AUSTIN, Texas (June 5, 2015) -
Olsbergs MSE Ford drivers Joni Wiman and Sebastian Eriksson are ready to race
at X Games Austin this weekend. The two drivers are competing in the rallycross
event in Olsbergs MSE's powerful Red Bull/Bluebeam Ford Fiesta ST cars.
Eriksson is an X Games rookie in
the top class, but he is no stranger to the action sport contest. The
22-year-old made his first trip to X Games in 2013 when he finished third in
the Lites demonstration event. He finished fourth in his U.S. Supercars debut
last weekend in Fort Lauderdale and is expected to be a contender in Austin.
Wiman is back in action in Austin
and also ready to contend after missing the Red Bull Global Rallycross season
opener. Series medical would not clear him to compete last weekend after he
took a hard landing off the jump, but he has since been given a green light to
race. Wiman reports that he is in fine health and is looking forward to going
big in Austin.
This is Wiman's third X Games
appearance. He won the X Games Lites race in 2013 and showed good speed last
year before a crash during his semifinal round put him out of the running.
Also appearing at X Games is OMSE
driver Andreas Bakkerud, who makes his debut in the event as a substitute
driver for Nelson Piquet Jr., who is competing in Moscow in Formula E this
weekend.
OMSE, which is headquartered in
Sweden, has put at least one car on every X Games podium since the team's first
appearance in 2009 and has had two full podium sweeps -- one in 2011 and again
in 2013.
OMSE Ford Fiesta rallycross cars
are class of the field at any race they enter. The powerful, 600-horsepower
all-wheel drive machines are top performers that have scored countless wins and
podiums at races around the world. An off-season development program has
brought multiple updates and improvements to the Red Bull/Bluebeam Ford Fiesta
ST and the potential of the 2015 package is clear.
Rallycross is a blend of circuit
racing, off-road racing and rally competition. It promises intense
crowd-pleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment. As many as 10
drivers line up to start at once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through
race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked
turns, hills and transitions between pavement and gravel. It is sometimes
described as an action motorsport and is emerging as the top youth-market
motorsport in the world.
The team's multi-series campaigns
in rallycross are guided by the new team slogan "Extreme Forces,"
representing their united worldwide effort. Fans can follow the team across
social media platforms using the #OMSE #XForces hashtags.
The OMSE organization is led by
Eriksson, himself a championship rally driver and veteran rallycross driver. He
is supported by Chief Financial Officer Jan-Erik Steen and three-time European
Rallycross Champion Jussi Pinomäki.