Timerzyanov to miss World RX of Catalunya curtain-raiser due to COVID-19.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media

Timur Timerzyanov will miss this weekend’s FIA World Rallycross Championship curtain-raiser in Barcelona after testing positive for COVID-19. 

The Russian is one of the most experienced drivers of the current rallycross generation - and, one of only three to have contested every World Championship event to date since the series' inception back in 2014. 

Whilst racing alongside Niclas Grönholm for the past three seasons, due to budgetary issues related to the global pandemic. The 34-year-old was unable to secure a full-time seat with the GRX-SET World RX Team for the 2021 season. However, he was able to secure a seat in the third Hyundai i20 for selected outings.

All roads led to Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona for the curtain-raiser this weekend, but unfortunately, Timerzyanov will not make this grid this weekend. 

"Sadly, Timur is unable to race this weekend due to COVID, but he is doing well and we wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him later in the season," the FIA World Rallycross Championship statement read. 

GRX-SET and Timerzyanov are yet to release a statement.

Timerzyanov to make World RX return at Barcelona curtain-raiser.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media.

Timur Timerzyanov will race in next month’s FIA World Rallycross Championship curtain-raiser in Catalunya on 23/24 July, in a third GRX-SET World RX Team entry.

The Russian is one of the most experienced drivers of the current rallycross generation - and, one of only three to have contested every World Championship event to date since the series' inception back in 2014. 

For the past three seasons, Timerzyanov has competed under the Grönholm RX banner alongside Niclas Grönholm, and he will once again line up for the Finnish outfit – now rebranded GRX-SET – in Catalunya in just under four weeks’ time, in what is currently labeled as a one-off appearance due to budgetary issues. If he does have only one chance to shine, the 34-year-old has every intention of grabbing it with both hands.

"Rallycross has always been such a big part of my life," he said "But the world has obviously changed a lot over the past year, and that in turn has led to sponsors re-evaluating their priorities and adopting different philosophies."

“It didn’t look like I would make the grid at all in 2021, and I need to thank my loyal partners and Jussi [Pinomäki – GRX-SET Team Principal] for working with me to make it possible for me to continue doing what I love doing – racing rallycross cars – for at least one more event."

"We only have an agreement for Barcelona at the moment, but if the opportunity presents itself to enter more rounds, I will of course take it because I really don’t want this wonderful story to end yet," he adds."Saying that, nothing is ever guaranteed and I will go out there and drive every race as if it’s my last, just in case it is – and I plan to enjoy every moment...”

GRX Taneco rues lack of grip at Barcelona double-header.

PHOTO CREDIT: GRX Taneco

It was a weekend to forget for GRX Taneco who was struggling with a lack of grip at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona.

The Finnish squad had high expectations for the final double-header of the season in Barcelona after finding some improvements after the Latvian double-header, but they were soon brought down to reality with Timur Timerzyanov bowing out in the semi-finals at round seven (on Saturday).

And, while it looked a bit better for Niclas Grönholm who made the final. He finished in fourth place and admitted that his Hyundai i20 was lacking grip. 

Whilst Saturday did not bring the desired results, GRX Taneco worked into the night to analyze why they were lacking grip and make the necessary changes for Sunday's round, but unfortunately, both GRX Taneco drivers were still struggling with grip and were unable to match the pace of their rivals. 

Despite lacking grip, Grönholm admits that the team has taken a step forward with race starts (launches), and he believes that he had the right tire strategy, but he was unable to make use of it. 

"We had good starts and I must say that is a big step forward from where we were at the beginning of the season, but out on the track we still struggled with the grip," he said. "I think we were also very good on the tire strategy, but just couldn’t take the advantage of it."

"Now it will be a long break before we go to Belgium, and I really hope we can find a solution and be more competitive in the next race."

Missing the draw on Saturday evening for round eight, Timur started his day off in Q1 Race 1 where he finished behind Robin Larsson and was sixth overall with two qualifying sessions to go. 

Whilst leading Q2 Race 3 in the early stages, he did not have the pace to match the likes of Kristoffersson and Bakkerud. And, would finish behind his teammate Niclas in fourth seeing him drop a position in the overall standings to P7 overall. 

Q3 saw the GRX Taneco drivers both have great launches, but Anton Marklund had other plans and led the race into turn 1/2, while Timo Scheider also got the best of the duo, which meant Timur would finish behind his teammate once again. 

In the semi-finals, the Russian made it through the first corner last, and despite a first lap joker he was only able to jump Enzo Ide to finish in fifth-place where his weekend would end. 

"It was a tough race today [Sunday] and the track evolution didn’t make my day any easier," Timerzyanov said. "At some moments we were able to deliver, but overall we are not where we want to be and we need to work on finding the overall pace."

Jussi Pinomäki, the GRX Taneco Team Manager says despite reaching a new low, the only way is up, and his team will use the month break between Barcelona and Belgium to bring the team back to the top again. 

"It’s not a simple sport and I guess that’s what makes it so attractive. Everyone has their ups and downs, and at the moment we are quite down," Pinomäki said. "But it means that there is only one way to go from here - and that is up. Everyone in the team is working really hard to bring us back at the top and now we have one month to do it."

After eight races of the season, Niclas Grönholm is currently fourth and Timur Timerzyanov tenth in the drivers’ standings, while the GRX Taneco squad hangs onto third in the teams' standings.

Written By - Junaid Samodien

GRX Taneco "are ready to fight" for good results in Spanish double-header.

PHOTO CREDIT: GRX Taneco.

GRX Taneco is ready to fight for strong results at rounds seven and eight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona this weekend. 

