Dakar 2021: Sweet and sour day for South-Africans

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool. 

Written By: Franco Theron - NamWheels

The 2021 Dakar Rally is now at its midway point and much can already be taken from the first week of racing. In both the motorbike- and car categories, the fight is extremely tight. 

Honda, Yamaha, and KTM seem to be inseparable with the top 5 times overall after every stage, being within seconds from one another. While Yamaha is still to win a stage in this year’s Dakar, it is Ross Branch and Andrien van Beveren, who can be said to be the most consistent of all the current top riders. 

In the car category, the X-Raid Mini’s seemed to play a very strategic game early on, but Toyota fought back with an even better approach. After stage 4, the lead between the Mini of Stephane Peterhansel (Mini) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) was a mere 5 minutes. 

Stating that the marathon stages, leading up to-and continuing after the rest day, would be the stages to attack, Al-Attiyah knew well that these stages were two of the most technical and demanding of the edition. 

Leading up to the rest day, this is how the motorbike and car categories got on. 

Honda going strong 

Stage 4 winner, Joan Barreda Bort (Honda) started the stage first and evidently did not hold back. Having taken his 27th Dakar victory, the Spaniard was keen on climbing his way back into the overall contention. So to was his teammates, Kevin Benavides and Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo. Yet, by the second checkpoint, Barreda Bort seemed to have lost a chunk of time to the stage leaders’ duo to a navigational error. Similarly, the Yamaha of Van Beveren fell into the same error. 

For most of the stage, the Honda’s of Cornejo Florimo and Benavides led the stage, with overall contender, Xavier de Soultrait (Husqvarna) threatening the leading times. 

Benavides did, however, take the stage lead from his teammate during the end of the stage, with Barreda Bort seemingly losing more time as the stage progressed. In the end, Benavides won the stage ahead of Cornejo Florimo to make it another Honda 1-2 stage win. 

Ultimately, this also propelled Benavides into the overall lead, ahead of de Soultrait. 

Branch ever-consistent 

Signing for the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally team after two highly successful first years in the race, Ross Branch proves to once again be the ever consistent, smiling rider. 

Even more importantly, the Botswanian has remained within or close to the top 5 overall positions, even though the leaders around him are trading positions constantly. Whilst Yamaha has already seen one retirement early on, Branch proves to be the leading Yamaha rider: besting even his highly experienced teammate, van Beveren. 

This can mainly be attributed to a cautious approach and one without too many navigational errors. 

Branch is also now positioned as the sole Yamaha in the top 10 and with a shot at overall victory. A mere 8:24 behind de Soultrait and 6:18 behind Cornejo Florimo, Branch is perfectly positioned to attack on Saturday. However, Kevin Benavides on the Honda seems to have found his rhythm and is now almost 11 minutes ahead. 

Toyota vs Mini 

Just before the start of stage 5, Peterhansel was handed a one-minute penalty for unknown reasons. This would bring the leading two competitors of Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah to within four minutes. 

Opening the stage for a third time in succession, Al-Attiyah lost time to Peterhansel at the start, but quickly gained on the Frenchman to trail him by a mere 23 seconds at the 155km mark. However, by the next 197km mark, this gap grew by two minutes.  

Peterhansel reached the finish to put almost 3 more minutes into his lead over Al-Attiyah. Yet, this was not quick enough to win the stage, meaning that he will not open the road on Saturday, but rather the Toyota of de Villiers. 

Will Toyota play a tactical game with Peterhansel, come Saturday?  

South-Africans flying the flag high

It was a win-lose situation for Toyota and South-Africa. While bad news came through for Lategan, Giniel de Villiers managed to take stage honours today, recording the fastest time at every checkpoint. 

Erik van Loon (Overdrive Toyota) was hot on his heels, until Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) and Martin Prokop (Benzina Orlen) took over the contention for second on stage. 

Baragwanath looked set to make it a first stage win, until de Villiers once again bested his finishing time by a full 5:45 minutes, with Prokop finishing in third. 

It would therefore be a good day for South Africans as it would record a 1-2 stage finish. 

Sainz unable to defend his 2020 title? 

As of 2020, a three-time Dakar winner, the multiple World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz, seems to be unable to repeat success at this years’ edition. The Spaniard lost half an hour to the leading pair of Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah on stage 3, when he made a navigational error and again lost considerable time on the fifth stage. 

Racing through the first checkpoint at 43km, he already lost 28:40 minutes to the stage leader, Giniel de Villiers (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and more importantly, around 20 minutes to his two overall contenders. 

