The 2013 FIA European Rallycross Championship has been named as ‘European Race Series of the Year’ at the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards in Cologne.
The award was made to championship promoter IMG Motorsport, part of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company that took over the commercial rights to the FIA European Rallycross Championship from the FIA at the end of 2012. The award caps an exciting year for the FIA European Rallycross Championship and is the perfect curtain raiser to the launch of the new FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2014.
“This is a great honour for all those involved in our first season running the FIA European Rallycross Championship on behalf of the FIA, especially considering last year’s winner was the top class DTM series,” said Martin Anayi, Managing Director of the FIA European Rallycross Championship. “We’ve been delighted with the immediate success of the Championship, the public and media interest around the sport of RallycrossRX and the calibre of drivers we’ve been able to attract in our first year. RallycrossRX has huge potential for growth and this will be emphasised next season when we move to full FIA World Championship status.”
The influential and respected awards were presented at a gala dinner at the end of the first day of the Professional MotorSport World Expo, held in Cologne, Germany. The trade-only show attracts more than 7000 industry professionals and over 230 exhibitors. The FIA European Rallycross Championship succeeds the DTM which was voted European Race Series of the Year in 2012.
The 2013 FIA European Rallycross Championship took place over nine rounds across Europe which included two of the largest Rallycross crowds of all time with the Swedish event at Höljes attracting 30,000 spectators and the historic French event in Lohéac boasting a record-breaking crowd of over 72,000 spectators to see the likes of Sébastien Loeb and Kris Meeke take on championship regulars such as former World Rally champion Petter Solberg.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council recently approved the creation of a FIA World Rallycross Championship for 2014. The first World Championship for Rallycross, the new series has been developed from the FIA European Rallycross Championship that IMG has successfully run under the RallycrossRX brand in 2013. The FIA World Rallycross Championship will be run over 11 or 12 events through Europe, the Americas and the Middle East in 2014.
- Judging Panel 2013:
- Javier Arús, senior road test editor, Car&Tecno
- Tino Belli, technical director, Panther Racing
- Trevor Carlin, co-founder, Carlin Motorsport
- Graham Heeps, editor, Professional Motorsport World
- Phil Morse, technical director, Energy Balance LLC
- Jonas Näfver, manager of automotive R&D, Öhlins
- Gerard Quinn, director, motorsport, Ford of Europe
- Mark Raffauf, MD of race operations, IMSA
- Roland Schedel, managing director, Text-Com
- Armin Schwarz, driver, All German Motorsports
- Wolfgang Sievernich, editor, motorsport-guide
- Marcel ten Caat, editor-in-chief, Planetlemans.com
- Andrea Toso, technical director, Dallara Automobili
- David Tremayne, editor, Grand Prix +
- Pascal Vasselon, technical director, Toyota Motorsport GmbH
- Alan Wilson, CEO, Wilson Motorsport Inc
- Doug Yates, CEO, Roush & Yates Racing Engines
Judges’ Quotes:
“Rallycross has always been a highly popular sport with an entertaining quickfire format that engages young and old fans alike. The FIA’s revival of the sport under its new European Rallycross championship gives it exactly the right platform to grow even bigger.” (David Tremayne, editor, Grand Prix +)
“I was happy to make the FIA European Rallycross series my selection for the European Race Series of the Year Award. I believe that it will help bridge the gap between the youth market and its desire for X Games-type motorsports, and the more traditional elements such as rallying and road racing. The format and the increased stature of this form of motorsport will allow traditional tracks to integrate Rallycross into the range of activities generating income for their facilities.” (Alan Wilson, CEO, Wilson Motorsport Inc.)
About the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards:
Highly prized by their winners and well respected by the motorsport community, the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards recognize and reward the innovative thinking and hard work of the motorsport industry. They are presented at a spectacular Gala Dinner following Day 1 of Professional MotorSport World Expo in Cologne, central Europe’s largest motorsport trade show. The dinner is attended by around 800 motorsport professionals and journalists from around the world. Nominations are for the awards are put forward by the readers and editorial staff of Professional Motorsport World magazine. A shortlist collated from the nominations received is then passed to an independent, expert jury to decide the results, with the winners being revealed and the trophies presented in Cologne, Germany, each November.
Photo: The FIA European Rallycross Championship has been named as ‘European Race Series of the Year’. © JKR/ERC24