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Extreme E: Saturday specialists X44 are Top Qualifiers once again in Greenland’s first ever motorsport event.
Team X44 continued their 100% record of topping the overall standings after a rough first day in Greenland that caused championship leaders Rosberg X Racing to DNF in Qualifying 1.
The FIA World Rallycross Championship arrived in Höljes, Sweden for round 2 of the 2021 season. Close to the Norwegian border, this iconic 1.9km rallycross track has always attracted huge crowds of Scandinavian motorsport fans earning itself the nickname of “The Magic Weekend”. This year, however, numbers were restricted due to COVID and perhaps this affected the atmosphere also?
Because of this near-legendary status in the world of rallycross, it has always been the event that everybody wanted to win and the possibility of beating the Swedes on their home turf has always been an added attraction for the non-local drivers. But is this still the case given that in 2021 the event had only attracted 10 RX1 drivers?
The British Rally Championship headed to North Eastern Scotland for round three of the 2021 championship. The Grampian Forest Rally, which features stages just a stone’s throw away from Aberdeen for the first time since the 1980’s offered up a fresh new gravel challenge for BRC contenders.
Organised by the Stonehaven and District Motorclub, the event which also hosted the Scottish Rally Championship, featured 6 stages totalling 44 miles of competitive action. 13 BRC1 registered crews were joined by a number of other top National Cup crews to take on the fast and flowing Scottish gravel stages in the Durris, Fetteresso and Drumtochty Forests.
Unbelievably making its first ever appearance into the FIA World Rally Championship, the Ypres Rally, Belgium hosted round 8 of the 2021 Championship.
Becoming the 35th Nation to hold the highest level of international rallying, Belgium and indeed Ypres is no stranger to rallying. For many years the roads of Belgium have been a playing field for European rallying and the Historic Ypres has been a battlefield not just through two great wars but for motorsport also.
First, held in 1965, the Ypres rally has played its part in the European Rally Championship over the years but finally was given the opportunity to test the worlds best driver on its very own challenging Asphalt roads.
The BTCC returned north of the border for its annual visit to Scotland and rounds 13, 14 and 15 at Knockhill. Colin Turkington put his poor results at Oulton Park to the back of his mind and put his WSR BMW on pole position for the first race on Sunday in an attempt to catch up on his championship rivals. Alongside him was Senna Proctor, once more showing good qualifying form, and just behind was Chris Smiley and Josh Cook.
The BTCC returned after its annual summer break and to an action-packed race day at Oulton Park. Ash Sutton headed into the weekend as championship leader, with Tom Ingram just behind.
The top spot for race one was taken by Senna Proctor after an impressive qualifying performance he took his maiden pole position in the series. Alongside him was Gordon Shedden, with Rory Butcher and Daniel Rowbottom on the second row. The biggest loser would be Tom Ingram who wasn’t able to set a time due to a mechanical failure and had to start from the back of the grid.
Having first hosted a round of the FIA European Rally Championship in 2017, Rally di Roma Capitale returned for its fifth edition and to host the third round of the 2021 ERC. 14 Asphalt stages covering 190km faced the crews, with last years winner and defending ERC champ Alexey Lukyanuk first on the road in his Citroen C3 Rally 2 car.
Nickolay Gryazin would lay down the fastest time in his VW Polo GTi R5 on the short 4km Shakedown test stage on the Friday morning. The crews then headed into the city centre of Rome for a blast around the historic streets that evening; of which the 2020 National champ and Hyundai Rally Team Italia driver Andrea Crugnola won.
The opening round of the 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship was dominated by the Swedes at the Circuit de Barcelona, in Catalunya.
On the opening day reigning World RX Champ Johan Kristoffersson was the fastest man out on track, but he was not the overnight leader. In the first qualifying session of the year, his team KYB EKS JC Raceteknik seemly made a technical error in not connecting the FIA data logger on his Audi S1; this earned the three times World RX Champ disqualification from the session and handed P1 over to Timmy Hansen.
The FIA World Rallycross Championships has returned under its new promoter, Rallycross Promoter GmbH (Red Bull) for the opening round of the 2021 season. A few things have changed since the previous promoter IMG stepped away from the series, some changes of which will divide opinion amongst the fans and some which will have to be given the benefit of doubt.
The FIA World Rally Championships returned to Estonia for Round 7 of the 2021 season. Estonias second edition of hosting a World Rally not only brought with it the familiar fast gravel roads with extreme jumps that were experienced last year, but this time around a few technical sections were also thrown in for good measure to.
A total of 314km spread over 24 special stages awaited the competitors in front of a mass of Estonian Rally fans who had flocked to the stages in the sunshine.
Frenchman Sébastien Ogier arrived in the Baltic country leading the drivers’ standings for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT after his surprise victory last time out on the Safari Rally, in Kenya.