Magical rookie Lategan

Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) already proved his worth in only his first year of Dakar racing. The two-time South-African cross-country driver and former rally-ace not only challenged his much more experienced teammates in the third and fourth stage, but managed to finish stage 3 in second position, whilst just being pipped by Peterhansel in the following stage to end in third. 

Starting third on stage 5, the same navigational headache as for Sainz and Sebastien Loeb (BRX) seemed to haunt the young South-African. Soon thereafter, news came through that the Lategan and his co-driver were taken to the start of the stage again for medical treatment as they rolled their Hilux in the stage. 

This is a huge blow to the race as Lategan’s form started to rival stage winning times. Would he have raced on, the South African would have certainly ended the race as the top rookie? 

Certainly, a big learning curve, may this be a future Dakar winner in the making? 

Dakar2021: Stage 4 Analysis - Nail bitingly close in both the motorbike and car categories.

Ross Branch #18 on his way to fourth on stage four.
PHOTO CREDIT: Yamaha Racing.

After the drama from yesterday as well as the extremely close racing in the motorbike category, we were certainly very eager to kick of the stage today. This is what occurred: 

Honda back at it 

Winning yesterday’s stage, Toby Price (KTM) once again had the duty of opening the special today. It was therefore inevitable that the Australian would lose some time. However, the KTM rider lost just under 15 minutes today as he lost the lead early in the stage by means of navigational errors. 

It was then Joan Barreda Bort (Honda) who took over the lead, ready for a second 2021 stage win. After two difficult days, the Spaniard crossed the line, 6 minutes ahead of Yamaha rider, Ross Branch. 

Yesterday’s overall leader, Howes (BAS KTM) struggled with the conditions and would eventually lose the overall lead, thanks to a 13 minute deficit to Barreda. 

Overall, this means that the lead swaps once more, with Barreda now slotting into second; 15 seconds shy from the lead, which Xavier De Soultrait (Husqvarna) now holds. This is an extremely close margin. 

A further three minutes and 9 seconds sees Kevin Benavides (Honda) in third, followed by the consistent Yamaha of Branch, 1 minute further. 

Less than 5 minutes separate the top 5 

With Howes slotting into fifth place overall after today’s stage, the top 5 are separated by a mere 4:26 minutes. With key stages still remaining, it is anyone’s win to take, with KTM not far behind. 

Toyota powering ahead 

With a one-two position on yesterday’s stage, Toyota Gazoo Racing looked to have a tough day as Nasser Al-Attiyah and Henk Lategan would open the road for the others. 

Yet, this did not deter the leading Toyota’s as they once again dominated the stage, with Al-Attiyah and Lategan trading fastest times throughout the stage. Separated by a mere 44 seconds at 298km, everyone held their breath to see which Toyota would cross the finish line first. 

Yesterday, Al-Attiyah made it clear that he would attack Peterhansel on the 5th and 6th stage. With only five minutes between the leading duo, anything could happen. 

Yet, today, Al Attiyah already punched hard by winning his third consecutive stage and the fourth of the 2021 edition. The two X-Raid Mini’s of Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz fought back hard but just missed out on a stage win by a mere 11 seconds. This moved Lategan to third on the stage, with Sainz almost 3 minutes behind. 

Sainz did, however, threaten Al-Attiyah’s stage lead at seven points, but seemed to have backed off towards the finish. Is this perhaps a strategic plan to allow the Toyota’s to open the road tomorrow? 

Both Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) and Giniel de Villiers (Toyota Gazoo Racing) also drove at a steady pace, with both losing over 12 minutes to Al-Attiyah on the stage.

This means that Al-Attiyah would once again open the road tomorrow, a recipe that proved to work over the past three days. Just under 5 minutes now separate the Toyota and the Mini. It is anyone’s guess.

Dakar 2021: Wadi Ad-Dawasir loop - STAGE 3 ANALYSIS.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool.

Written By: Franco Theron - NamWheels

The 630 km stage 3 today again saw drama unfold. With 9 stages remaining, a likely winner is far from being declared. Anything can still happen, with the general classifications in both the car and motorbike categories, changing on a daily basis. 

Stage 2 recap

Yesterday saw drama in the motorbike category as Yamaha’s Andrew Shorts retired. This, however, comes as a controversial matter as it quickly became clear that his and early leader, Toby Price’s KTM suffered problems after refuelling their bikes in the stage. 

Losing 32 minutes in the stage, Price discovered water in his fuel pump, a problem that sent Shorts into retirement.

Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team has issued a statement following Andrew Short's withdrawal from the 2021 Dakar Rally.

"Subsequent inspection of the bike on its return to the bivouac identified the problem as contaminated fuel, with a significant amount of water found to be present in both the fuel tank and the fuel pump on Short's bike," the statement read.

"Water was also found in the fuel of Short's Monster Energy Yamaha teammate Franco Caimi when his fuel tank was drained after the stage. Fortunately for the Argentinian, the fuel contamination wasn't as severe as that of his teammate and he was able to complete the day's stage."

In order to ensure none of their other riders a similar fate, they opted to drain the fuel from the four remaining bikes and replace the fuel pumps. 

The team has also stated that they had lodged an official request to the FIA to freeze the results of stage 2 at Checkpoint 2. As it would allow Short to start the race today. However, the request was requested. 

Honda continues to impress, but KTM stamps its authority 

While Honda finished a strong first and second on stage yesterday, Kevin Benavides again took the lead for the manufacturer early on today. Losing 29 minutes to his winning team mate yesterday, Benavides had a point to prove. 

He was followed shortly by Price and Mattias Walkner (KTM). It would, however, be a bad day for the overall leading Honda’s of Joan Barreda Bort and Ricky Brabec as the two lost considerable time to the Husqvarna of Pablo Quintanilla and Ross Branch (Yamaha Monster Energy). Skyler Howes would take over the lead of the race. 

At 354km, Price took the lead from Benavides. A lead he would hold onto to win the stage by 1 minute and 16 seconds from Benavides. 

Branch holding a steady pace 

Ross Branch showcased a steady, yet consistent approach towards today’s stage. Losing about 13 minutes at every point, the Kalahari Ferrari kept his times in front of the overall leading trio of Quintanilla, Brabec, and Barreda Bort. Even more importantly, Branch came in ahead of his vastly experienced Yamaha teammate, Adrian van Beveren by a mere two seconds. 

However, a good showing by Skyler Howes (BAS Dakar KTM), Xavier de Soultrait (Rally Raid Husqvarna), Sam Sunderland (KTM Red Bull), Price and Benavides, would propel these five riders ahead of Branch in the overall standings. 

Toyota Gazoo Racing fighting back 

Winning stage 2, the South-African built Toyota Hiluxes were again charging through the special. 

It was South-African Dakar rookie, Henk Lategan, setting the timing sheets alight early on, followed shortly by Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota Overdrive), Sheikh Al Qassimi (Abu Dhabi Racing), Mathieu Serradori (Century Racing), Giniel De Villiers (Toyota Gazoo Racing). 

The tables, however, quickly turned as Carlos Sainz regained the lead at the 88km from Al Rajhi and Al-Attiyah, however, soon made a navigational error. Both Sainz and Al Rajhi then lost valuable time, with the former losing almost 32 minutes at the 183km mark; prompting Al-Attiyah and Sebastien Loeb (BRX) into the lead of the stage. 

Midway throughout the stage, Lategan fought back to slot in between Al-Attiyah and Stephane Peterhansel, while both De Villiers and Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) were starting to lose quite a bit of time. 

Crossing the finish line, Al-Attiyah managed to take just over 4 minutes out of Peterhansel’s lead and a massive 31 minutes. Lategan, meanwhile finished the stage in second position, 2:27 behind his Gazoo Racing teammate. 

All this means that Peterhansel now leads the race, albeit by only five minutes from Al-Attiyah. With two back-to-back stage wins, might we see the Qatari close in even more in the coming days? Or will Sainz find a way to claw back his almost 34-minute deficit?

Dakar 2021: Stage 1 and Stage 2 analysis.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool.

Written By: Franco Theron - NamWheels

Has Mini already won? 

Whilst the start of the rally saw a curb in top speed regulations, the X-raid Mini’s of Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz seemed t play the same tactics as their Red Bull motorbike counterparts, during the prologue. 

While Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) took the lead on the prologue, the Mini’s quickly doused Toyota’s early celebratory mood. With the two mates almost in sync, the reigning champion (Sainz) took the lead, a mere 5 seconds ahead of Peterhansel. 

On today’s second stage, Peterhansel punched back, finishing just under 7 minutes ahead of Sainz. 

Yet, it was the Toyota of Al-Attiyah, who reigned supreme on the stage; taking 2:35 minutes out of Peterhansel’s overall lead and 9:17 from Sainz. 

All this means that the three favourites are now just less than 10 minutes away from one another, with Sainz trailing Peterhansel by 6:37 and Al-Attiyah trailing the leader by 9:14. 

