Doran left frustrated after troublesome outing in Barcelona.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition

Plagued with bad luck in the first half of the 2020 World Rallycross Championship, Liam Doran has had a slightly better outing at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona. 

Whilst he claimed his best result of the season in Latvia, the British bomb had a better pace in Barcelona but was not able to capitalize on it through costly mistakes. 

On Saturday (round seven) he jumped the start in Q1 and so did Mattias Ekstrom both driver were handed the customary 2 lap joker penalty, but once the race got underway the Brit led through the first corner and opted to take the joker on lap one, and as the race progressed he was able to jump Ekstrom and had slightly better pace then his teammate and brought it home in second place (ninth overall).

He went on to claim another second-place finish in Q2 (P8 overall) but had a slightly more challenging Q3 finishing in 11th overall. 

Tenth overall after the three qualifying sessions, he progressed to the semi-finals, but it all went downhill from there as he lost front-wheel-drive and exited the race registering a DNF.

Speaking after round seven, Doran said: "All-day the car has been performing great off the start and feels really fun to drive. We made some changes ahead of the semi-finals to get some more traction and it worked a little too well, unfortunately. I then messed up the first corner by stalling and dropped to the back."

"Another small mistake ahead of the jump saw me hit the barrier and spat me out the jump the wrong way, which I just managed to save. It’s frustrating to make mistakes for sure, especially as we had a good start to the day, which then didn’t end quite as well but we go again tomorrow and try to build on today’s pace," he adds.

Back on track for round eight on Sunday morning, Doran posted the eighth fastest time in the morning warm-up and was all set for another day of action. 

Q1 saw Doran drop to P4 after contact in turn one and jokered straight away. He then began chasing down Mandie August and overtook her on the last time to finish in third. 

Lining up alongside Bennett, August, and Guillerme in the second qualifier, Doran’s race finished unexpectedly. Having led the pack for all 4 laps despite a misfiring engine from lap 1, he struggled to keep control into the last corner ahead of the chequered flag due to repeated misfires, resulting in him ending up in the wall and spinning around before crossing the line in second place. And, while the Brit was in 12 overall after Q2, the engine issues were too significant to get fixed ahead of Q3 leading to his early exit from the weekend's action. 

"It’s been a frustrating day for me in Barcelona," he said. "The car felt good and I felt in control until the engine issues reared their head and unfortunately there was no way to continue."

"Having made some mistakes yesterday that cost us to now have an early finish today is frustrating but there’s nothing to do about it really, it’s motorsport."

Written By - Junaid Samodien

World RX: The best poker game ever?

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool.

After a dramatic end to the 2019 FIA World Rallycross Championship, everyone eagerly awaited the start of the 2020 season, with the COVID-19 pandemic helping to increase this anticipation. 

However, while the new season would see four of the last world championship winners on the grid, most carried caution to their anticipation as Johan Kristoffersson left the championship in 2018 after a very dominant and quite predictive nature. This might just have been why the 2019 season was so spectacular, but with the return of the latter, everyone feared that we might go in the same direction as Formula 1 went with Lewis Hamilton during the past few years. 

Most would have rightfully betted that Kristoffersson would lead the championship after three double-headers, but fewer would have predicted that the former powerhouse would struggle a bit to keep the rest behind. 

    1. A tactical warfare 

Even fewer would have predicted that tactics (and not sure speed) would be at the order of the day. With Mattias Ekström taking Jānis Baumanis’ (JC Raceteknik) seat at the last moment, the paddock became increasingly wary of this. 

The Swede might just have amazed himself at Höljes, taking the second win of the championship and changing his plans for the following weekend as he would once again take part in the Finnish double-header. 

While Kristoffersson and Niclas Grönholm won the next two rounds, Ekström kept consistent. Grönholm again took the top qualifier position in Riga on Saturday, but a chaotic start to the final saw Kristoffersson take the win, with Ekström taking second. It went even further as the latter took the top qualifier spot on the next day and won the Sunday event in Riga. 

