GRX Taneco set their sights on the finals in Cape Town.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

GRX Taneco have set their sights on qualifying both cars for the final at the 2018 Gumtree World Rallycross of South Africa this weekend.

The team can look back on the 2018 season with great satisfaction, claiming eleven semi-final positions and four places in the final in eleven races. 

After a fine performance last time out in Germany, the team hopes to go one step further in the finals in Cape Town. 

World RX of South Africa is raced at the Killarney International Raceway in Cape Town, overlooked by the spectacular Table Mountain. The 60% asphalt/40% dirt track was well received by all the drivers competing in the inaugural edition last year, despite some tricky, dusty dirt portions. The lap record was set by Johan Kristoffersson who covered the 1,067 metres in 40.393 seconds. 

Fourth overall in Spain, Latvia and Germany, Niclas Grönholm has shown that the Hyundai i20 Supercar can compete with the factory teams. In the break between the German round of the championship and the season finale in Cape Town, Niclas has been preparing himself for the 2019 season. 


"We have had a long break since Germany and I have had time to get myself ready physically and mentally, and to think about 2019!," said Grönholm. "So I have been quite busy."

The Finn is looking forward to the season finale in South Africa, but has one target in mind. "The aim is to get through to the final and secure my seventh place in the overall standings," says Grönholm. "Last year, the track was really tricky with the dust causing quite a few problems in the dirt section."

Last year’s race in South Africa saw Timur Timerzyanov place thirteenth while Niclas Grönholm finished fifteenth. 

Timur is raring to go racing at the Killarney International Raceway. "We’re going to South Africa for only the second year running, so the circuit is quite new for everyone," said .Timerzyanov. 

The Russian hopes that the organizers of the World RX of South Africa have come up with a solution for the brake up in the surface conditions. 

"In 2017, the track was interesting but quickly broke up and the conditions were really tough. I hope the organisers have managed to come up with a solution so that the surface remains stable and the conditions are the same for everyone," says Timerzyanov. 

"The team is ready for one last surge, to finish off with a good performance and pick up as many points as possible."