While Mini started strongly, Toyota quickly punched back today. It will be anyone’s win. 

What about the other South-African Toyota Gazoo Racing Hiluxes? 

Henk Lategan, in his first-ever Dakar, seems to do well. The two-time SACCS champion is now in 16th position overall, trailing Peterhansel by 49 minutes. He is positioned just ahead of his more experienced, yet ever-cautious Dakar Legend teammate, Giniel De Villiers. The latter is now 18th, just over 52 minutes behind. Yet, as we know, De Villiers is never a quick starter; climbing up the leaderboard, stage by stage. 

Shameer Variawa did well on stage 1, finishing just ahead of Lategan in 12th. At the time of editing, Variawa does seem to struggle in the second stage, trailing the leaders by more than two hours. 

KTM stronger than ever? 

Having won 13 consecutive Dakar titles before Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) bested the KTM trio in 2020, the KTM squad seems to be back at the 2021 edition with new ambition. The 2016 and 2019 winner, Toby Price, was quick to state the obvious; being that KTM held back on the prologue stage so as to not open the tracks on the first stage of the rally. 

It certainly proved to pay off as the initial Honda pace setters of Brabec and Joan Barreda Bort got lost, earning Price the lead of the rally. 

The second stage of the rally would, unfortunately, swing the favour back in the hands of the Honda’s as Barreda Bort seized the opportunity of a later start to retake the lead for the manufacturer. Brabec finished second and now sits just under 7 minutes behind. 

The KTM of Mattias Walkner came to a halt early in the stage, with the Austrian eventually losing almost two hours and a half. Sam Sunderland lost exactly 23 minutes today, while Price lost even more at 32 minutes. 

KTM might have won 13 consecutive titles, yet the last few years proved to be more of a daunting task in keeping up with appearances. With Yamaha and Husqvarna also being in the mix, will we again see a game of cat and mouse right up until the end? 

We certainly think so… 

The “Kalahari Ferrari” had us worried, but not for long 

Ross Branch (Monster Energy Yamaha) showed us his capabilities during the prologue; taking into account that this is only his third ever Dakar. The Botswanian then seemed to struggle during the first stage, losing valuable time and eventually finishing 12th. 

But, with the ever-present smile on his face, Branch raced ahead during the second stage, threatening the leaders of the stage. 

He would eventually finish today’s stage in fourth (at the time of typing this article), moving up to third overall as the leading Yamaha rider, 6:37 shy of the lead. 

With 10 stages remaining, anything can still happen. Yet, Branch has already showcased his performance in 2020. A stage victory might well be in reach, but can we expect even more? 

We might only be in the second stage of this years’ Dakar, but both the car and motorbike categories are already lighting up and our Southern-African competitors are doing us proud. 

Al-Attiyah/Baumel to head field for DAKAR 2021 STAGE 1.

PHOTO CREDIT: Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.

Toyota GAZOO Racing's Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel topped the short, sharp 2021 Dakar Rally prologue in their South African-built Toyota Hilux. Their time was matched by Brian Baragwanath and Taye Perry, in a Century Racing CR-6 buggy, which is also built in South Africa. 

“We are very pleased with Nasser and Mathieu setting the fastest time. They’ve proven before that they are happy to attack from the front,” TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Team Principal, Glyn Hall, said after the 11 km prologue. 

“Henk and Brett did exactly what we had hoped they’d do – a solid performance that places them in a good position for Stage 1.”

Dakar debutants Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings, posted a time just 15 seconds slower than that of the leaders, placing them in 7th place for the start of Stage 1 tomorrow.

Whilst teammates Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Alex Haro Bravo suffered a throttle response problem at the start of the prologue stage and lost some time resetting the system. They managed to restrict their time loss to 20 seconds despite the problem but will be starting Stage 1 in 19th place – which means De Villiers will have to deal with more dust and scattered tracks than he would have liked.

The final car in the Toyota GAZOO Racing SA team is that of Shameer Variawa and co-driver Dennis Murphy. The pair’s prologue time was 33 seconds off the pace. They’ll be starting as the 26th car on the road.

Stage 1 is a 622 km special that comprises a 345 km liaison, and a timed section of 277 km. The route will see the crews tackle sandy tracks, strewn with rocks in places. Protecting the tyres will be key in these conditions.

Dakar 2021: Tactical warfare?

PHOTO CREDIT: Giniel de Villiers/Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa.