Yet, with both Kristoffersson and Ekström in the pack, it is becoming evidently clear why and how the 2016 – 2018 championships were won by these two. Tyre strategies, mind games, and team help is now the order of the day and we might just see this until December when the 2020 championship finishes. 

Niclas Grönholm leads Mattias Ekström and Johan Kristoffersson in Finland.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX.

    2. GRX Taneco with immense start-line power 

For some, Niclas Grönholm stands as the 2019 champion, who never took the title. Missing two rounds due to an appendicitis operation, the Finn entered the last Cape Town round with a mathematical chance of still claiming the title. While this was never to be the case, he took the win at the Killarney International Raceway. 

Ending the Höljes weekend, the odds were stacked against the GRX Taneco team as they seemed to struggle with pace and set-ups, compared to the Volkswagen Polo and the Audi S1 Quattro’s.

The next weekend, however, saw different circumstances as Juha Rytkönen finished the first day in the second-place. The taste of champagne became even sweeter on day 2 as Grönholm silenced critics by fending off immense pressure from Kristoffersson and Ekström to win his home round, with teammate, Timur Timerzyanov with him on the podium. 

Showcasing that this was not just a once-off, Grönholm took TQ on day 1 at Riga, however, a difficult first corner propelled Kristoffersson to the win. 

Joining the GRX SET squad from EKS machinery, Krisztián Szabó showcased his true form this year by finishing inside the top-10 consistently and winning his race heats. All this basically comes down to immense starts with all three of the Hyundai’s having great starts in almost every race. 

Will these good launches (starts) give the team extra armor in the fight for the championship?

Andreas Bakkerud leading rival Timmy Hansen and Mattias Ekström.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX.

    3. Where are the 2019 contenders? 

Timmy Hansen and Andreas Bakkerud finished the 2019 season behind a controversial curtain, which will be disputed for many years to come. Finishing the season on equal points, many regarded them as the two fiercest competitors for 2020. 

Unfortunately, this is yet to be proven, with Hansen only claiming a season-best third place on the first day in Finland followed up by third in Riga. While this might not seem that bad,  Hansen Motorsport is yet to prove its consistency, compared to GRX Taneco, KYB Team JC, and Kristoffersson Motorsport. 

With even more bad luck, the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel combination started off much worse than anticipated. Following GCK’s progress during the past few years, it was thought that the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel's connection would propel them to the front. 

Andreas Bakkerud is yet to reach a podium position in 2020, with the Norwegian seemingly struggling to find his same form with the Megane as he showcased with the EKS run Audi in 2019. 

A sparkle of hope came through as Bakkerud started to show some form on the final day in Riga as he slotted into the second row of the second semi-finals. Fighting it out with Timo Scheider for P3 in the second semi-finals during race 6, the Megane of Bakkerud came second best, hitting a grass bank pretty hard. 

A broken driveshaft sees the wheel come off Doran's Renault Megane.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX.

    4. British bomb not igniting

Liam Doran, the package deal for the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel link-up, is finding the best of bad luck in 2020. The British driver seems to have a combination of bad luck and problems with the car during every round this year. 

With this, he is certainly the most inconsistent driver thus far, with no necessary fault of his own. 

Only one top-10 position thus far proves this. 

Is it due to Doran’s vigorous driving style or might it just be the GCK machinery not working as well? 

In 2018, it might have been easy to place money on Johan Kristoffersson as the likely champion, yet, the 2020 season is promised to be far less predictable, with the double World Champion yet to win a Sunday event. Having won 50% of the 2020 events thus far, he is not as dominant as he once was with PSRX Volkswagen Sweden. 

Will Kristoffersson take his third championship, Ekström his second, or Grönholm his first? 

Written By - Franco Theron (Galimoto Media)

"We’ve made many, many steps in the right direction" - Andreas Bakkerud.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

The Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel has made steps in the right direction after a difficult start to the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

The doubleheader in Sweden saw Andreas Bakkerud qualify for the final, and finish in the position he started - 6th, while his teammate Liam Doran had a weekend to forget after his Megane R.S. RX suffered from a number mechanical failures. 

