2013 Global Rallycross Season goes International
As we have already discussed this week, Global Rallycross is one of the fastest growing forms of Rallying and Motorsport.
The European championship has been running for a few years now.
But the American championship has been growing since it was first introduced in 2010 and in 2013 it has gone international.
Read on after the jump
The series which was originally dominated by Ford’s and Subaru in the early years has grown to include Saab, Dodge, Hyundai, Mini , VW, Mitsubishi and Citroen and we could see even more manufactures in the future.
Rallycross first began with a demonstration street course event at the X Games in 2010.
The first ever championship season was held over 4 rounds in 2011, with Tanner Foust crowned the series champion.
In 2012 the series expanded to 6 events and in a smart move, to help with promotion and support of the newly growing sport, the organizers ran the 6 events in conjunction with different Nascar and Indycar events.
Tanner Foust was again crowned champion, but if ex WRC driver Marcus Gronholm hadn’t been injured at the X Games event, and then had to sit out the rest of season, it would have been an interesting season with the championship going down to the wire.
This season the series has expanded globally in conjunction with expansion of the X Games franchise to Brazil, Spain and Germany.
The three international event formed the start of the season. Brazil was first off and was won by newcomer Scott Speed.
Next up was the Spain round, but due to heavy rain it was cancelled.
The third and final international round is this weekend as part of the X Games in Munich Germany.
Due to the cancellation of the recent round in Spain, this weekends Germany round will be a double Gold Medal event and serves as round 2 and 3 of the championship.
The schedule for the weekend is as follows
SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2013
- 2:00 – 3:00 Practice & Seeding
- 3:00 – 3:30 Track prep
- 3:30 – 5:00 Heats, LCQ, Finals
SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2013
- 2:20 – 3:00 Practice
- 3:00 – 3:15 Track prep
- 3:15 – 4:00 Seeding
- 4:00 – 5:00 Track prep
- 5:00 – 7:00 Heats, LCQ, Finals
Coverage will be on ESPN.
We will bring you more on round 3 after the weekend.
From Germany the series returns to American soil for the remaining 6 rounds.
July 11: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon NH
July 20: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol TN
August 04: GRC at X Games: Irwindale Speedway, CA
August 10: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta, GA
September 22: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC
November 07: Las Vegas, NV
It will be an interesting season and hopefully we will see more drivers and manufacturers get involved.
Full Release below
GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CONFIRMS 2013 SCHEDULE
FEATURING INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
11/06/2013
Los Angeles, Calif. (June 11, 2013) Global Rallycross (GRC) confirms its 2013 schedule will total
nine rounds including races on three different continents in conjunction with Global X Games
events in Foz do Iguau (Brazil), Barcelona (Spain) and Munich (Germany).
As one of the fastest growing forms of motorsport, rallycross combines the best aspects of circuit
racing, off-road racing and rally competition.
The series is made up of four Global X Games events and five GRC events to total nine rounds
that will culminate in the crowning of both a drivers champion and manufacturers champion.
The 2013 championship features live broadcasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 available in over 198
countries. With more than 15 hours of primetime live content on major networks, the telecast
package comprises the most expansive television coverage that the sport of rallycross has ever
seen.
The series star drivers include Ken Block, Brian Deegan, Travis Pastrana, Scott Speed and 2011
and 2012 GRC Champion Tanner Foust.
The 2013 Global Rallycross schedule:
April 21: GRC at X Games: Foz do Iguau, Brazil
May 19: GRC at X Games: Barcelona, Spain
June 29 & 30: GRC at X Games: Munich, Germany*
July 11: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon NH
July 20: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol TN
August 04: GRC at X Games: Irwindale Speedway, CA
August 10: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta, GA
September 22: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC
November 07: Las Vegas, NV
*Barcelona rainout makeup race on June 29