Entries confirmed for World RX and Euro RX1

Just like RallyX did when they started their new era, the FIA World Rallycross Championship and FIA Euro RX1 Championship competitors were in Portugal, but unlike previous World RX seasons and RallyX this year, Lousada was the destination instead of Montalegre, and while in the mid of Equivalence of Technology tests to balance the RX1e electrics and the fire breathing supercars, the initial entry lists for the 2025 season were announced.
 
With action already starting next weekend, the FIA took two days for EoT testing and some pre-season warm ups, with Andreas Bakkerud being called by the FIA to be the reference driver for the tests, doing laps with every car on site as well with a FIA reserved Peugeot 208 WRX from Eleven Motorsport. Bakkerud is back to Norway and competing in the national RX championship after the abrupt end of Nitrocross, opting to start from scratch by creating his own team and escalate the program little by little.
 
While those present at Lousada would give an idea of the late presentation of the entry list, they were basically confirmed today, with nine names for the World RX and nine for the Euro RX1, and while the World championship registers an unspectacular growth, Euro RX1 suffered heavily with the time spent by the FIA to solve the promotion matter.

Most of the World RX grid was already confirmed, with CE Dealer Team being the first to announce that no changes would be made, meaning that their two PWR RX1es would continue in the hands of Niclas Grönholm and Klara Andersson. Next was Hansen World RX Team, also unchanged from 2024, with Timmy and Kevin Hansen staying in their Peugeot 208 RX1es.
 

While Kristoffersson Motorsport brought three cars to Lousada, the Volkswagen Polo RX1e was probably for benchmark purposes, so that, if the car enters in any World RX round, it would be already equalized with the competition and with the specifications ready to be passed to the other RX1e chassis the team has. Johan Kristoffersson and Ole Christian Veiby, who didn’t have anything confirmed when May started, will be driving their and trusted Volkswagen Polo KMS 601s.
 

The last returning full time entry from 2024 is Anthony Pelfrene, as the Frenchman confirmed that his JDM Raptor Peugeot 208 WRX is back for more, leaving only René Münnich as an absence. In his place, Patrick O’Donovan steps into the World RX grid with his Team RX Racing Peugeot 208 WRX, after guest starts in the Irish RX Championship and RallyX, as well a campaign in British RX.
 
The ninth driver is actually a step up into full time, as Juha Rytkönen brings his PGRX Hyundai i20 RX from Rallycross France to a full World RX campaign after winning in the second event of the Istambul RX finale last season. As for the other PGRX Hyundai, driven by Steven Bossard in Turkey, this one will be in the Euro RX1 grid with Mika Liimatainen, who was fifth in the 2024 Euro RX1 standings with a podium at Höljes in familiar machinery, as he spent the 2024 season in the same Hyundai i20 RX but in the Betomik Racing camp.
 
The Euro RX1 grid will count with a massive presence from Volland Racing, as Yury Belevskiy will have the company of the reigning Euro RX3 champion Nils Volland, which means that the team has a duo of Super 1600 champions in the lineup, while the other RX3 champion, Damian Litwinowicz, will be in an Audi S1 EKS RX too, but with the AutoMAX squad.
 
Martin Enlund and Laszlo Kiss compliment the entries from beyond the border, while a Portuguese fleet with Cesar Pereira, José Oliveira and Antônio Sousa will be the joy of the home crowd. Worth stating that they already have mileage at Lousada due to the initial round of the national championship, and Oliveira already had international experience in the RallyX round at Montalegre, where he debuted his new Peugeot 208 WRX.
 
Both World RX and Euro RX1 will host the first round on 31 May and 1 July, with mixed grids according with this years’ sporting regulation, which didn’t happen since 2015. Despite the mixed grids, the entries will score points for their respective championships.
 
PHOTO: FIA World Rallycross Championship