Of all the racing series, rallycross is the closest in spirit to drivers who are accustomed to abrupt changes from asphalt to dirt in everyday life. Considered a relatively new type of motorsport, the World Rallycross Championship (or WRX) is steadily expanding its audience and participants, attracting titled and famous pilots to drive rally cars.
COMPETITION FEATURES
Regardless of the nationality of the championships, they all have two characteristic features that distinguish them from other motorsport tournaments. The first is racing tracks, which are partly made up of a hard surface, like asphalt or concrete, replaced by sections of dirt road (options - gravel or sand).
The second is the competition formula in which the riders are divided into races, determining the leaders by the best time. The winner is the fastest athlete in the final held after the semi-final and qualifying rounds. With this approach, the "silver" medalist can earn more credit points than the "gold" finalist.
With the rest of the auto racing, rallycross is united by the division of rally cars into classes, including for junior drivers. Groups of all-wheel drive "top cars" with powerful 500-horsepower engines and "national" categories are considered mandatory, where popular "people's" cars are presented, which are cheaper in terms of maintenance. All cars, in fact, production cars that have passed homologation in accordance with the requirements of the rules.
As in other series, in order to increase the prestige and rating, the organizers are trying to attract eminent racers and famous people to the competition.
FIA WORLD RX
The European championship World RX (official abbreviation WRX) originates in 1973, holding the first tournament three years before the announcement of the FIA official rules for this type of motorsport. For a long time, two classes competed in the series - "Touring" and "Grand Touring", receiving a third group in the 1990s. In the "zero" powerful and high-speed all-wheel drive cars are especially popular, their classification is also changing. Now the Supercar, Super1600 and TouringCar categories participate in the European Championship.
In 2014, the automobile federation decided to transfer the competition to an international status, organizing on their basis the FIA World Rallycross Championship. It is noteworthy that all of its 9 stages are held on European tracks, and the Super1600 and TouringCar classes compete for the championship title. It replaced the Euro RX (old name) while introducing new promoter IMG Motorsports.
At the same time, the Supercar category organized an "internal" series of "Supercar Championship", holding annually five stages intersecting with the "world ones". Every year, the organizers of the FIA World RX change the circuits where they are held in order to delight new fans with performances of "top" cars and racers.
EUROPEAN RALLYCROSS ROUTES
- Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
- Pista Automovel de Montalegre, Portugal
- Jules Tacheny Mettet, Belgium
- Lydden Hill Race Circuit, UK
- Lankebanen, Norway
- Holjesbanan, Sweden
- Circuit de Loheac, France
- Bikernieku Kompleksa Sporta Baze, Latvia
- Estering, Germany
POPULARIZATION FIA WORLD RX
DIRT RALLY
Like every sport, rallycross requires “promotion” and attracting the attention of spectators who increase the prestige and ratings of the series, bringing new sponsors to the races, and hence new money for teams, pilots and organizers. One of these ways was the creation by British developers from Codemasters of the DiRT Rally car simulator, captivating with its functionality and thoughtfulness. The computer game was released for game consoles and PCs in 2015-2016 and has become one of the most popular online racing fans. The developers have given players the opportunity to customize the car's systems down to the smallest detail, develop engineering skills and professionalism of the team. The realism of damage to cars, their behavior in various weather conditions and on different types of road surfaces is also pleasing.
KEN BLOCK
Another way to increase the interest are the championship drivers who surprise with their skill and track records. Perhaps their most prominent representative can be called the Californian Ken Block, a racing driver and showman who raised the fame and prestige of the series. First of all, the American became famous for his sports results when he came to rallycross in 2005 and won 8 races and 19 podiums in two years. He piloted a Subaru WRX STi for five years, replacing the "Japanese" with the Monster World Rally team and a Ford Fiesta car. Already in his debut season, he became a five-time winner of the "Rally in the 100 Acre Wood".
Ken Block was most famous for his reputation as an extreme sportsman who jumped 52 meters in length and 8 in height on a Subaru, and breathtakingly beautiful videos of the Gymkhana and Terracana series, in which a racer on a 650-horsepower Ford Fiesta drifted through the streets of cities around the world, raced against supercars and escaped from police cars, balancing on two wheels. Conquered desert dunes and almost sheer cliffs. For these "feats", the cult Need For Speed made him the "face" of the game in 2015. Also, he has repeatedly appeared in the DIRT Rally series of games.