Round 3 in Kouvola-Finland saw Doran claim an eight-place finish after Q1, but that is where his luck ended. The British Bomb retired from Q2 with prop shaft failure, while Q3 saw him retire from the session with a broken rim and broken rear upright due to contact at turn one. 

Andreas Bakkerud on the other hand had a much smoother Saturday with consistent top-ten finishes in the three qualifying heats and ranked seventh in the intermediate classification meaning he was through to the semi-finals, while his teammate was done for the day. 

Sunday (round 4) got off to a costly start after the FIA Stewards fined the team €5,000 for a breach of the COVID-19 supplementary regulations. 

However, in a statement issued to DirtFish.com, GCK explained the reason for the breach of COVID-19 regulations: "Some of our team members missed this morning’s temperature check at the entrance gate by mistake, having used a different gate that was open to enter the circuit."

"Having arrived from a different direction today, the team members entered through the first open gate leading to their team structure to start their working day.

"However, this gate was not manned and the guys therefore missed their morning temperature check. Upon realizing, they were asked to go and retake their tests, which of course everyone did promptly and successfully."

Round 4 of the championship got off to a wet start in Kouvola. A wet day that brought tons of action and an epic comeback from Liam Doran who fought his way from 17th to 14th overall. 

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX. 

In a bold call on a moist track, Doran bolted on a set of slicks and immediately went backwards off the line to finish the session 13th overall. The Brit drove a fantastic Q2, and while leading, his hopes went rolling away after a broken wheel bearing sent him sliding off the track. 

Speaking to Niel Cole, World RX paddock reporter directly after the race, Doran said: "I might as well stay at home and let someone else drive. I don't know how much longer I can do this."

Doran came out swinging in Q3 posting the fifth fastest time, but it wasn't enough to see the him progress to the semi-finals. He missed out on a spot in the semi-finals by 5 points. 

"Happy with that clean last run today," Doran said. "I think it showed that the car and I have the pace to perform, we just haven’t been able to put it fully together yet and perform as a pair. We changed the car’s set up throughout the day and you could definitely feel the difference in the last qualifier."

Meanwhile, Andreas Bakkerud claimed a ninth-place finish in round 3, and mounted a fightback on Sunday in the wet conditions.

Bakkerud claimed a second-place finish behind Mattias Ekstrom in Q1, which slotted him into fifth-place overall. Despite some challenges with traction at the start, Q2 saw Bakkerud put down a great run boldly overtaking Hansen on the last lap to finish in 3rd.

Q3 saw, Andreas finish in second just ahead of Timmy Hansen, which saw the Norweigan claiming a spot in the semi-final with a fifth-place finish overall. 

The Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel driver would line-up in the fastest semi-final with the likes of Mattias Ekstrom, Johan Kristoffersson, etc. And despite crossing the line in fourth-place, Juha Rytkonen was handed a five-second penalty, which promoted the Norwegian to the final. 

The final didn't quite go the way Bakkerud expected despite sneaking up the inside of Timur Timerzyanov and Timmy Hansen at turn one. Timur fought back into turn two pushing Andreas wide, with Timmy getting through. From there, he was unable to make any progress after his windscreen was filled with mud meaning he would race all the way to the checkered flag blind and would finish the final in sixth-place. 

"Overall, we’ve made many, many steps in the right direction - we didn’t have any big technical issues but the super tricky conditions impacted our overall performance," Bakkerud said. "We’re proud to have put the car into the final to fight against 5 top drivers and this is where I think we should play all the time."

"Considering the quickly changing conditions, I think we tactically played our cards right but had some small issues in the semi-finals and finals, which we need to analyse further and work on ahead of Riga. I have full confidence that we will be spraying champagne at the end of the day there."

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Doran ready to mount Finland fightback.

PHOTO CREDIT: GCK.

Liam Doran is looking forward to mounting a fight-back after retiring from round three of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship at Kouvola-Finland today.

The Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel have been working hard to solve the technical issues that plagued Doran in Sweden last weekend. There hard work paid off in the opening stages of the weekend for both RX Cartel drivers. 

