David Coulthard and Jenson Button tested WRX Supercars
British Formula One stars Jenson Button and David Coulthard tested WRX Supercars yesterday at Lydden Hill as a part of BBC feature which will be aired later this year. Button drove a JRM Racing prepared Mini RX and Coulthard took the track in the Citroen DS3 RX which Liam Doran uses in World RX.
At the Lydden Hill Circuit, the temple of British rallycross and home of the British round of World Rallycross Championship, Button was the first to take a trip down the memory lane at the wheel of a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, similar to the car that his late father used to race in the British Rallycross Championship throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. After that he sat in the Mini RX, a modern rallycross supercar with more than 550 hp.
“Today has been a mega experience and completely different to what I am used to. You need a huge amount of skill to drive these cars – on your own it’s scary enough, never mind going up against another four or five other drivers! World RX is an exciting championship and it’s great to see the sport growing again like it was in the eighties both in the British and on the world scene. Everybody racing in single-seaters or in circuit racing regards rallycross as very professional and a lot of fun,” said Button.
He also took a moment to reminisce about his childhood in the rallycross paddock: “I grew up with rallycross – I used to watch my dad racing back in the mid-eighties and I used to love hearing the car. I would not have become an F1 World Champion if it hadn’t been for my dad and the grassroots of rallycross – that was where I caught the motorsport bug. Today has brought back some really nice memories but since then, I’ve also enjoyed watching World RX on TV. I remember seeing the footage from the Finnish round of the Championship last year and today confirmed just how great it is in real life too.”
Former F1 driver David Coulthard is no stranger to World RX having gone head-to-head with Petter Solberg in a Marklund Motorsport Polo RX Supercar at last year’s Race of Champions.
“Rallycross is highly skilled, because the drivers have to deal with an ever-evolving mix of asphalt and gravel that changes from lap to lap. I have tremendous respect for rallycross drivers, because there are just so many more variables. I think it’s a great Championship and it’s fantastic to try rallycross which has made me appreciate how skilled the guys are at driving these cars. It’s great to see that the Championship is growing so much too. I’ve watched it a bit in the past year but you can’t play at this sport – it has some serious world-class competition. I’d absolutely recommend anyone to come along and watch rallycross – the racing is fantastic and being here in person is the only way you can truly appreciate the skill of the drivers and the power of these terrific machines,” said Coulthard.
Round 9 of the FIA World Rallycross Championship – the Bretagne World RX of France – takes place at Loheac in France next week (4-6 September).
Photos: fiaworldrallycross.com
