The FIA World RX Championship is an open-wheel racing championship organised by the FIA, a motor sport regulatory body. Its primary aim is to provide a platform for top level drivers and teams from various countries to race in an internationally recognised international competition.
It is one of the most successful motorsport championships, having won over twenty-five world championships between them and has been contested between motorbikes, sport car motorbikes, trucks, cars and SUVs. Each year the championship sees the top four teams qualify for the final round of the championship at a venue in the UK, either in the UK or internationally. The championship is run in a very open-to-the-public style, with a number of public viewing areas throughout each venue.
This has made it one of the most popular forms of motor sport, particularly in the UK where it is used as a great spectator sport, often for family and birthday parties, as well as a place where professionals race against one another. As with any form of motor sport, however, the championship is governed by a series of safety regulations which aim to ensure the sport remains competitive, with the intention being to reduce the number of injuries sustained by spectators and participants alike, and also to cut costs to the organisers.
The cars and open wheel motorbikes that race are designed to have a low centre of gravity, which helps to ensure that they remain stable in corners. To this end, the cars are made to run with a lower profile than normal, and the open wheel motorbikes have shorter wheelbases than typical road cars.
Open wheel motorbikes are generally smaller than standard road cars, with the open-wheeled vehicles being only four feet long. In the past, this was designed to prevent drivers being able to overtake larger cars and trucks using their open wheels, but modern versions of open wheel motorbikes feature a smaller design which allows the driver to drive through large spaces, making them ideal for racing through corners.
There are two types of open wheel motorbikes that are used in the FIA RX Championship, the Type I and Type II. The Type I is the traditional type, with its driver seating between the engine and rear wheel, while the Type II has a seat on the side of the chassis with a smaller engine.