"I think everybody saw what happened in Sweden and that’s not good for anyone but we worked really hard this week and hopefully turned it around," Doran said. "I’ve got a lot of confidence in the car and in the team, so of course, I’m not 100% confident after last weekend but I’m not going to give up, that wouldn’t be me.”

The British Bomb got off to a strong start finishing eighth in the standing after Q1. Doran lined up alongside teammate Bakkerud in Q2, but later retired due to a broken prop shaft. 

Q3 saw the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel driver sending it around the outside of the field to lead into turn one, but after some rear contact, he later retired due to a broken rim and broken rear upright. 

Doran is a former winner at the Kouvola circuit, one he says suits his flat out driving style. “This is definitely a great track for me, I love it. Probably one of the biggest things is when you enjoy driving a track you usually do quite well. It’s quite a flamboyant track, it requires a lot of commitment round the blind corners and crests and encourages aggressive driving. It’s my sort of track," he said. 

"We showed some promising pace this morning and can see the potential of the car. The broken prop shaft in Q2 put us on the back foot and meant I had to push massively in Q3, where contact resulted in us having to retire, which is frustrating of course but is what makes rallycross what it is. The track here is one of my favourites and it suits my driving style so much, so I’m just looking ahead to tomorrow, where we can hopefully build on this morning’s performance."

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Three for the price of one as GC Kompetition increases World RX presence.

GC Kompetition is back, and bolder than ever. Three new teams with one objective to win the FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

GCK are renowned for “changing the rules” wherever they go, and this season it will be no different. 

The French squad will field five permanent entries and a part-time entry for Kevin Abbring at selected events. Swede Anton Marklund will return in a Renault Mégane R.S. RX, whilst two of the biggest names in rallycross, Andreas Bakkerud and Liam Doran will trade their hired EKS Audi S1’s for a pair of Mégane R.S. RX supercars this season. 

Will Guerlain Chicherit (GCK team owner) return this season? Of course! The Frenchman has made the biggest change this season switching from the longer wheelbase Renault Mégane to the slightly shorter Renault Clio R.S. RX, and joining Guerlain on the grid in the newly formed “UNKORRUPTED” squad is Rokas Baciuška.

Let’s take a look deeper look into these three new teams...

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

UNKORRUPTED

The name at first makes you wonder, why they chose the name "UNKORRUPTED". Because uncorrupted in the English dictionary means: “not subjected to corruption” or “free from moral corruption,” which has no actual link to the team. But with their aim to push the boundaries and disrupt the World RX order you could draw a parallel with the word “unkorrupted”.

UNKORRUPTED will field a pair of Renault Clio R.S. RX that have undergone massive developments in the offseason, including a new engine update from ORECA, new BOS dampers, and significant work on weight distribution. 

GC Kompetition was founded by former freeskiing Champion and motorsport athlete Guerlain Chicherit in 2017. While GCK only entered the FIA World Rallycross stage in 2018 finishing the season in 5th place in the teams’ standings. In 2019, the team expanded into two teams, the main team being GC Kompetition with Chicherit and Marklund, and another team for up and coming talent under the banner "GCK Academy" with a pair of Renault Clios.

In the compact 2020 season Guerlain will switch to the Renault Clio alongside Rokas Baciuška who had a limited World RX programme in 2019 after entering the championship with ES Motorsport, and later joining GCK as an independent entry. The 20-year-old Lithuanian claimed his best result in Loheac last year with a fourth-place finish. 

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

GCK Bilstein

Joining GC Kompetition in the second half of the 2018 season, Anton Marklund showed his trust in the team by committing to be a key part in the development of the Mégane R.S. RX. The Swede returned in 2019 for the full season, and crossed the line first in Norway, but was later disqualified for a technical infringement. A few rounds later, Marklund claimed GC Kompetition’s best ever result with a second-place finish at Loheac, France. 

This year Marklund will return as an independent entrant with “GCK Bilstein” with the sole focus of challenging for the Drivers’ World Title in a Renault Mégane R.S. RX.

The Mégane R.S. RX that Marklund hopes will propel him to the top of the standings has undergone additional developments on the engine and a new evolution of the Bilstein dampers for the 2020 campaign.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel

The Monster Energy RX Cartel took the World Rallycross stage by storm when they launched early last season with the objective of being fast on track and disruptive in the paddock. They certainly ruffled a few feathers along the way. 

