The 35-year-old Spanish motorcycle legend Laia Sanz is now the third woman to be confirmed to compete in the FIA RX2e Championship when the fourth round takes place at the World RX of Spa-Benelux on 9/10 October.
Sanz, who is a 14-time winner of the FIM Women’s Trial World Championship, recently switched from two wheels to four wheel when she started competing in the new all-electric off-road series Extreme E together with fellow compariot, the FIA World Rally Championship star Carlos Sainz in the ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team.
During her motorcycle career, she has also competed in the Dakar Rally in the motorcycle class where she has a total of 11 consecutive finishes so far in her career and is also the only female driver in the class who has finished the rally in the top 10, in 2015 when she finished ninth in the class and won Female Trophy.
Now she will expand her career once again and will drive rallycross for the second time in her life and utilities her expertise in all-electric racing, she made her rallycross debut in 2015 at the home round of Barcelona when she competed in the RX Lites class which RX2e is a sequel to.
“It is really nice to have the chance to compete in rallycross and the FIA RX2e Championship. I am a beginner in this four-wheeled world, so it will be very interesting!” Saiz, said.
“It will be a nice experience, and it will also be a learning experience – back to school for me – because I need to learn how to fight with other cars at the same time. I am not used to contact with opponents, so it will be the perfect opportunity to learn and gain experience.”
“I need to get fast quickly, as we won’t have a lot of laps to learn. It’s a similar format to Extreme E, while driving an electric car will be really interesting. The goal in Belgium is to learn and to enjoy it. I have some good memories of Spa – I have raced some trial races there, and it’s a nice place. It’s an iconic venue so it will be really great to compete there.”
“Laia has enjoyed a truly astonishing career to date, winning a staggering number of Women’s Trial World Championships and impressing in the Dakar Rally, and it has been fascinating to watch her turn her talents to car racing in recent years.” Pere Gonzalez, Project Manager, FIA RX2e Championship, added.
“We are delighted that she has chosen to make her international electric rallycross debut in Round 4 of the FIA RX2e Championship, and the event at Spa will be an important step in her ongoing motorsport development. Laia faces a tough task to compete against drivers who have raced in rallycross for their entire careers, but we are confident she will give a good account of herself.”