Written By: Franco Theron - NamWheels

Motorsport enthusiasts could again sigh in relief as the 2021- and second Saudi-based Dakar Rally got underway today with the Prologue. Not relevant to the end result itself, the prologue saw competitors test themselves against one another as well as position themselves for the road order of the first official stage on 3 January 2021. 

With the 2021 edition seeing multiple regulation changes in both the motorbike and car categories, competitors and teams are already hinting towards tactical warfare. 

Yet, Southern-Africans already have reason to smile…

Motorbike category: 

With tyre regulations being changed and limited in a bid to ensure safer and slower riding, the motorbike competitors will now be more hesitant to go full-throttle throughout the whole of every stage. 

Neither the less,  2020 Dakar victor and the first person to break the dominance of the Red Bull KTM team, Ricky Brabec held nothing back. Storming into the Jeddah-based prologue, the American recorded the fastest time; six seconds faster than his Monster Energy Honda teammate, Joan Barreda Bort. 

Ross Branch, also known as the Kalahari Ferrari, who joined the Monster Energy Yamaha squad for 2021, recorded the fourth-fastest time, some 14 seconds behind Brabec. The Botswanian is highly pipped to take at least one stage victory, if not challenging for overall victory. 

Car category: 

The car category flamed up with news that new FIA Cross Country regulations have imposed speed restrictions on the T1 and T2 classes in a bid to cater for a more level playing field. Toyota, X-Raid and Prodrive competitors will therefore be allowed to race at 180km/h, while T3, T4, and T5 competitors will be allowed to race at 130km/h. 

While three-time and 2020 winner, Carlos Sainz Snr (X-Raid Mini) hinted the overall fight to be between the X-raid Mini’s and the Toyota’s. Glyn Hall, Team Principal of Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa welcomed these terms; stating that his team will now have a better opportunity to keep the Mini’s within their reach. 

While the buggies of the Prodrive BRX’s and X-Raid Mini’s may only be two-wheel-drive, compared to the four-wheel-drive Toyota’s, the buggies do tend to have a speed and power advantage. 

Accordingly, one of the 2021 favourites, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) took to the prologue today, recording the fastest time. However, the time was soon matched by the new South-African pairing of Brian Baragwanath and Taye Perry (Century Racing). 

While this means that Al-Attiyah will open the tracks, the X-Raid Mini’s of Stephane Peterhansel crossed the finish line in 14th place, while Sainz recorded the 28th fastest time. Yet, the latter stated to have had a puncture. 

Was this strategic or does Toyota’s new-found trust in their tyre capabilities prove to be the determining factor for 2021? Or are the X-Raid team playing tactical motorsport chess, knowing that Al-Attiyah would now have to open the road? 

At the time of typing, the stage times were so extremely close, that all of the top 42 competitors, crossed the finish line within one minute from another. 

Henk Lategan, in his first Dakar, recorded the seventh fastest time, while Giniel de Villiers came in 20th. 

Sebastien Loeb, in the new Prodrive, built BRX Hunter also recorded the 11th fastest time, with team-mate, Nani Roma coming in 15th. 

While it is still early days, tactics already seem to be the order of the day. Not much could be said about performance, as all teams are still cautiously finding their… wheels, whilst not giving away too much to their competitors. 

However, with the 277km stage from Jeddah to Bisha now within reach, we can be certain of a highly competitive 12 stages.

Brian Baragwanath targets "a top ten result" in 2021 Dakar Rally.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Baragwanath Racing

We're just days away from the 2021 Dakar Rally getting underway in Saudi Arabia, and things are beginning to heat up for Team Century Racing, as two seasoned South African athletes, Brian Baragwanath and Calheine "Taye" Perry are gearing up for the start of a thrilling new adventure. 

Brian will be driving the South African engineered and built Century Racing CR6 buggy, with Taye Perry alongside as his female co-pilot. 

The duo, in the Team Century Racing #339 entry, consists of Brian Baragwanath, a multiple Quad, Off-road Champion and 3rd overall in the Quad Category Dakar 2016, and Taye Perry, a multiple Off-road Champion, and Dakar Rally 2020 Finisher.

Baragwanath lived his first Dakar rallies on a quad bike in South America. And, despite retiring from his first Dakar in 2015, he impressed a year later when he finished on the podium in the quad's category. Unfortunately, a severe elbow injury forced him to stop riding and turn to four wheels. 