While the 2019 season went all the way to the checkered flag in Cape Town, Andreas Bakkerud came out as the runner-up finishing on equal points to the World RX Champion Timmy Hansen, only to be split by the number of victories in the season which ultimately decided who would be the World Champion. 

This season, Andreas Bakkerud and Liam Doran have traded in their Audi S1 Supercars for a pair of GCK prepared Renault Mégane R.S. RX. Doran will return to machinery he knows quite well having driven the Mégane at three rounds in the 2018 World RX season. But, with their combined experience Andreas and Liam will undoubtedly be the ones to watch this season. 

We can not wait to see these three teams juke it out for victories in 2020! Bring it on! 

Written By – Junaid Samodien

New, but familiar assault for Doran in 2020.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

Liam Doran will this year, take on yet another bid to win the FIA World Rallycross Championship. In the process, Doran will once again join the 2019 title rival to the Hansen's; Andreas Bakkerud. However, rather than racing in their 2019 EKS machinery, the pairing will join GC Kompetition, a team that Brit is all too familiar with. 

Competing in rallycross since 2009, Doran first joined the FIA European Rallycross Championship, finishing third in 2010 with the Kenneth Hansen Racing (Division 1). He then stepped up to compete in the Supercar category, recording second position in 2012 with his own team; just edging Tanner Foust and slotting in behind the champion, Timur Timerzyanov. 

He then joined the Global Rallycross Championship in 2011 and raced on-off for three years. 2014 saw him joining the FIA World Rallycross Championship with the Monster Energy World RX team. Competing again on an on-off rotation, GCK grabbed hold of his expertise in 2018 to compete at Loheac (France), Riga (Latvia), and Estering (Germany). 

While the team joined the grid earlier that year, it needed crucial input from proven drivers. Doran filled the shoes of Jerome Grosset-Janin after an abrupt end to his season. 

Doran adapted well to this challenge, showing tremendous pace in Loheac; recording the teams’ second-best finish of the season. The Brit then sat out for the American and South African rounds as Anton Marklund took his turn. 

Last year saw the 'British Bomb' join his old teammate, Andreas Bakkerud. Racing with EKS prepared Audi S1’s, the team did very well to allow Bakkerud to finish on equal points with the eventual winner, Timmy Hansen. 

Doran was well on for his first-ever win in Norway last year, joining Niclas Grönholm on the front of the grid for a very wet race. With an excellent start, he led the pack into the joker (lap). As Kevin Abbring led the field, Grönholm and Kevin Hansen bumped doors behind him. This allowed for Doran to catch up quickly, with the front three, who were still to joker. 

The 'British Bomb' in the 2018 GCK Renault Megane R.S.RX.
PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition. 

With virtual victory in sight and only two laps to go, a mechanical issue brought him to a halt. While Grönholm eventually won the race, Marklund in GCK machinery crossed the line first. Had it not been for a mechanical infringement, the team could have taken their first win. 

Nonetheless, GCK showed tremendous progress and has been an ever-present entry into the FIA World Rallycross Championship finals. 

With both Bakkerud and Doran joining GCK in 2020 under the banner Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel, both the team and the drivers will benefit. More so, Doran, who is already familiar with the team and machinery, will be able to help Bakkerud adjust with more ease. 

"Teaming up with GCK will be great. I drove the Mégane R.S. RX in 2018 and we really got on, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting back behind the wheel," Doran said. "Last year I struggled to get to grips with the car (the Audi S1), so to get back in something I know will be great – and with all the developments made on the car since I last drove it, I have high expectations."

"We ended last year on what seemed like a bit of a low with Andreas missing out on the title, but all in all 2019 was a massive success for us and I’m sure we can carry that momentum into 2020 with GCK."

Will 2020 see Doran grab his first-ever FIA World Rallycross Championship win? Anything will be possible in an action-packed, condensed 2020 season!

Written By - Franco Theron and Junaid Samodien.