World RX: 47 Supercars will race at Hell

Eighth round of FIA World Rallycross Championship will take place at Hell, iconic place of Scandinavian rallycross located in a small town 25 miles east of Trondheim. The event has attracted a record entry of 47 Supercars, the highest number of Supercar entries since World RX began.

At the entry list for World Championship are 23 cars, while the remaining 24 will compete for points in the third round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX). This event also forms the final round in the FIA European Rallycross Championship for TouringCar (18 entries) and the fifth round of the supporting RX Lites Cup (12 entries).

Competition at Hell RX circuit is a part of various FIA events since 2011. Last year’s winner of World RX race was Latvian Reinis Nitiss. He will be defending his victory at the wheel of Olsbergs MSE’s Ford Fiesta against a bunch of experienced rallycross drives from all over the Europe, but mainly Scandinavians. The Norwegian fans will have an extra reason to celebrate as two of their countrymen – Petter Solberg and Andreas Bakkerud – top the overall Drivers’ Championship after seven events.  Joining Solberg and Bakkerud on home turf will be a further 30 Norwegian drivers. In World RX Supercar class there will be Team Volkswagen Sweden’s Tord Linnerud, as well as Daniel Holten who will make his second outing in an Eklund Motorsport run Volkswagen Beetle.

Henning Solberg, older brother of Petter, will also race in front of his home crowd piloting an Olsbergs MSE prepared Ford Fiesta for the first time. Adding to the Solberg family line-up is Henning’s 17-year-old son Oscar who will make his debut in the RX Lites Cup. The Norwegian Hvaal family will also have two members racing this weekend: Alexander in a Supercar and younger brother Joachim in a Lites car.

Two Swedish drivers are further in the championship standings. Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen Team Sweden) is third and Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen) is fourth, with just two points difference. Hansen’s team-mate, Frenchman Davy Jeanney, winner of previous World RX event in Canada is fifth in the championship classification.

Another Frenchman Jerome Grosset-Janin leads the Euro RX standings after two events. The Albatec Racing driver will be partnered by Englishman James Grint in the team’s second car. The biggest rivals of Grosset-Janin are two Norwegians – Tommy Rustad in Marklund Motorsport’s VW Polo and Ole Christian Veiby in another VW Polo of Volkswagen Team Sweden.

All 47 Supercars competing in Hell will race together through the heat stages but after heat four, two separate Intermediate Classification tables will be issued.  European and World Championship competitors will then race in their own separate semi-finals and finals. Competition will start on Saturday at 13.00 (local time) with two heats scheduled for that day. Rest of the programme is scheduled for Sunday.