Round 9 of the inaugural FIA World Rallycross Championship at the legendary Estering in Buxtehude near Hamburg is just three days away and the German event will even beat the Höljes WRX round (40) by the number of SuperCar entries.
The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy is living up to its reputation as the FIA’s fastest growing motorsport series after attracting the biggest Supercar line-up of the season for this weekend’s Red Kiwi World RX of Germany (20–21 September). With a record-breaking 41 Supercars representing 11 different makes and 17 nationalities across Supercar, TouringCar and Super1600, Germany RX boasts a truly international flavour.
Round nine of this year’s World RX, Germany RX is staged at the Estering circuit in Buxtehude, approximately 25 miles [about 40 km] south-west of Hamburg. Buxtehude has a population of around 40,000 people and is the second-largest town in the district of Stade. The Estering circuit itself is the shortest of the season at 952 metres in length but with top speeds of up to 150mph [about 240 km/h…], the back straight makes Germany RX one of the fastest events all year. Estering is also the fourth and penultimate round of this year’s FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX), of which there are a total of 26 Supercar entries.
1987 ERC: Norwegian Arild Martinsen and his BMW M3 Xtrac with 700bhp IMSA engine pictured at a crowded Estering. © EL/ERC24
On the back of two consecutive World RX wins, Championship leader Petter Solberg is eager to extend his advantage but admitted the difficult nature of Estering could prove troublesome. “Estering is a tricky circuit,” confirmed Solberg, who drives a Citroën DS3 Supercar for PSRX. “There are two key things to getting a good race here. The first is to get through the first corner safely. I remember from racing here before, there was a lot of action in that first corner. The second big thing is to pick the right time for the Joker Lap and then get it absolutely right. I think the Joker is more important here than at most circuits.”
Petter Solberg is leading the WRX drivers championship after winning three of the eight yet completed rounds. © JKR/ERC24
The WorldRX round of France at Lohéac was won by Petter Solberg from Reinis Nitišs and Timmy Hansen. © JKR/ERC24
Twenty-eight points behind Solberg and second in the standings is Ford Olsbergs MSE driver Reinis Nitišs. Since the previous round in Lohéac, Nitišs has returned to Latvia where he has taken part in PR activities including a lawn mower racing competition – which the 18-year-old went on to win. “A good racing driver must be able to adapt to circumstances and different techniques, as well as to maintain a cool head,” explained Nitišs who is arguably Solberg’s biggest title threat this season.
Latvian youngster Reinis Nitišs is the current runner-up to Solberg in the championship point standings. © JKR/ERC24
Third in the driver standings for Volkswagen Marklund Motorsport is Topi Heikkinen, 10 points adrift of Nitišs. The Finn has been a solid points-scorer so far this season and is feeling confident that prior testing at Estering could give his team an edge over the others. Joining Heikkinen for Volkswagen’s home event in the Polo RX Supercar will be regular team-mate Anton Marklund and wildcard entrant ‘Ronny C’Rock’, who holds the Guinness World Record for drift reverse parking. “We are very happy to have Ronny on board,” explained VW Marklund Team Principle, Jan Marklund. “His driving skills and famous stunts speak for themselves, and there are no questions over his talent. We are really looking forward to watching him race in World RX.”
After three podium finishes in three events, Team Peugeot-Hansen will be aiming for four-in-a-row when the Swedish-based squad travel to Germany this weekend. Timmy Hansen, however, admits that he is hungry to do one better and stand on the podium’s top step: “We want to win a race before the season is finished, that’s all I can think about right now,” said the 21-year-old Swede. “It was very special to step onto the podium in Belgium and France. Finally stepping up on the podium was amazing and very emotional for all of us. Now we have done it three times in a row and we’re all very hungry for the next step.”
Female rally driver Ramona Karlsson will replace Jacques Villeneuve in the Albatec Racing prepared Peugeot 208 Supercar this weekend and is feeling buoyed following a successful test at Knockhill Race Circuit in Scotland earlier this week. Karlsson will be partnered in Germany with Albatec team owner, Andy Scott. Former F1 World Champion Villeneuve will return to World RX for round 10 at Franciacorta (27–28 September).
One of the biggest stars to compete at Estering will be Team EKS RX driver and founder, Mattias Ekström, who returns to World RX for the first time since his spectacular victory at Höljes back in July. The two-time DTM Champion completed two days testing in the Audi S1 quattro and states his ultimate aim in Germany is to reach the final. “It’s always nice to be back in World RX and of course it will be exciting to be racing in Germany too as it’s a country I know well,” explained Ekström. “It will be interesting to see if many of my DTM fans come to Estering – there aren’t so many race tracks close to Hamburg so I haven’t raced in this part of Germany before but I’m really looking forward to it.”
WorldRX of Sweden winner Mattias Ekström will be back to action in his 560+bhp Audi A1 SuperCar. © JKR/ERC24
Monster Energy World RX Team will also be present in Germany with team drivers Henning Solberg and Davy Jeanney. The talented duo will be eager to follow in the footsteps of Monster Energy athlete Ken Block who secured a top five position at the most recent World RX round in Lohéac.
As Germany forms the penultimate round of Euro RX, competition will surely intensify among the Supercar entries that are eligible to score European points. Top of the table is Sweden’s Robin Larsson who set the cat among the pigeons earlier this season by taking second overall at World RX of Great Britain. He is currently leading the series by 36 points, two points ahead of Henning Solberg. Two-time Snowcross World Champion Emil Öhman is third in the standings with a total of 31 points. Former WRC driver ‘P-G’ Andersson will make his debut in Euro RX this weekend at the wheel of a Hedströms Motorsport prepared Škoda Fabia.
Martin Anayi – Managing Director for World RX at IMG Motorsport – concluded: “These next two weeks could prove crucial in the fight for the 2014 drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships. With two events less than a week apart, the pressure is on the teams, the drivers and the cars to perform to the highest level – the smallest mistake could prove detrimental in the title chase. What makes the task even more tricky is that Estering is one of the fastest and most technical circuits of the year, and Italy which follows is a brand new track which everyone will have to learn very quickly. With huge grids at both Estering and Franciacorta, the competition is set to be fierce in both World RX and Euro RX. The perfect start will be the key to success when such big numbers of entries are involved. I am delighted that we have our 100th Supercar entered in World RX this season and of course it’s an honour that the man driving this centenary car is experienced rally driver ‘P-G’ Andersson. Best of luck to ‘P-G’ on his debut and all of the other Supercar, Super1600 and TouringCar competitors in what will be a flat-out fortnight of World RX action.”
Top photo: Buxtehude cannot beat the crowds of Lohéac, but stars with the biggest SuperCar entry. © JKR/ERC24