"After my appearances on the Dakar which was great, I suffered a big crash in 2016, injuring my elbow. That, and the fact that I started a family (married, with two children) pulled me away from bikes. I was looking for a new challenge," Baragwanath said (in an interview with A.S.O)

The lady behind the road-book in charge of navigation (this year) successfully completed her first Dakar Rally just a year ago in Saudi Arabia, on a bike. 

The 2020 Dakar wasn't the easiest for her after coming off her KTM bike on the penultimate day at km240, but her grid and determination helped her make it to the end of the stage. A fellow competitor from the car category towed her in, and under the new regulations, she was required to push her bike for the final few hundred meters to complete the stage. Perry then set-off to work on fixing her bike for the final stage of the Dakar the next day.

This year, she will trade two wheels for the navigator's seat alongside Brian. 

"I immediately accepted when offered the chance to go racing in both the South African Cross Country series and the 2021 Dakar. I think it all came together remarkably quickly in the car because both bike and quad off-road racers are instinctive navigators, used to reacting immediately at high speeds," she said (in an interview with A.S.O). "Having the luxuries of an air-conditioned cabin, a seat, a safety harness and a roll-cage around one feels like a sheer indulgence. So, the least we can do is give it our all."

Both Brian and Taye have high expectations, as they will compete in a Century Racing CR6 that has already proven to be competitive last year. 

"We have spent months preparing for the Dakar Rally, and we are aiming for a top ten result," Brian Baragwanath said. 

"It’s been a challenging journey, to say the least, but fortunately we received massive support from our supporters and sponsors. These include trusted South African brands, such as Century Racing, CompCare Medical Scheme, Caltex Havoline SA, Dozer Earthmoving, and Trollope Mining Services."

The 2021 Dakar Rally will ease all participants into a competitive mindset with a short 11km Prologue on Saturday, 2 January 2020, setting up a safe starting order for the first 277 km stage on 3 January 2021. With unadulterated desert, extreme endurance conditions, tough terrains, navigational hazards, marathon stages, and 100km up-and-down-racing, it is bound to push the competitors to their limits. Spanning 14 days, the Dakar 2021 route will require skillful driving and navigation, as well as careful management of mechanical aspects. 

"Only the toughest competitors are expected to cross the finish line in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah. We look forward to representing our sponsors and our Country!" Brian concluded. 

Written By: Junaid Samodien.

Photo Credit: Century Racing. 

Additional Information: Dakar Interview.

Kristoffersson "working on it" to secure 2021 World RX return.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX

Three-time Champion Johan Kristoffersson is working on all avenues to return to the World Rallycross Championship in 2021. 

After a one-year hiatus from the championship following Volkswagen Motorsport's withdrawal. Kristoffersson announced his return to the highly competitive championship, in a hired 2018 specification Volkswagen Polo R Supercar. 

Whilst the stage was set for a thrilling 2020 season. The World RX championship along with many other motorsport categories were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, and with a later start to the season (in August) than usual. The calendar was altered to consist of 10-rounds with three doubleheaders and four stand-alone events, but that soon changed as things worsened globally. 

The final adjusted calendar saw the season consist of four doubleheaders at four different European venues equalling eight rounds in total. 

Johan Kristoffersson leading Robin Larsson (KYB Team JC)
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX

Betting odds would suggest that Johan would dominate the season from start to finish. However, that was not to be. Why? Because the master tactician returned. 

Mattias Ekstrom returned to the championship with KYB Team JC and proved to be a championship contender from the get-go. While Kristoffersson failed to win round two of the championship (on Sunday in Sweden), it was pretty clear that he thrilled by the prospects of a close and competitive season. 

Johan went on to claim four wins, two second-place finishes, a third-place finish, and his worst result of the season, a fourth-place finish in Finland (round four). It was quite evident that his rivals found performance over the off-season and in 2019, whilst Kristoffersson's hired VW Polo R Supercar had a few updates, including a WRC specification rear wing. 

The 32-year-old Swede had a flawless season in terms of reliability and staying away from trouble (punctures and bad car damage) which helped shape his championship fight. Those around him ran into trouble, but he only had a minor scare in Kouvola which was solved almost immediately.

Leading the championship by 27-points with one round remaining at the Nurburgring, news filtered through that the final round(s) of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship would be canceled due to the second wave of coronavirus in Germany. Following the announcement, Johan was declared the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Champions and later received the official FIA trophy at the FIA Virtual Prize Giving. 

Johan Kristoffersson is officially the most successful World Rallycross Championship driver of all time, and despite being announced as an official Rosberg Xtreme Racing driver for the 2021 Extreme E series. The Swede is also working on a potential return to the World RX in 2021. However, his hopes hit a stumbling block after Volkswagen Motorsport announced their withdrawal from all forms of motorsport at the end of 2020, but he admits that he is "working on it".

