the FIA World Rallycross Championship, was the first-ever all-electric rallycross series in the world. The concept was unveiled by STARD in the late 2019 and since then the cars have been used in various of domestic series across Europe.
The cars that are fitted with the ERX drivetrain have been proven to be capable to match the pace of the ICE Supercars; STARD founder Manfred Stohl has already competed against traditional cars and he was dominating the field by winning one of the rounds in Austria – up against some of the biggest names in the FIA CEZ series.
Beside the drivetrain that is on offer for customers, they can also choose between two ready made cars that STARD also are offering, the in house developed Ford Fiesta MK8 and the Citroen C3 – which is based on a Rally2 spec rally car and has been developed together with Citroen Racing.
“We’re delighted that 5 Nations BRX recognises how suitable the STARD ERX™ concept is for British rallycross. The relatively short runs and rallycross scheduling lend themselves very nicely to charging requirements with around 15 laps possible on a single charge.” Michael Sakowicz, CEO of STARD, said.
“We believe that the ERX™ cars will be attractive to drivers looking for the next era of competition. ERX™ is the most cost-efficient high level electric racing concept on the market and at the moment the only one available for customer motorsport teams to purchase worldwide.
“Cheaper than a comparable ICE Supercar in purchase price, an ERX™ Supercar also has a significantly lower running cost of around 60% less than conventional ICE cars which has a big appeal. It will be good to see the mixed-power grid in an already hotly contested championship.”
The 2020 Projekt E champion Natalie Barratt from United Kingdom is the first driver to show commitment and she plans to be entering the grid for this season in her privately owned team.
“It’s an exciting prospect and one that couldn’t come soon enough for Motorsport. The ERX™ concept is exciting…. I’m trying to put a team together and I’m hoping I can pull it off!” Barratt said.
