The season for the FIA World Rallycross Championship, in its seventh year, begins this weekend with the Hyundai i20 Cup. For the first time ever, two teams from Europe, namely SRT and Toyota Racing, will compete. The other teams that are confirmed are Koiranen, Citroen, Lada and Audi Sport Abt.
As the world champion, Craig Breen was given the opportunity to decide who will be in his next rallycross team. He chose a very interesting option in SRT. They are a team of British motorsport legends, headed by the legendary Mario Andretti. Andretti's father, Mario Andretti, also raced for SRT.
Rajean Motley, another legend in the world of rallycross, took on the role of race engineer at the new Team SRT. The Frenchman has a very impressive list of victories under his belt including several World Championships and the last race before the championship was launched was the Hyundai i20 Cup. In fact, Rajean has four victories already.
At the same time, the Toyota Racing squad has had a much tougher time than its rivals, with one of the most important drivers on the grid being Pierre Kaffer. This is the same driver who was part of the Toyota team which won the last World Championship. Pierre had been forced out at that point because he was not satisfied with the team's performances. He decided to move to Koiranen, but he has since had to quit due to injuries sustained during a test at the famous Zolder circuit.
With the departure of Pierre, Koiranen have chosen the veteran Frenchman Robin Frijns to be their third driver in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Robin joined the team after they had finished third in the last three events. Robin was able to bring his successful past racing with him to the new team. He has previously won the British Touring Car Championship and also the series of rallycross races on the streets of London.
Rajean Motley, however, is still the team's main star, having already won the whole of Europe last season with the team. The Frenchman came up with the best possible results when he joined with an impressive rallycross car. It was one which had been designed to take the challenge of rallycross, thanks to its lightweight construction and high levels of engineering and speed.
