The arrival of electric postponed to 2021 in World RX

A few days ago, the rant from Patrick Germain, President of Rallycross de Lohéac, had not gone unnoticed (see Ah n°2177). The manager decried the arrival of electric rallycross cars by 2020.

The Frenchman should therefore be partly satisfied with the decision of the World RX organizers to postpone the arrival of such technology by one year to give more preparation time to brands wishing to get involved.

The World RX will therefore see the teams still using thermal cars in 2019 and 2020, which will still remain an important part of the competition weekends, as specified by IMG, promoter of the discipline.

“We are at the dawn of an exciting new era for motorsport, underlines Paul Bellamy, vice-president Motorsports of IMG.

Electric cars are increasingly important in all areas of mobility and rallycross is the ideal platform to demonstrate the incredible performance capabilities of electric cars in a fun, competitive and profitable environment.

A lot has been accomplished in a relatively short time since the first official meeting in June 2017. A completely new type of rallycross car has been designed and defined.

So it's worth waiting a little longer to get the best platoon possible. We think fans new and old will love what will be an exciting addition to their favorite events. »

Developed by earca, the cars will benefit from a common chassis, with batteries supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering, supplier until this year of the same elements in Formula E. 

Two 250 kW engines will power the cars, and manufacturers wishing to get involved will be able to homologate their own bodies, from segment B and C cars, and supply them to private teams.

Brands now have until March 29, 2019 to confirm their commitment, and several events in 2020 will be an opportunity for manufacturers and teams to assemble their cars.