Geoff Sykes from Los Angeles to drive an OMSE SuperCar Lite in the new Global RallyCross Championship series class.
Geoff Sykes, multiple regional and national champion in BMW Club Racing, signed with the OlsbergsMSE team to drive a SuperCar Lite Rallycross car in the 2013 Global RallyCross season. “To drive for OMSE is a great step in my racing career”, said Sykes. “We are working very hard to make this a successful season and I’m looking forward to some exciting racing. The team has a great history and it’s a real privilege to be part of them.”
The new class features a spec all-wheel drive car built by OMSE, with a normally aspirated engine in the rear, delivering over 300 horsepower in a lightweight race chassis. “The cars are really well built. The Mountune/Olsbergs engines have a great range of torque, handled by the six speed Sadev transmission, and the Öhlins suspension really puts that power to the ground. I come from a road racing background and this is an awesome car!”
Rallycross combines circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition with intense, crowdpleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment, featuring a challenging course that includes jumps, unbanked turns and changing track and surface conditions that can include dirt, gravel and wet asphalt. Global RallyCross SuperCar Lites will run at least five events in 2013, including live and extended coverage on tv, web and social media platforms. With exposure in over 200 countries and 200+ million homes and a social media reach of over 160 million YouTube plays, 12 million tweets and 45 million Facebook likes, Global RallyCross has fast become a very successful and popular motorsport.
OlsbergsMSE develops, constructs and operates cars for international Rallycross and its drivers have included back-to-back GRC champion Tanner Foust, along with WRC two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm and X Games’ all around athlete Brian Deegan. Sykes became national champion in 2011 in his rookie year in the BMW CCA racing series and followed that up in 2012 as the national runner-up champion in the highly contested Modified division. Along with a record of two regional championships, five overall race wins, 16 overall podiums and five class lap records, Sykes also placed second overall in his first FIA WTCC event at Sonoma Raceway, driving in the GT division of the US Touring Car Championship.
Photo: Geoff Sykes pictured last January at DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Washington. © GS/ERC24