Rallycross

A Rallycross ( en. ) ( dt according to Duden only rallycross or rally cross ) is an auto racing for closed vehicles on a permanent race track with changing track surface, which almost always consists of asphalt and gravel. As a shortcut to the English RX has (X = cross) established in order to avoid confusion with radio or Remote Controlled Cars ( RC).

• 4.1 invented in 1967 for ITV in England
• 4.2 1969 imported for the AVRO mainland
• 4.3 1969 well established in Australia
• 4.4 First Rallycross race in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• Introduced in the United States 2010 4.5

• 5.1 The first generation of four-wheel cars
• 5.2 The return of the all-wheel cars

Rules and Principles

In contrast to classical rally at Rallycross drive small groups of race cars sprint races compared directly against each other. The relatively short loop trails ( they are required by the regulations between 950 and be 1400 meters long and for them to have an asphalt and / or concrete proportion of 35 to 60 percent), mostly with stadium - character, are almost always well arranged and so viewers - and television -friendly. Was in Germany on autocross tracks (loose road surface ) are contrary to the above-mentioned international FIA regulations Rallycross race with the approval of the German Association DMSB in exceptional cases, when there at least the starting place ( engl. Grid respectively Starting grid) asphalt (example " mud mountain Offroad Arena "). In addition, the DMSB allowed but also Rallycross race at fully paved routes (example: Gründautalring ). These exceptions were made ​​because there is a lack here at corresponding distances.

In contrast to wild autocross races and various stubble, gravel pits and car crash competitions, their organizers the term rallycross like to "adopt " Rallycross is recognized as a car sport by the FIA ​​, the three kinds off European title for RX- driver touting. The European Rallycross has almost no similarities with the U.S. Rallycross and the cross-country events such as Rally Raid Dakar Rally or Baja 1000 and also has little in common with the sanctioned by the FIA ​​and the DMSB Autocross on different ( there open and closed racing car, temporary or permanent race tracks with loose lining ).

Vehicle categories

Rallycross Championship (according to FIA regulations )

• (Formerly Division 1) Super Cars: Touring cars that are homologated in groups A and ST ( Super Touring). The engine displacement maximum for gasoline engines with turbochargers is 2058 cm ³.
• Super1600 (formerly Division 1A ): touring car with front-wheel drive, which are homologated in Group A. There are only naturally aspirated engines allowed, which have a maximum of 1600 cm ³ displacement.
• (Formerly Division 2 ) Touring Cars: Touring cars with rear-wheel drive, which are homologated in Group A. The vehicles in question may only naturally aspirated engines with a maximum of 2000 cm ³ capacity have and maybe need to be converted from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive. This is true for most brands and models ( an exception such as cars of BMW and the Mazda RX -8 is ) to.

Expiration of a Rallycross competition

Rallycross races are relatively short with a total distance 3000-8000 meters. Since the majority of the routes are approximately 1000 m long, go the sprints over three to eight rounds. Add to Rallycross routes for international competitions open a so-called Joker Lap is extended for some time. Here, every driver must follow once per race a minimum of 2 seconds slower alternative route ( the Joker Lap section), but must decide in which round he does himself. After the technical inspection of the vehicles their drivers can participate in the free practice, then it goes into compulsory training. Finally, there are three qualifying races on the program. In these preliminary runs, the participants must be at least twice reach the target and thereby present two fast times, in order to qualify for the final final race. Only the top 20 drivers in each division ( vehicle category ) may compete again in the D, C ​​, B ​​or A-final respectively. During start three, four or five drivers of a common line from in the heats, the start of the six participants takes place in the final race of three each successively offset erected rows of the grid. The two winners of the D- finals are automatically admitted to the last starter for the C final, the winner of the C- final rises in the B-final, and the winner of the B-final will qualify in the same way for the last spot of the A Final grids.

In the finals, the lap times are not critical, but only the placement, so the final ranking of 20 best of the competition. As the overall winner for the division can be determined only in the respective last race of the day, the voltage is continuously increased and it comes at the end of the weekend showdown. The top cars of the FIA ​​Rallycross Championship, the RX ideas, prototypes are largely based on the World Rally Cars similar to optical, but have with good 550 hp on a far above the WRC nominal value of 300 hp engine power. As with many sprint competitions a good start is vitally important as the starter, the first to reach the first corner, the best starting position for the hoped-for overall victory secures. All-wheel drive race cars reach thanks very short gear ratios and extremely soft tire compounds, the high levels of traction guarantee the 100-km/h-Marke in 2 to 2.5 seconds.

