World RX regains its rights

This weekend in Holjes (Sweden), Timmy Hansen – 2019 champion at the wheel of the Peugeot 208 WRX from the eponymous team – will put his crown back on the line. But the Swede will have a hard time facing his brother Kevin, but also Niclas Grönholm (FRX TANECO Team) and especially Andreas Bakkerud (Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel) his runner-up, who has finished the last exercise with as many points as him. On the tricolor side, Guerlain Chicherit (Unkorrupted) will represent France. Only 12th in the standings last year at the controls of his Mégane RS RX, he will try to do much better this year and hopes to achieve a first victory in the category. If it has the world championship label, the series will be 100% European this year, due to the health crisis.

This weekend in Sweden, Timmy Hansen will also have to be wary of a surprise guest: local Mattias Ekström, titled in 2016 with an Audi S1 ​​fielded by his own structure EKS RX. The double champion DTM returns to a championship that he had abandoned at the end of 2018 to concentrate on the destiny of his team, which has since passed into rally, while serving as development driver of the Cupra eRacer. Ekström will be racing this weekend in an Audi S1 ​​from the KYB Team JC alongside Robin Larsson. An opportunity that emerged due to Janis Baumanis' difficulties in completing a full program due to the coronavirus pandemic. Distrust, on his home soil, Ekström has already won twice, in 2014 and 2015.

World RX 2020 Calendar

• August 22-23: Höljies (Sweden)
• August 29-30: Kouvola (Finland)
• September 19-20: Riga (Latvia)
• October 2-4: Spa (Belgium)
• October 10-11: Montalegre (Portugal)
• October 17-18: Barcelona (Spain)
• December 12-13: Nürburgring (Germany)

All World Championship events rallycross will be followed on the L’Équipe channel.