European Rallycross Working to Introduce Electric Series in 2018

With all the fuss that’s going on over at Formula E lately, it’s only natural that other racing series want to introduce an electric series of their own.

Rallycross is next, with the FIA World Rallycross Championship announcing that it will add an electric sub-series as early as 2020.

“We’re talking to a number of manufacturers and working with the FIA about what it [electric rallycross] might look like,” Paul Bellamy, World Rallycross Managing Director, told Motorsport.com. “It will be 2020 at the earliest but we’re in discussions about what format the concept might take, what the cars will be like and where it will sit in the World RX weekend.”

Several manufacturers have, in the past expressed their support for such a series, including VW, which currently leads both the World Rallycross Championship and its American counterpart, Red Bull Global Rallycross.

Petter Solberg (N) Volkswagen Polo GTI Supercar WRX Mettet 2017

Speaking of the American series, GRC has also announced that it intends to run an electric series, that it said could start as early as 2018, though, little more has been said on that subject, so the chances of it arriving next year seem slim.

Back in World Rallycross, the electric series will be run alongside the regular series, though electric and internal combustion cars will not run in the same series, said Bellamy.

Moreover, he insisted that the electric series poses no risk to the traditional series VW currently competes in with the Polo RX.

“It’s very important for us that the internal combustion engine is here to stay in World RX. We’ve invested heavily in rallycross as it currently is, and we’re not going to walk away from that,” said Bellamy. “The current formula is a fantastic spectacle and that won’t change, in the same way that Formula E coming in hasn’t changed Formula 1. Electric Rallycross will not change what we currently have at the top of World RX.”

[source: motorsport.com]

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