FIA World Rallycross Championship targeting street race in Coventry

The FIA World Rallycross Championship is in advanced discussions with the organisers of MotoFest Coventry with the aim of hosting a street race in the UK in 2025.

Buoyed by the success of World RX’s inaugural downtown event in Hong Kong last November, Rallycross Promoter is working hard to bring the spectacular dual-surface discipline to more city centres and new audiences.

It was announced on the eve of this year’s MotoFest event that a proposed layout has been drafted and a feasibility study has been conducted by renowned circuit designers Driven International.

Over the next few months, a period of consultation will take place with partners and local residents to agree how the project can be taken forward.

The World RX Championship would form part of an extended MotoFest Coventry event, sitting alongside its current well-established sprint circuit programme, the dedicated Crewsade Drift Arena, live action arenas, dynamic and static car displays, and full entertainment programme festival weekend.

Since the announcement a couple of weeks ago, there has been great excitement for the proposals, including from those outside the FIA World Rallycross Championship. 2022 British Touring Car Champion Tom Ingram saying he would “love to have a go” at the event in 2025 and that when he saw the news it naturally piqued his interest.

“Although my primary focus is clearly on the BTCC, the current World RX cars look insane and people like Johan Kristoffersson, Mattias Ekström and Andrew Jordan have shown that there are many transferable skills between the two disciplines and that touring car drivers can be very successful in the sport, so yeah, personally, I’d love to have a go! I’ve followed rallycross as closely as I can and to see those crazy monsters blasting around Coventry city centre would be epic – an incredible spectacle.”

Meanwhile, the 2023 FIA World Rallycross Championship runner-up Kevin Hansen has provided input into the draft layout and is excited about the prospect of a race on the streets of Coventry.

James Noble, MotoFest Coventry Festival Director, has previously stated their ambition to stage competitive motorsport in Coventry, and having delivered successful closed-road time trials on the Ring Road, he went on to explain how they are driving forward with the next phase of the plan.

Celebrating all things automotive past, present and future, MotoFest Coventry is the Midlands region’s most well-attended annual event, attracting in excess of 200,000 visitors, and is estimated to bring in a £10 million boost to the regional economy.

– Ends –

References:

https://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/a/news/w28090_BTCC-champion-interested-in-Coventry-cameo-in-World-RX
https://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/a/news/w28007_Drivers-excited-by-Coventry-potential
https://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/a/news/w27970_FIA-World-Rallycross-Championship-targeting-street-circuit-race-in-UK-s–Motor-City
https://www.coventrymotofest.com/motofest-coventry-and-fia-world-rallycross-championship-in-talks-with-the-aim-of-hosting-a-street-race-on-ring-road-circuit/

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