Since their inception, the European and World Rallycross Championships sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) have based their reputation on the short, sharp, and action-packed wheel-to-wheel racing. The dual-surface discipline championship attracted some of the biggest names in motorsport – from Sébastien Loeb and Ken Block to Mattias Ekström and Petter Solberg – while packed grids and unpredictable racing helped rallycross carve out a unique identity within global motorsport. Somewhere along the way, though, both championships lost sight of what made rallycross so appealing in the first place: the affordability and accessibility factor.
The 2026 FIA Euro RX1 grid for the season opener in Latvia.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA Rallycross Championship
With a rich history dating back to 1976, the European Rallycross Championship excelled in its early years, growing from strength to strength and eventually attracting manufacturer involvement. The same can be said about the World Championship, which was formed in 2014. For a time, rallycross appeared to be thriving. However, that momentum quickly unravelled once conversations around electrification began to dominate the future of the World Rallycross Championship, ultimately leading manufacturers to pull the plug on their programmes.
WRC Promoter took over the management and promotion of the championship under Rallycross Promoter GmbH in 2021. More changes occurred when the championship was moved behind a broadcast paywall (Rally.TV), while the push toward electrification accelerated. Grid numbers steadily declined, with entry lists shrinking from nine cars to as few as six at times.
The introduction of the ‘Battle of Technologies’ – pitting electric and internal combustion-engined machinery against one another – brought moments of genuine excitement, but it failed to generate the sustained growth many had hoped for.
Then came a bombshell: Rallycross Promoter formally withdrew as the championship's promoter, effective 2025.
Attempts were made to find a new promoter for the FIA-sanctioned rallycross championships, but none proved successful. Eventually, the FIA stepped in to take control of the discipline.
Now at the helm of rallycross, the governing body has made the bold decision to pause the World Championship, as it attempts to rebuild the category with the long-term goal of eventually reintroducing the World Rallycross Championship (World RX) in the future..jpg)
Eight-time World RX Champion Johan Kristoffersson leading into turn 1.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA Rallycross Championship.
With World RX on hold, the FIA shifted its focus toward a more European-based structure, reinstating the FIA European Rallycross Championship as the discipline's top-tier category, alongside a separately sanctioned FIA Rallycross World Cup set to take place in Jakarta later in the year.
The aim is clear: rebuild rallycross and make it accessible and affordable again. And, for many within the paddock, this shift cannot come soon enough.
The clearest sign yet that the FIA understands the current model is unsustainable is the introduction of the new RX4 category for 2026. By allowing Rally4 machinery into rallycross competition and targeting car costs around €70,000, the FIA is openly acknowledging what fans, teams, and drivers have been saying for years – modern rallycross has become far too expensive.
Within the current Euro RX1 environment, teams are often forced into budgets that are completely unrealistic for emerging talent, privateers, and even experienced drivers without major financial backing.
The era of specialized Supercars, expensive development programmes, and the Battle of Technologies may have produced moments of utter brilliance, but it also hollowed out the grid. The issue is no longer about attracting audiences to rallycross. It is about keeping talented drivers in race cars. Fewer examples illustrate that reality better than Klara and Niels Andersson, who share no relation.
Klara established herself as one of rallycross’ brightest prospects after transitioning into the discipline from karting. Her breakthrough came with victory in the 2021 Swedish Rallycross Championship in the SM (Senior) 2150 category, before she further impressed with a fourth-place finish in the FIA RX2e Championship on debut just one year later.
Klara Andersson carrying out VBOX analysis for Rokas Baciuska.
PHOTO CREDIT: Klara Andersson
In 2022, Andersson joined the Extreme E Championship and also signed with the Construction Equipment Dealer Team for the electric era of World RX. She scored podium finishes at the highest level and consistently demonstrated the pace to fight at the front.
Yet despite those achievements, Klara has still found herself battling to secure the funding required to compete in the Euro RX Championship.
“Yeah, it's a bit heartbreaking [not to be on the grid for Euro RX1], but I'm still here, still fighting for it. So, I hope to be back on the grid at some point this season,” Andersson said during the Euro RX of Latvia livestream.
Niels Andersson, another highly-rated Swedish talent, claimed numerous titles at both European and FIA junior rallycross levels; however, the rising cost of competing full-time forced him to shift his focus from driving to team management duties with reigning World Champions Kristoffersson Motorsport.
When speaking to Andrew Coley during the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship season opener in Latvia, Andersson admitted he still hopes to return to racing..jpg)
Niels Andersson running the operations of KMS in Extreme E.
PHOTO CREDIT Nils Andersson
“I do [miss it] so much. I still want to drive. I mean, I am looking for something to do,” he said.
The financial strain has not only impacted drivers. Teams have also felt the pressure. One of the clearest examples of this came in 2025, when Hansen Motorsport withdrew from the penultimate round of the World RX season, citing financial reasons. In a remarkable show of unity within the paddock, the CE Dealer Team stepped in to help support the operation. Rivals helping rivals highlighted the strength of the rallycross community – but it also exposed the severity of the situation.
Despite the support from the CE Dealer Team for the penultimate round, Hansen Motorsport required funding to compete at the final round of the season, which they were unable to secure, and thus withdrew from the final round of the championship. That in itself should concern everyone involved in the discipline because the Hansens' have raced in every World Championship round since its inception.
When drivers with the résumés and the talent of Klara and Nils Andersson are still scrambling to secure funding to simply compete, then you know rallycross clearly has a serious problem. Motorsport will never be cheap, but rallycross was never meant to become an exclusive discipline reserved only for those with enormous budgets.
Its identity was built on accessibility, improvisation, and grassroots ingenuity. Fans fell in love with packed grids and unpredictable racing – not engineering arms races that reduced participation year after year.
To the FIA’s credit, the governing body’s new roadmap at least recognises that reality. Alongside RX4, they have introduced RX5, which has expanded the role of Cross Car machinery within the European Rallycross Championship ladder with the view to create more accessible pathways into the sport.
Niels Andersson, whose own career began in Cross Car competition, praised the changes. “So, I come from cross car as a background, which is a great school,” he explained. “I really like the addition this year that we introduced the RX5 category, because it’s a great school. I learnt the basics there and moved onto cars.”
The FIA’s long-term vision also includes aligning rallycross more closely with rallying, including sharing technical regulations with the World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2028 onwards.
There is clear logic behind that strategy. Rally4 cars already exist. Teams already own them. Drivers already understand them. Suddenly, rallycross becomes less about building bespoke machinery and more about simply going racing again. More importantly, it gives privateers a reason to believe they belong.
The newly introduced RX4 category in action at the 2026 season opener in Latvia.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA Rallycross Championship.
The rallycross community has been fairly positive about the changes brought forward by the FIA, largely because many recognize that without intervention, both World RX and Euro RX risked spiraling further toward irrelevance as grids continued to shrink.
Of course, affordability alone will not magically save rallycross. The FIA still requires stable promotion, stronger event consistency, manufacturer confidence, and a clearer development ladder for young talent. But lowering the financial barrier is the single most important starting point.
Because talent has never been the problem, the paddock remains full of drivers capable of producing incredible racing. Drivers like Klara Andersson, Niels Andersson, Viktor Vranckx, Niclas Grönholm, Reinis Nitišs, Janis Baumanis, and the Hansen brothers, who all should be on the grid full-time because of their abilities – not sidelined by sponsorship spreadsheets and seven-figure operating budgets.
Rallycross became great because it was attainable. The FIA finally seems ready to remember that. The only question that remains is: why did it take this long?