History

1967 invented for ITV in England

The roots of the Rallycross come demonstrably from rallying. On February 4, 1967, was on the specially prepared racetrack Lydden Circuit ( between Dover and Canterbury in Kent, England) invariably invited rally drivers compete for the first time in groups of four at short sprint race for a TV production compared directly against each other. Overall Winner future Formula 1 driver and rally Monte Carlo winner was (1968 ) Vic Elford in a Porsche 911 Thus, the organizers picked an entirely new motor sport from the baptism, in which, however soon after the rally works drivers of now fast growing real rallycross specialists were replaced. The true inventor of the Rallycross were of the ITV (ABC - World of Sports ) television producer working Robert Reed and enterprising race organizers Bud Smith ( † 1994), while track owner Bill Chesson († 1999) Lydden Circuit extended for this purpose and was providing. The name Rallycross but thought from the well-known journalist, rally driver and racing commentator John Sprinzel, the man ( The Sun ) can be regarded as " midwife " of the new racing discipline along with his press colleagues Barrie Gill.

After two more Rallycross Test Race ( March 11 and July 29 ) for ITV was on 23 September in Lydden with the first of six championship rounds ( three runs in Lydden and three in Croft ), the first national British Rallycross Championship called World of Sport Rallycross Championship 1967/68 started, which ended with a victory in the final stretch on April 6, 1968 in Lydden to the Englishman Tony Chappell in a Ford Escort Twin Cam.

The first international Rallycross race was on 25 November 1967 also in Lydden discharged. However, for the start -pending foreign rally drivers made ​​their prematurely again on the way home, because a week earlier terminated RAC Rally in 1967 due to the rampant in the UK foot-and-mouth disease had to be canceled at short notice. As the winner of this "national- international " competition went Rootes rally factory driver Andrew Cowan with his Sunbeam Imp into the Rallycross history. This declared as ABC Television Rallycross race and its stated circumstances are to this day often but wrongly with the birth of rallycross ( see above) placed in an immediate context, although it took almost ten months after the actual debut race. In addition, the BBC is usually referred to as the Rallycross "mother", which is not correct also. The BBC jumped until many months later with its Grandstand program on the Rallycross train on.

1969 imported for the AVRO mainland

After the company Ford had held on 2 June 1969 at the Autodromo Vallelunga in Italy a Rallycross demonstration run under the name Trofeo Italiano di Rallycross was the first real Rallycross races on the European mainland on June 7, 1969 a military area in the heathen near the Dutch town of Venlo extended and won by Hans Kok with his NSU 1200 TT. As a continental "discoverer" of the Rallycross Sports, the Dutch television director Rob Herzet ( AVRO ) may be regarded, in Germany well towards the end of the 1980s also known ZDF television series such as The Wicherts next door, waiting room for a small fortune, or how, that there is Mary! much recognition found. With the Euro circuit in Valkenswaard near Eindhoven, the Dutch also built the first race track in the world that has been designed specifically for Rallycross sports. The opening race on April 17, 1971 Jan de Rooy won in a DAF 555 Coupé 4WD.

Established in 1969 in Australia

Rallycross British model was run for approximately twelve years from 1969 in Australia. After they had organized in Leppington (New South Wales), a test race, the young Motorsport took until the mid-1970s with the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne a much-visited venue. From 1972 until the early 1980s were also in the Catalina Park Katoomba (New South Wales) organized Rallycross race. Two other venues for Rallycross runs were Towac at Orange (New South Wales) and Tailem Bend ( South Australia ). The Australian car enthusiast who is also now associated more with Rallycross, is the 2006 fatal accident in a rally all-round racing driver Peter Brock, who was very successful with his " The Beast" said Holden Torana GTR several years in this discipline.

