Norwegian Daniel Holten is set to debut the brand-new Eklund Motorsport Volkswagen Beetle SuperCar in the WorldRX of Sweden event, to be held over the first weekend of July.
For Daniel Holten it is going to be the fourth season in a row that he will compete behind the wheel of a SuperCar, either contesting in European or national Rallycross rounds. “I must thank all those around me who work together to make this happen,” said Holten. Daniel is no stranger to Rallycross action. In 2012 and 2013 the Norwegian drove his compatriot Frode Holte’s Volvo C30 SuperCar in the Swedish ERX rounds, while last year he raced for the Swedish Olsbergs MSE team with a Ford Fiesta Mk7 SuperCar. Before that the now 23-year-old did the 2011 Höljes event as a competitor of the Super1600s class, driving a Citroën Saxo back then.
23-year-old Daniel Holten will be the first to drive a Rallycross Beetle in Europe. © Holten Motorsport/ERC24
Holten continues: “It has become well known that the Höljes event, which I love very much, gets better and better. Last year over 30,000 spectators were out at the venue and there is always a fantastic atmosphere, at any Rallycross event there is. The Swedish WorldRX round is possibly the most prestigious race of the whole WRX series.”
So far the latest machinery of Eklund Motorsport has only been pictured in action during test drives. © Holten Motorsport/ERC24
For Holten it is also a remarkable chance to drive under the leadership of Rally and Rallycross legend, Swede Per Eklund. “The aim is to compete with a SuperCar in the European and World championships, and the agreement with Per Eklund is a new step towards this target. So probably what is going to happen in Höljes will decide over how it all develops further. Perhaps this may lead to me competing in the Norwegian WRX round in Lånke in August as well, we will see,” explains Daniel.
Swedish Rally and Rallycross legend Per Eklund is the man behind the WorldRX Beetle SuperCar project. © Holten Motorsport/ERC24
The two past years have led to a growth in international Rallycross racing, as the championship continues to expand and evolve under IMG’s promotion. With slight modifications of the structure Rallycross now forces each driver to compete in every single race, they contest in order to pick up the highest amount of points over the entire course of the event. After that the twelve best go through to two Semi-Finals, from where the three best of each are allowed to enter the main Final.
“I have managed to make it to the Semi-Finals in Lånke over the last two years,” claims Holten “and that is part of the reason why I want to drive a SuperCar again this time. But the level is extremely high now and with perhaps over 40 drivers competing in Höljes I would be very pleased if I could manage a place among the Top 20 this year.”
The last Beetles in ERX events were seen in the 1990s, but had to use the homologation docs of the Brazilian Fusca 113. © EL/ERC24
The SuperCar Holten is going to drive is based on the new Volkswagen Beetle. Such a car has never challenged in the WorldRX series so far. The two Americans Tanner Foust and Scott Speed are driving such Beetles in the US-based Global RallyCross series. “To be able to drive a car for Eklund Motorsport and with Per Eklund as a coach is a huge task for me, and I really look forward to my roll-out to the startgrid at Höljes,” concludes Daniel Holten.
The VW Beetle plan took Per Eklund more than three years till the ready to race SuperCar.
Top photo: Holten is going to race the Beetle in a livery that brings back memories on movie star ‘Herbie’. © HM/ERC24