FIA President Jean Todt attended a special press conference in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday to help promote Barcelona RX, which forms a round of next year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Held at the RACC Headquarters in north Barcelona, Jean Todt was joined on a panel alongside Sebastià Salvadó (President of the RACC), Carlos Gracia (President of the Real Federación Española de Automovilismo), Salvador Servià (Director General of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya), Maite Fandós (Deputy Mayor of Quality of Life, Equality and Sports) and Martin Anayi (World RX Managing Director for IMG Motorsport). Petter Solberg, the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Champion, also spoke at the hour-long press conference, which was attended by more than 60 international media.
“I am very happy to see Barcelona, which is a city that is very passionate about motorsport, host a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship,” explained Jean Todt. “I have not had a chance to visit World RX this season but I have been watching a lot of the races on TV – it is thrilling to watch and there is a lot of action which makes it exciting for spectators. There is a high level of interest from drivers, countries and manufacturers for World RX right now so it is excellent to welcome this sport to Barcelona in 2015.”
Jean Todt is no stranger to Rallycross, here talking as Peugeot Talbot Sport (PTS) director in 1989 with Matti Alamäki. © EL/ERC24
The first FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg was invited to talk at the press conference. © FIA World RX/ERC24
Barcelona RX will take place in September [19 and 20] 2015 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which also hosts the Formula One Grand Prix and MotoGP, as well as several other high-profile events. The inclusion of Barcelona in World RX has been supported by The Royal Automobil Club of Catalunya (RACC) and Barcelona City Council, with both parties having played a key role in bringing Rallycross to Spain.
World RX Managing Director Martin Anayi: “It is an honour to bring World RX to Barcelona in 2015 for what I expect will become one of our most popular events. With Barcelona recently listed as one of the top five most visited cities in Europe, it seemed a natural choice to expose our burgeoning Championship to a city which is not only growing economically but also deeply embedded in motorsport having hosted both the Spanish F1 and MotoGP races for several years. The team on the ground are very experienced having previously brought X Games to the city, and will bring a high level of professionalism to the event. It is encouraging to see purpose-built Rallycross circuits being constructed at some of the world’s most well-known motorsport venues, such as the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.”
Top photo: FIA President Jean Todt (second from right) speaking to the media people in Barcelona. © FIA World RX/ERC24