First Rallycross race in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Early 1970s was Rallycross by Bernd Ziskofen and his automobile club Niederelbe imported to Buxtehude and had its premiere in Germany on 21 May 1972, the Estering with an overall victory of Jan de Rooy in the DAF 555 Coupé 4WD. By the fall of 2007, exactly 108 RX- races were held on the system, because of disputes with local residents had in 1982 and 1983 five more planned events have to be canceled. Also initiated by Ziskofen and the ACN, and brought in co-operation with the British Thames Estuary Automobile Club ( TEAC ) against the end of 1972 on the way there since 1973 also a Rallycross Championship, which for the first three years of its existence by the FIA was tolerated and then finally adopted.

The Austrian Rallycross history began with the establishment of the Leruring on the so-called "pen Wiesn" in Pöverding above the town of Melk, the then Leruring. The first national rallycross held on Easter Sunday, April 22, 1973 instead of ( overall winner was Austrian Harald Negro to Renault Alpine A110 ). Shortly thereafter, on May Day, was organized here the first international Rallycross ( overall winner was Franz Wurz on VW 1302S ) and on 13 May 1973 the Leruring experienced under the leadership of the organizer RRC 13 Vienna the premiere run of the former Embassy European Rallycross Championship ( overall winner was the British John Taylor on Ford Escort RS1600 ). Since the late 1990s, called the now completely remodeled track Wachauring and is now part of the same ÖAMTC Road Safety Centre.

In Switzerland, there have been a few Rallycross race. On September 23, 1984 took place at the circuit of Lignières, located above Lake Biel, the 1st International Rallycross Switzerland by the Marlboro Trophy 84 instead, which is also Formula 1 driver Marc Surer with a Renault 5 Turbo participated. Has won the race by the Belgian Luc Noyen Talbot Matra Murena on a. The Circuit Lignières is now no longer used as a race track but only as a testing ground, inter alia, for driver training on snow and ice.

Introduced in the United States in 2010

On August 28 and 29, 2010, was the first of four rounds of the RallyCar 2010 U.S. Rallycross Championship on the Lightning Raceway of the New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey extended and by the American Tanner Foust with a 560 -hp Ford Fiesta Mk7 T16 4 × 4 won. Also the competition on October 2 and 3 could Foust on the same venue to decide for themselves, while the season finale in Millville as a double date at 6 (obtained from the Norwegian Sverre Isachsen ) and 7 November discharged ( won by the Finn Toomas Heikkinen ) been.

For 2011, there were two U.S. series, which co-operated with each other initially. The Global Rallycross Championship ( GRC ) consisted of three races in the states of California ( both races were won by Marcus Grönholm ), Washington (one race was won by Andréas Eriksson and one of Tanner Foust ) and Colorado ( one race was won by Tanner Foust and one won by Marcus Grönholm ), with which one ) could also qualify for participation in the auto sport competitions of the X - Games 17 (one race was won by Liam Doran and one of Brian Deegan, who were also mitgewertet the Global series. Shortly before the race in Colorado, the organization RallyCar / Rally America announced collaboration with GRC due to conflicts of interest and said soon after the remaining three runs to their own RallyCar 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship from. This should take place on racetracks in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Rallycross - a term coined by the all-wheel drive racing

The first generation of four-wheel cars

Since Franz Wurz on October 3, 1982, an Audi quattro won the first FIA title for Audi, the Rallycross port is connected to today inseparably with all-wheel drive race cars. However - his first and very successful generation 4x4s knew the new sports long before Audi and their quattro, namely in the late 1960s. On February 8, 1969 had Ford and BMC - but on different tracks, while on the same day - each brought a 4WD rallycross car at the start. During the 100 kW ( 130 hp) Triumph 1300 4WD under BMC works driver Brian Culcheth won his competition in Lydden, in the sequence but only rarely was reactivated by the manufacturer, Ford works driver Roger Clark got the equally -won victory at Croft ( on the same date be revoked at Darlington ), because his Capri 3000GT 4WD at the time " did not comply with the regulations in force ." Ford refused to be thus discouraged and continued until the fall of 1971, the brothers Roger and Stan Clark, two of these at the end of a good 250 -hp all-wheel - Capris with ZF transmission and Ferguson - drive unit one, with ever- increasing success. The technically largely identical semi - factory Capri by Rod Chapman, it was, however, also in the British Rallycross Winter Series 1971/ 72 to beat.