So far, this season has seen three double-header race weekends in Sweden, Finland, and Latvia. And, although Spain was initially set to host a single round, due to the cancelation of the Portugal event, it has changed its format to the double-header.

The 2020 season has been far from ideal for GRX Taneco, but Niclas Grönholm has claimed a win for the Finnish squad on home soil in Kouvola (Finland) and will aim to take the fight to the likes of Johan Kristoffersson and Mattias Ekström on the 1135m long World RX track in Barcelona. 

"Feeling good going to Barcelona, as we had a good pace at the last year’s race and we hope that we’ve found some improvements after the race in Riga, that didn’t go our way," Grönholm said. "It will be a tough weekend with two races again, but we are ready to fight and score some good results!"

The Coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic has drastically altered the World RX calendar this season, but the championship will return to Barcelona this weekend. And, Timur Timerzyanov is happy to return to one of his favourite tracks on the calendar.  

"Barcelona is amongst my favorite tracks of the calendar and for sure one of the best F1-RX tracks. I’m really happy, that we are able to go there this year," said Timerzyanov.

It has been a season of ups and downs for Timerzyanov through on-track incidents and technical issues, but through all the bad luck, he claimed a third-place finish in Kouvola and will aim to claim some good results in Barcelona. 

"In the previous weekends, I have had many runs with good pace, but also many misfortunes or setbacks," he said. "I hope that in Barcelona I will be able to keep the good pace and consistency."

"Every race weekend we start with an aim of the podium, and this will be no different. We just need to do our best and results will come."

“I think this goes without saying that 2020 season has been a very challenging one and, so far, maybe not as successful as we hoped for, but we keep our spirits high and every single one in the team is working really hard to deliver their maximum," says Jussi Pinomäki, GRX Taneco team manager. 

"Barcelona is a place where we, as GRX Taneco, had our first race back in 2018 and we are excited to go back there."

GRX Taneco are currently third in the teams' standings with 176 points and will hope to close the deficit to KYB Team JC in Barcelona. 

Written By - Junaid Samodien

"We still have some work to do" - Niclas Grönholm.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX.

The 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship has been filled with ups-and-downs for early championship favourites, GRX Taneco. 

And, despite a win in Kouvola-Finland, the Finnish squad still has a long way to go to beat the likes of Johan Kristoffersson and Mattias Ekström [KYB Team JC]. After six rounds, there have been glimpses of pace, while GRX SET's Juha Rytkonen showed the true pace of the Hyundai i20 after a magnificent performance in Kouvola. 

The fifth round of the championship, also held in Riga, Latvia, saw Niclas Grönholm claim the top qualifiers spot. Lining up alongside, Ekström in the semi-final, the 2016 Champion had a much better launch with Niclas making it into turn two in second-place where he would finish the race. 

While teammate Timur Timerzyanov did not have a good start in semi-final two and got through turn two in fourth-place. However, it went from bad to worse when the Russian got a knock on the rear, which damaged his rear suspension and meant he was crabbing around the track fighting to keep his Hyundai going in a straight line. He  finished the semi-final in fifth-place. 

The round five final was a heated affair with six drivers jostling for position, while the 24-year-old Finn came out of turn two in fourth-place. And, later on in the final, Niclas was faster than Kevin Hansen and tried an alternative line to get past the young Swede. But luck was not on his side and he hit a barrier. Grönholm crossed the finish line 6.275 seconds behind Kevin in fifth-place. 

Sunday (round six) was slightly more challenging for GRX Taneco, with both drivers in fifth and ninth after three qualifying sessions. Niclas progressed to the semi-finals, while Timur could only manage a fifth-place finish. In the final, the Finn claimed a fifth-place finish. 

"Quali runs were up-and-down again and starting from the outside didn’t help. I had a quite good start in the Final and came out of the first turn as fourth," Grönholm said. "I managed to keep up with the frontrunners for a couple of laps, but eventually my tires overheated and I lost the pace."

"We came here well prepared and with high expectations, but couldn’t capitalize on that. The car was better than in first races of the season, but we still have some work to do."

Despite some good clean runs in qualifying, Timur wasn't able to achieve his plan of making it into the Semi-fiinal, and ended round six in eighth-place. 

"P5 in the Semi-final was not the result I was hoping for, especially after the good and clean run in Q2, where I finished 4th," Timerzyanov said. "We had a plan for the Semi-final, but it didn’t play out as we anticipated and even though I was driving as fast as possible, it was not enough to proceed to the Final."

Jussi Pinomäki, GRX Taneco Team Manager adds that it has been a frustrating weekend in Latvia, but admits that his team needs to keep working and improving throughout the season to reach the level of their rivals. 

"This weekend in Riga was a difficult and sometimes even a frustrating one, but I know that everyone in the team did their best and I am proud of them," Pinomäki said. "For sure we would have wanted a better result, but races in Riga prove the level of the sport and that we have to keep working and improving throughout the whole season."

Krisztian Szabo in the third Hyundai i20 run by GRX SET had a topsy turvy weekend, and while Saturday (round 5) was much smoother. Sunday (round six) saw the Hungarian's car catch alight in Q2 due to a broken manifold. The GRX team was able repair the car and got him out for the remainder of the weekend where he was able to finish in sixth-place in the semi-finals. 

"I was missing a couple of tenths here and there comparing to yesterday and I can’t really explain why it was like that. Still, I reached the Semi-final and I am satisfied with this result, especially after the thrilling Q2 session," Szabo said. "In Q2 I noticed smoke inside of the car, but I kept going until, on the last lap, when an actual fire came into cockpit and I was forced to stop. Mechanics did an unbelievable job, getting the car ready for Q3, where I set the 5thfastest time."

Written By - Junaid Samodien