They keep coming to RallyX Euro

This last week had the biggest number of driver announcements for the inaugural season of the RallyX Euro League, which follows the arrivals of Tanner Foust, Viktor Vranckx and the confirmations of Tom van den Heuvel, Nathan Ottink, Ulrik Linnemann and others, all while putting the grid numbers in the double digits for the 2025 season.

Most of the drivers that confirmed presence in the last seven days lead an exodus from the United States due to the end of Nitrocross, which consequently affected the renewed Nitrocross NEXT EVO and SXS support classes. The ones coming from NEXT EVO are capable of doing the transition to Europe with minimal adjustments to their FirstCorner FC2s, while the cases that come from other classes will have to adapt themselves to the newest offering from Olsbergs MSE.

Casper Jansson was quick to confirm presence once Foust was in, as he takes the next step that was missing in his career, as he spent many years in the junior divisions, becoming the 2023-24 Nitrocross NEXT champion after being a regular presence in RallyX Nordic’s RX2 class.

Next in the list was Fraser McConnell, who will make the transition from the FC1-X to the FC2 as he returns to Olsbergs MSE. Frazz comes with loads of experience and some milestones set, as he is quite the exception as he was the first Caribbean to win a RallyX Nordic event in the supercar class, beating a multi-champion Johan Kristoffersson at Nysum in 2021. While the near misses in the path to a Nitrocross title might hurt, they certainly show that McConnell comes to be a frontrunner in RallyX Euro.

BAK40 Motorsports then confirmed that Lane Vacala will cross the Atlantic to be in Europe too, actually returning to a scenario that he knows because of his brief RX2 stint. He comes with a runner-up finish in NRX NEXT when Jansson was crowned champion and had a podium in the shortened NEXT EVO season, so he is used to be a frontrunner, with the rest depending on how well he handles the tougher competition with supercars and other FC2s.

Oliver Eriksson was also confirmed to join the battle, being in the most advantageous position possible, as he was responsible for developing the FC2, being a sort of factory driver that is basically at home in RallyX Euro. That said, the double Supercar Lites champion has some demons to exorcise in the competition, as in 2019 he had the best scenario possible to become champion at the Tierp Arena, with his brother Kevin making sure he was in first, only for a driveshaft failure in the final lap to hand the crown to Robin Larsson, so Oliver will make use of all knowledge possible, being from the car and the tracks.

Elias Svensson also opted for an FC2, but he is jumping from the crosskarts to the top class, coming off a RallyX Crosscar title in 2024. Early tests with the FC2 made him choose the bigger leap rather than taking it step by step by going to Supercar Lites, because according to Svensson himself, the FC2 is more suitable to his driving technique and looked like a more seamless transition from a crosskart. While Svensson’s career was spent mostly in crosskarts, he has RallyX experience in a supercar, thanks to Hedströms Motorsport, so his adaptation to the FC2 might not be too lengthy.

Outside the FC2 fleet there were announcements coming from France, as Alexandre Janot and Pascal Lambec will be present in the Montalegre season opener at least. Apparently, the idea has been discussed by the two drivers for some time, and Lambec, adventurous one-off experiences in Euro RX1 counted to convince Janot. While Janot will debut in the international scene with the Peugeot 208 RX that he uses in Rallycross France, Lambec stays firm with the GCK built Renault Clio R.S. RX, which has been his machine for both national and international appearances.

Another quite curious entry is Nicolas Beauclé, as he takes advantage of the broad regulation in the Open 4WD class to enter a Mercedes A-Class T3F, with which he conquered three Division 3 titles in a row in Rallycross France, from 2022 to 2024, and now jumping straight to international battles with fully fledged supercars in an international stage he still doesn't know, as his experience is mostly centered around his Division 3 commitments. While Beauclé is going to Montalegre for the new experience, he expects to be competitive enough, and if the weekend gives positive results, he might add more appearances in the RallyX Euro League.

Despite the fact that the discounted entry fee period expired, there is still more than a month until the RallyX Euro starts at Montalegre on 29 and 30 March.

PHOTOS: Casper Jansson, Nitrocross, BAK40 Motorsports, Olsbergs MSE, Elias Svensson, AJEC Evenement, Nicolas Beauclé