On Sunday November 7th we made stop off at New Jersey Motorsports Park to check out round 4 of the inaugural U.S. Rallycross Championship, the final event of the short season. Rallycross, at least on the professional level, is new to the USA, and the series is just starting to get its 'sea legs' so to speak. If what we saw was anything to go by there will be a lot to look forward to for 2011.
One of the most impressive things is the number of European teams that made the trek over.
Some, like Britain's Liam Doran and Finland's Jussi Pinomaki had sent their cars over as early as round 2, but rounds 3 and 4 saw the addition of several top performers from the European championship.
Sverre Isachsen emerged victorious at round 3 in his Ford Focus (Saturday), but met an early demise with the tire barrier in the B-main on Sunday, during a heated battle with Rhys Millen. Millen was more than holding his own with the "viking warrior," as he is known. "The guys from Europe understand just how good that is, to see Rhys take it to him, because not many people do" noted Doran, who placed 3rd overall in the 2010 European Rallycross championship.
Millen's Hyundai Accent WRC is a bit down on power compared to the dedicated 550hp+ rallycross monsters, but it did well, looks great and is one of the more handsome cars on the track.
Speaking of Liam Doran, luck was not on his side despite setting fastest time in practice and qualifying, and several incidents with various tire barriers severely impacted his weekend.
Still the young Englishman managed a 3rd place finish on Sunday, and his balls to the wall, don't spare the throttle driving was a real hit with the crowd.
Rallying royalty was there as well, with Per Eklund bringing his young racing protegé Toomas Heikkinen over to drive a Saab 9-3 ASS. (yes, that's really the name of the car...)
The 19-year-old has some skill, landing on the podium Saturday and piloting the big sedan to the A-main win on Sunday.
The final volley from Europe was that of Frode Holte, who's Volvo was fast, but ultimately did not fair well in America. Mechanical and accident troubles saw his weekend ultimately slip away without much success, but he had the pace to be a contender.
The man playing defense in all this is America's own Tanner Foust. Tanner, who drove in the 2010 European championship, was dominant throughout the first couple of rounds, taking wins in the A-main finals both times. Rounds 3 and 4 saw his results slip, but he still earned podium finishes both Saturday and Sunday.
Action sport superstar Travis Pastrana was there for Subaru, as was Dave Mirra, but neither had the pace to consistently challenge at the front of the field. It certainly wasn't for lack of trying...both STIs had not a single undamaged panel by the end of the weekend.
Rallycross is not for trailer queens it would seem.
The 2wd cars didn't get much love from NBC during the broadcast of round 1, but it's a real shame as there is a lot of great, very close, competition in the class. Josh Wimpey was leading the championship points going into the weekend, and needed to put his Mk2 GTI as far up the podium as he could to take the win.
Saturday saw his 16v VW outperformed by John Tancredi's Mazda MX5 and Matthew Johnson's Ford Fairmont wagon, leaving him to pick up 3rd in the A-main.
Sunday saw yet another front-row qualifying effort, and after a fierce battle with Matt, finally ended up 2nd in the A-main. Not a win, but enough to clinch the first ever U.S. Rallycross Championship 2wd Title.
A significant achievement, especially when VW is so under represented compared to so many other marques. In fact, I can't think of any professional championships won by a VW in the recent past.
The 2011 schedule has yet to be announced, but if you have the chance I highly recommend going to one of the events. The access to the teams, cars and close action is well worth it.
I hope to have a few interviews set up shortly, watch this space for some exciting, exclusive information.
_WRS
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