The new rallycross circuit at Silverstone was unveiled at a media launch today as it was announced that tickets for the inaugural SpeedMachine Festival (25-27 May, 2018) went on sale.
 
SpeedMachine will form the British round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy from 2018 onwards and will also include head-line music acts, finest street food, manufacturer test drives, e-gaming and camping. Ultimately, the SpeedMachine Festival will deliver pure indulgence for fans of speed and cars.
 
World RX drivers Petter Solberg, Johan Kristoffersson, Andreas Bakkerud, Guy Wilks and Guerlain Chicherit were joined by British Rallycross stars plus former WRC driver Mikko Hirvonen at today’s media launch which saw over 200 media and guests in attendance.  Other drivers and cars in attendance included British Rallycross Champion and current RX2 driver Dan Rooke and BRX regular James Grint plus Monster Energy drift drivers Steve “Baggsy” Biagioni and Luke Woodham.

The launch gave a taste of what to expect from the festival itself with Supercars, passenger laps on the new Silverstone rallycross circuit, a car parade through the international pit boxes, Codemaster’s DiRT 4 simulators, street food and music entertainment from DJ BBQ. 
 
Paul Bellamy, World RX Managing Director for IMG, concluded: “It’s always been our desire at IMG to create a large scale festival weekend with World Championship motorsport at the heart of it and we are delighted that Silverstone is able to share our vision for the future. The move comes at a pivotal time in rallycross history with the sport celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and continue its rapid growth.”

Norway’s Petter Solberg was again fastest in Q2 at the World RX of Great Britain, round five of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy to be TQ (Top Qualifier) at the end of day one. 

In an almost identical performance to Q1, Solberg led his PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team mate Johan Kristoffersson for the whole race in Q2 to once again claim the top two positons, where the pair are also placed at the end of day one. “It’s not easy, it’s quite a special track but it’s a fantastic feeling,” said Solberg. “Some of the improvements we have done from the last race have made me more comfortable and faster. It’s great, to be fastest on this track is always a dream and I’m happy I must say. Johan has also done a fantastic job, so a good team effort again.” 

For the second session in succession, Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom was third fastest in Q2, with Hoonigan Racing Division’s Andreas Bakkerud fourth and Team Peugeot-Hansen’s Timmy Hansen fifth, each of the drivers racing in the last World RX race of the day. France’s Sebastien Loeb and America’s Ken Block had a close fight in their Q2 race and were sixth and seventh, with Russia’s Timur Timerzyanov eighth.

Britain’s Andrew Jordan set another time inside the top ten in Q2, in ninth and is eighth at the end of the opening day on the circuit where he scored a podium finish in 2014. Niclas Gronholm was tenth fastest after quick work from the GRX mechanics to repair his car, but Reinis Nitiss retired after contact with a barrier at the first corner. 

The RX2 and FIA European Rallycross Championship for TouringCar categories completed three heats on day one in the UK. In RX2, France’s Cyril Raymond was fastest three times ahead of Britain’s Dan Rooke. Norway’s Lars Oivind Enerberg was fastest in Q1 and Q2 in TouringCar to be TQ overnight, Anders Braten fastest in Q3. 

Norway’s Petter Solberg took an emphatic win at the wheel of his Volkswagen GTI Polo RX Supercar as the sport of rallycross celebrated its 50^th birthday at Lydden Hill in Kent this weekend – round five of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy.  Solberg’s team-mate Johan Kristoffersson made it a one-two for PSRX Volkswagen Sweden, while Hoonigan Racing Division’s Andreas Bakkerud took the third podium spot in his Ford Focus RS RX Supercar.
 
Kristoffersson’s runner-up position this weekend has catapulted the Swede to the top of the drivers’ standings – four points ahead of Mattias Ekstrom who finished fourth in his Audi S1 EKS RX Quattro. Ekstrom, who suffered a puncture in today’s final, had the fastest reaction off the start awarding the reigning World RX Champion with the coveted Monster Energy Super Charge Award.  In the overall teams’ standings, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden continue to dominate – 69 points ahead of Team Peugeot-Hansen who remain second.
 
“This is the victory I needed,” beamed Solberg, who took his first win since Portugal 2016.   “The team have been flat out over the last couple of months – the car is good but it’s the little details that the team have been working on that has given us the consistency we need.  It’s been good team-work with Johan too – we give and take a little bit from each other and it’s been working very well. Now I’m looking forward to my home event in Norway – we have done some testing there and know the track well so this will help. It’s a very special place for us – we are a small country but with over 25,000 fans attending Hell RX the atmosphere is always fantastic. I have competed in motorsport for many years and things can happen very quickly – we must remain consistent and stay smart.  Regarding Lydden Hill, I have to say thank you – the atmosphere is always amazing and the volunteers have been great.”
 