The media-savvy triumphs of Ford and BMC animated the Dutch company DAF, which built for 1971 and 1972 a total of three DAF 555 Coupé 4WD (the third 5 stood for the group 5 by FIA regulations ), and from the two brothers, Jan de Rooy Harry de Rooy were driven to a variety of Rallycross overall victories, although they often were allowed to start until 5 or 10 seconds behind its competitors ( the so-called 4WD penalty ). The happy ridiculed as " pensioners and housewives carts " DAF -55 models you realized the all-wheel drive through a sports VARIOmatic, which was originally developed for Formula 3. In each case, a drive belt supplied continuously to match the propeller shafts for the front and rear axles, which resulted in there self-locking differentials, the BMW 2002. Traction was permanently present, having to shift without a normal transmission, the driver had eminent advantages, and the 200 bhp BDA engines from Ford also helped that the mild DAF vehicles cars of opponents and drove away. But because the initiators of the European Rallycross hoped for an early recognition of their sport by the FIA ​​, the first Rallycross wheel generation was mothballed the end of 1972.

The return of the all-wheel cars

Once a new rule from 1982 back wheel cars legitimized and root was successful with an Audi Quattro at first, dominated from the mid-1980s -wheel drive vehicles to Rallycross. From four-wheel VW Beetle with up to 500 hp, about the BMW M3 Turbo 4WD with a good 600 hp IMSA engine, up to about 750 hp Porsche 911 BiTurbo 4x4 handed the range of usually from private individuals and realized without factory support prototypes. Particularly noteworthy fact is the most important technical innovation that produced the Rallycross and later the World Rally Championship and the Formula 1 influence. The Norwegian Martin Schanche initiated and financed in 1983 the so-called Xtrac system. The British Mike Endean and Chris Goddard realized his idea of ​​an all-wheel- drive for his Ford Escort XR3 T16 4x4 and created with him the first Xtrac all-wheel drive, which, over a while driving manually influencing hydraulics, the power of 560 hp Zakspeed engine continuously from 28:72 ( front: rear) to 50:50 percent passed them on to the front and rear axle. After Schanche 1984 so Rallycross European champions had become at first, then- Opel - Sport boss Karl Heinz Goldstein animated the former Hewland technician Endean establishing his own company Xtrac and to cooperate with the sports department of the German automotive plant. Opel Kadett then built two prototypes (for the soon again rejected by the FIA ​​group S), 1986 due to several shock absorber defects experienced a total fiasco in the Paris-Dakar Rally. Later, other rally works team used the more improved and now semi-automated Xtrac system and even in Formula 1 trusted diverse teams over many years on various drive components of the company Xtrac.

After the FIA had banned the B cars of the extremely controversial group after several tragic accidents to the mid-1980s from the end of 1986 from the World Rally Championship, Vehicles found this " dinosaur " their last international field of activity in Rallycross sports. From early 1987 until the end of 1992 marked the part of well over 600 hp machines Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, Ford RS200 E2, Audi Sport quattro S1, MG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo and Lancia Delta S4 is happening here, especially since they in some EM runs were in very large numbers at the start. From 1993, then entered a whole new regulations come into force, up to the present day has inventory on the whole. It characterizes the " pinnacle " of this discipline by allowing a variety of race cars, from the optical copy of the World Rally Car (WRC ) ( Citroën C4, Citroën Xsara, Ford Focus, Peugeot 206, Skoda Fabia, etc. ) to the self- developed prototype ( Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan T16 4x4, VW Golf IV T20 4x4, Ford Fiesta ST T16 4x4, Opel Astra G T16 4x4, etc.).

Some important Rallycross drivers

First Rallycross European Championship (1973 ) was the Scotsman John Taylor (Ford Escort RS 1600 BDA ), the first European Championship with the blessing of the FIA ​​won the 1976 Austrian Franz Wurz ( Lancia Stratos HF 2.4 24V). While in the early years of the race series, the British, Austrians and Dutch dominated the sport, many Scandinavians were from the late 1970s very successfully in Rallycross.

The most successful driver in the history of the Rallycross EM ( with 14 previous EM titles) Kenneth Hansen. Other drivers who were very successful at the European Championships, are Matti Alamäki ( five times European Champion ), Olle Arnesson, Eivind Opland (four items) and Anders Norstedt ( three items). The best known Rallycross drivers but to Martin Schanche, who won six European titles in the 25 years of his career and EM worldwide fame under the nickname " Mister Rallycross ".

• List of all Rallycross European Champion ( 1973-2010 )