"We are working on that at the moment. The last two rounds of the rallycross championship got canceled, so the season ran pretty short anyway, and we were not really prepared for the season to end so fast. So, we didn't really have time to think about 2021 yet, and then the news came from Volkswagen that they are going to stop competing in motorsport," Kristoffersson said.  

"[Right now] we are working on a solution to see what we can do, and what we can find out. The biggest support for our team in 2020 came from the local dealers, Volkswagen Sweden together with BAUHAUS."

"We will try to continue that work and let's see what's going to happen with the car that I used in 2020. At the moment I don't know but we are working on it," he concludes.

Speaking at the FIA Prize Giving Virtual Press Conference, Johan said teams can begin to prepare for the season ahead following the release of the 2021 calendar.

"We have the 2021 calendar now, so in terms of that I think the teams can prepare, and for 2021 there isn't a huge difference in the regulations compared to '20. So, I think in terms of that there are no worries," he said.

Kristoffersson says the new promoters of the World Rallycross Championship should immediately start working towards the electric future of the sport, as he believes it's more crucial. 

"I also think as soon as we get a new promoter. They should start to work towards the electric future and make a decision quite soon on what's going to happen. So, that teams can prepare for 2022, I think is more crucial."

Can Johan Kristoffersson go for a fourth championship title in 2021? Time will tell! 

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Team RX Racing to debut Proton Iriz RX Supercar in 2021

PHOTO CREDIT: Team RX Racing.

In a brand-new venture to bring a new Supercar into top-flight rallycross, Team RX Racing has announced a collaboration with Tony Bardy Motorsport and Proton Motorsport rally specialists Mellors Elliot Motorsport to build and race a Proton Iriz RX Supercar in 2021.

The car will be based on the Iriz R5 rally car, which was built and developed by Mellors Elliot Motorsport's [MEM] and has undergone extensive testing by the likes of double-World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm and Pontus Tidemand. The Iriz RX is being developed to suit the requirements of top-level rallycross competition and will be entered into the British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy, European Rallycross Championship, and selected World Rallycross Championship events from 2021. 

2007 British Rallycross Champion Ollie O’Donovan is set to race the new Supercar in its maiden campaign and will be operated for Team RX Racing by TBM, a firm that has run O'Donovan's rallycross Supercars for almost 15 years. 

"This is a very exciting day for the whole team," a thrilled O'Donovan said. 

"The cars we have been racing in the British and European Rallycross Championships for the last few years are getting a little long in the tooth, and for some time now we have been looking at where to go next."

"The easy option would have been to buy a car from the World Championship, but we wanted to do something different, to stand out from the crowd."

"I’ve worked with Tony for a very long time now and he is one of the best in the business. Linking his experience of rallycross with the expertise of MEM in the cooperation we’ve put together is a hugely exciting prospect," he adds.

PHOTO CREDIT: Team RX Racing.

Team RX Racing Chief Engineer and Tony Bardy Motorsport Owner Tony Bardy admits that they had a different car planned, but decided "to do something different".

"We did have a different car planned to move us forward, but Ollie didn’t want to be like everybody else, he wanted to do something different. I pondered over that, but to start from scratch it would take years to build and develop something brand new," Bardy said.

"Then it occurred to me, I’ve known the guys at MEM a very long time, and the Iriz is something very different. It didn’t take us long to decide that this is the way to go, to create the first Proton rallycross Supercar."

"The Iriz has already done lots of rallies and proved the concept, so as long as we can get comparable power from the engine to what we have now, which I’m sure we can, I see no reason why we can’t be right where we want to be. The quality of the Iriz R5 is high, and to be involved in this new project with the Iriz RX is a breath of fresh air."

Mellors Elliot Motorsport and Proton Motorsport's Team Principal Chris Mellors adds that when developing the Iriz R5, his team over-engineered the car in some areas as they have had the intention to do some rallycross at some point. 

 

"When we built the Iriz R5 originally, we had in the back of our mind that we might like to do some rallycross, so it was a bit over-engineered in some areas from the start," Mellor said.

"We’re very excited, both Ollie and Tony have vast rallycross experience and it’s great to have a collaboration for this project to see what we can achieve together."

"Although the Iriz is very short, it has one of the longest wheelbases of the R5 cars, with very good suspension travel and fabulous front geometry, from Proton’s original design. We’ve got a lot of adjustments available and we’re going to need to make some specialist components to best suit a rallycross setup, but we’re not far away already."