New Championship leader Kristoffersson commended Solberg on his Lydden Hill victory. “Congratulations to Petter, he has been brilliant all weekend,” explained the 28-year-old Swede. “He has had the upper hand since the draw and managed his tyres very well. It’s all about the points now, I am now leading the Championship and the Teams’ Championship is looking very good too. My launches are now feeling better and the reaction times are getting faster every time – it’s been a good team effort. I’m really pleased with the weekend and this is the fourth Volkswagen podium in a row.  Now I’m leading the Championship for the first time on my own and it’s a great feeling – I will definitely be fighting hard to keep it that way!”
 
Third-placed Andreas Bakkerud added: “Huge congratulations to Petter and Johan – both have been quick from practice onwards and for me, this weekend was about being the best of the rest.  The whole team did a fantastic job - we tried our hardest but it was not quite fast enough. It’s just a small window of time before Hell, we have some developments to try so I must push that weekend and I hope that we can get back to the top.”
 
Rounding out the top five this weekend was Frenchman Sebastien Loeb – the Team Peugeot-Hansen driver fighting hard with Ekstrom for the majority of today’s final.  Timmy Hansen was sixth overall, the Swede slowed after spinning his Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar on North Bend and later losing time with a left-rear puncture.  
 
Britain’s Andrew Jordan reached the final 12 but due to a bad start was unable to progress to the final.  He ended the event eighth overall, one spot behind America’s Ken Block who finished seventh.
 
Frenchman Cyril Raymond dominated the second round of the RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires winning all four qualifying sessions, the semi-final and the final. Raymond explained: “It was a perfect weekend for me and my second win of the year - big thanks to my team. Although, I had to admit this was not easy - I broke my rear suspension half-way through the final.”
 
Britain’s Dan Rooke finished runner-up in RX2 in front of a delighted home crowd, while Norway’s Thomas Holmen was third.
 
In the FIA European Rallycross Championship for TouringCar, Lars-Oivind Enerberg took the win.  Steve Volders and Kjetil Larsen finished second and third respectively.  After three rounds, Enerberg leads the TouringCar standings – nine points ahead of Anders Braten.
 
Paul Bellamy, World RX Managing Director for IMG, concluded: “Thousands of people attended Lydden Hill this weekend as we celebrated the 50^th anniversary of our fantastic sport in the glorious sunshine. We’ve seen various retro rallycross machinery both on and off the track and it’s been an honour to have so many of the legendary names associated with the sport at Lydden Hill over the weekend including the likes of John Taylor - the first European champion from 1973.  As we approach the season’s half-way point, the World Championship title fight is heating up and it will be interesting to see if Johan [Kristoffersson] can hold onto his lead when the World Championship travels to Hell in Norway later this month.”

JR Motorsport (JRM) and former WRC driver Mikko Hirvonen will join the likes of two-time World RX Champion Petter Solberg at next week’s media launch of the new rallycross circuit at Silverstone – home to the British round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy from 2018 onwards.
 
The launch will take place on Tuesday 30 May 2017, exactly one year ahead of the inaugural SpeedMachine Festival (25-27 May, 2018). The media launch has been arranged to provide a taste of what to expect from the festival itself with Supercars, passenger laps on the new Silverstone rallycross circuit, a car parade through the international pit boxes, Codemaster’s DiRT 4 simulators, street food and music entertainment from DJ BBQ.  Tickets for the 2018 event will go on sale from Tuesday.
 
Hirvonen will test the brand new Silverstone RX track on Tuesday along with various other rallycross Supercars and drivers – including the likes of Solberg, Johan Kristoffersson, Andreas Bakkerud and Guy Wilks - who will also attend the launch.
 
Hirvonen has 69 WRC podiums to his name and 260 stage wins but Tuesday will mark the Finn’s debut in a current World RX car. As part of a continuous development programme, JRM will be using the track time at Silverstone to test some new improvements ahead of the 2018 season.
 
Jason King, Managing Director at JRM, commented: “The new Silverstone RX track is great news for us at JRM, as it’s really near our Midlands headquarters and automotive development centre. We are really excited to be one of the first teams to try out the new track and build up some test time on our new JRM group’s MINI developments, with Mikko on board to provide expert feedback ahead of 2018 season.”
 
JRM is offering one lucky fan the chance of a passenger ride with Hirvonen around the new rallycross track at Silverstone. To enter, fans must head over to JRM’s social media channels and enter online.