The inaugural season of the FIA eRX2 Championship – the first-ever FIA electric rallycross championship – will see up to 20 drivers racing wheel-to-wheel for the honor of being crowned the first electric rallycross champion.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA eRX2 Championship.
Preparations are well underway ahead of eRX2’s eagerly-anticipated debut next year, with the championship primed to electrify the international rallycross scene. Testing is well underway, and a full grid of 20 cars is scheduled to be built between now and the first race – setting the scene for an electrifying maiden campaign of competition.
eRX2 will join the FIA World Rallycross Championship for six events in 2021 – with the calendar to be released in due course – the cars will mark a significant step forward in both power (+24%) and torque (+14%) compared to the existing Supercar Lites car, further bridging the gap to the headlining Supercar class.
"We are delighted to be able to reveal more details about the new FIA eRX2 Championship, which has already attracted a high degree of interest. Our testing programme is yielding very positive results, and the car is showing its potential to be even quicker and more exhilarating both to drive and to watch than the existing internal combustion vehicle," Pere Gonzalez, Project Manager for the FIA eRX2 Championship, said.
"We understand that there are some misgivings – and misapprehensions – about electric rallycross, but our extensive experience and success in electro-mobility leaves us very confident that this is absolutely the way forward for the sport and that the final product will be the most dynamic, advanced and future-thinking car ever to grace a rallycross track.
"Not only that, but with drivers able to play a greater role than before in setting up and calibrating the car, even a few seconds before starting the races, the action is sure to be fast, exciting and thrillingly unpredictable – a true level playing field in which the cream will inevitably rise to the top," he adds.
In a first for rallycross – drivers will have three key parameters to play with before and between races, injecting an extra element of skill into the equation.
From inside the cockpit, competitors will be able to manually adjust the amount of torque produced by the front and rear motors, the total torque deployed by all four wheels during the launch, and the degree of regenerative braking on the front and rear axles.
On the outside, the noise will be generated by the drivetrain running at more than 12,000rpm as well as the gravel spray and tyre squeals so synonymous with rallycross..
The total cost to enter a full season of eRX2 in 2021 is between €150,000 and €160,000, which includes the provision of one mechanic per car – trained in electro-mobility by sector specialist QEV Technologies – and a comprehensive engineering service, composed of one chassis engineer and one electric engineer for every four cars.
Charging, tyres, and other consumables such as brake pads are included in the full-season cost. Hospitality will also form part of the package, as will regular educational workshops on electric technology. The cost to enter a single event is €30.000.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Henrik Krogstad will be one of the first drivers to race in the new FIA eRX2 Championship in 2021 as prize for winning the 2020 RX2 International Series.
Written By - Junaid Samodien
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