"We’ve had some very positive rally tests recently, and we’re getting stuck into the build of the new car now."

"We like winning and that’s what we want to be doing with this project too," he adds.

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Ekström rules out return to World RX in 2021.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX.

2016 FIA World Rallycross Champion Mattias Ekström has ruled out a return to the championship in 2021. 

Ekström made an unexpected return to the championship this year, as a replacement for Jānis Baumanis who could not compete due to budgetary issues linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

Immediately following the 2018 World RX finale in Cape Town, South Africa, the Swede announced that he will no longer compete as a full-time entrant. However, you can not keep a champion away from the highly competitive World RX championship. He returned for a one-off appearance with JC Raceteknik at the World RX of Benelux where he claimed a tenth-place finish. 

In the latter half of the 2019 season, the Swede took up an advisory role assisting the Monster Energy RX Cartel, as Andreas Bakkerud was in championship contention. However, it was not to be for the Norweigan who ended the season as vice-champion having finished the season on equal points to rival Timmy Hansen. 

A few months later, EKS announced that they would be selling a few Audi S1 Quattro's to Joel Christoffersson's JC Raceteknik. 

After a thrilling and captivating 2019 season. Could anything really top that? The answer was rather simple, YES! 

JC Raceteknik made their World RX debut under the banner KYB Team JC with Robin Larsson and Baumanis at the wheel. However, those plans soon changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which meant the 2020 calendar would need to be altered. 

World RX in 2020 was originally set for an 11-round calendar, but due to a later start than usual and the COVID-19 pandemic, the calendar was watered down to 8-rounds at four venues.

Four venues, four doubleheaders, eight rounds, and thrilling action from start to finish. Any mistakes or errors would be costly. And, to spice things up even further, double World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson returned in a VW Motorsport Polo. 

Could anyone stop, Johan? Yes! 

Ekström would be a strong candidate as he returned as a super-sub in the second Audi S1 Quattro with KYB Team JC. 

No-one would have expected to see Mattias return, a return that would ultimately be a blessing in disguise for the championship, as he took the fight to his fellow countrymen.

The pair were closely matched throughout the season, but it was Johan Kristoffersson who came out on top with four event wins, with Ekström claiming two wins and a few second-place finishes seeing him end the season as vice-champion for the third time.

"I got into this season without having a thought of driving rallycross again, and we sit here with the title in the Teams’ Championship and second in the Drivers’ Championship. The only other goal was of course to also win the Drivers' title, but we were simply not fast enough," Mattias Ekström said. 

KYB Team JC led the teams' championship from start to finish with Team Hansen only coming on strong at the tail end of the season. 

The 2016 World Champion admits that he had more fun driving as a hobby instead of as a factory team, and pinpoints his wins in Holjes and Riga as the best races of the season. 

"It has meant a lot to me to compete and have fun again together with JC Raceteknik, driving as a hobby instead of as a factory driver is a huge difference," he said. "In Holjes for example I had the coolest rallycross race of my career on Sunday, and then another fantastic Sunday in Riga."

Despite finishing second in the championship, Ekström believes that the season went better than expected, and he is very proud to see how KYB developed shock absorbers that are capable of winning races and potentially championships. 

"I think it [the season] went better than expected to complete the season despite Coronavirus. We had a little trouble with some things, but that's also part of the rules of the game. It's fun that there are sponsors and companies who are willing to invest even in tougher times, especially since a lot of things have been quite last minute," he said. "I am also very proud to see how KYB has developed shock absorbers that can win the World Championship."

A return to top-flight rallycross was never on Mattias Ekström agenda in 2020, as he became a test driver for the CUPRA e-racer programme, in addition to competing in the full 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship. It was also announced that the Swede will be the male driver for the ABT CUPRA XE team in the 2021 Extreme E series. 

Having fully committed to the Extreme E series, Ekström has ruled out a return to the World Rallycross Championship in 2021. 

"A year ago I said that the chance was zero that I would return to rallycross, but I had to jump in and it was full push again. So if I said no a year ago, I must say no again. In 2021, my priority will be Extreme E,” he said.

Can we really rule out Mattias Ekström from a return to World RX? It's quite simple... No! Mattias has a competitive fire burning within him, and if he is given an opportunity in a top-flight car or team. He will undoubtedly grab the opportunity with both hands. So, it's not the end just yet! 

Written By - Junaid Samodien.