SPEED WINS THE BATTLE AT THE DIRT TRACK, BUT HEIKKINEN WINS THE WAR

Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen clinched the 2013 Global Rallycross Championship at The Dirt Track, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, along with a cool twenty thousand dollars for also winning the Sylvania SilverStar zXe Cup.



Another 1-2-3 for Ford. Heikkinen may have won the war, but third overall was the best he could manage in a tough final battle. Scott Speed (center) took the overall victory at Charlotte, with Brian Deegan rounding out the podium.



Yet another classic first turn pile up in the GRC final at Charlotte. We find it hard to understand, other than it makes for an exciting TV show for the fans, how the manufactures can continue to let  destruction and hard hitting continue. Scott Speed got the hole shot on the restart and basically cruised to victory, while others continued to battle it out behind.

 

Subaru continues to make great improvements in power and reliability in their Rallycross program, but getting a clean run in the final is still a massive challenge for all involved.  GRC seems to loose the black flag when the TV schedule tightens up. Despite a lot of rough driving in the final only one black flag was displayed.



If all GRC finals were like this!! Far and away the best battle of the day was between Brian Deegan in the Rockstar Ford Fiesta and Sverre Isachsen in the Puma Subaru. Deegan and Isachsen went door to door throughout their heat, with Sverre nipping Deegan on the line for the victory for Subaru.

 

Brian Deegan scored a fine second place in the final but it could have been an overall victory had he not been barged from behind and turned around by Scott Speed in the first try at the final.

 

One of the top privateers to compete in the Global Rallycross since it inception, Stephan Verdier made a return to the action in Charlotte behind the wheel if a Rhys Millen Racing prepared Hyundai. Stephan was quick through the heats, and despite a little tangle with Ken Block in the final he still managed a top five finish. Stephan is one of those quick privateer drivers that we truly hope can get a chance to prove his worth in a factory backed car for 2014.

 



Ken Block would again dominate in the heats posting fastest times in both of his heats. Ken continues to struggle with his reaction time off the line in the final.



Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block would have pole position for the final, but he would be lose his advantage off the line by the F1 reaction speed of  Scott Speed, which left Block getting caught up in the first turn carnage. Despite a front tire puncture in the opening laps Block would charge on and eventually finish 7th overall.



Travis Pastrana's Red Bull / Discount Tire sponsored Dodge team are suffering a very similar fate as Subaru had earlier in the year. Despite some good speed from Travis in the heats, the Dodge was crippled in the final by what seemed like minimal contact. The cars need some more development to make them a little more durable for the tight, tough racing in the GRC.

After a long development phase, Pat Morro final took the wraps of his new Chevrolet Sonic. As with any new car, Pat and his team would work on bugs throughout the weekend. Although Morro does not have the full backing from Chevrolet on the project, this first outing shows that the Sonic has potential. Morro is also in development of a second Sonic for 2014. Pat will be back in action in Las Vegas in the final round of the 2014 Global Rallycross Championship.  The mostly asphalt course in Vegas will be better suited to the Sonic which lacked suspension travel for The Dirt Track.

Dave Mirra started his Rally career in 2008 with Subaru. He has competed in both the Rally America Championship and battling in the Global Rallycross Championship since it inception. Despite some challenging moments along the way Dave has got on the podium in both series on more than one occasion. In the weeks leading up to the penultimate round of the GRC in Charlotte an announcement hit the newswire that Mirra and Subaru were parting ways, thus leaving Dave without a drive for the final GRC rounds. With the support of PUMA, Dave would work out a deal with Liam Doran to drive his Prodrive prepared Mini in Charlotte. Dave's transition to the Mini was seamless. A quick change of livery and Mirra was throwing down some impressive lap times in practice. Onto the heats, Dave would get a controversial black flag for what seemed to the officials as a jump start. Despite a stop and go penalty Mirra was able to battle back to within striking distance of Pastrana who was leading the heat.  Unfortunately, Mirra would tag a barrier while on Pastrana's rear bumper which resulted in a spin..

Mirra would not make it to the final after he was barged off  the track by Tanner Foust who struggled with a jammed throttle. 

after the event Mirra told GRC "First and foremost, I want to thank PUMA, Liam Doran, and Prodrive for the MINI. It was an unbelievable car, super fast. I won practice yesterday, qualified second today, clearly was reeling in some other heat drivers in the other races, but things just didn’t go right. I got called for a jump start—Joey (Mancari) came back and reviewed it and said it wasn’t a jump start. We went to the LCQ and all hell broke loose. I’m pretty bummed about the race. It kind of stinks, because I know I was very fast.”

Despite not getting a chance to battle for the victory in the final, Mirra showed some great potential in the Mini. We have some unconfirmed reports that Mirra could be in a second Mini in Las Vegas. We hope to see Mirra back in a permanent ride for 2014.

 

Tanner Foust was not on his game in Charlotte. He got caught up in a first corner wreck in the heats which would result in the first red flag of the day. Fans and fellow competitors were concerned as Foust did not emerge from the car until it was turned upright. We would find out later that Tanner was pleading with the safety crew to roll the car onto his wheels so he could take the restart. Despite the fact that Foust was un injured in the soft roll, the rules state that he needed to go to the medical center after an accident. Foust would return for the LCQ, but mechanical issues would ground him for the final. 

"Just call me Joni"

Joni Wiman [center] remains perfect in GRC Lites competition, winning his fifth consecutive race at The Dirt Track on Charlotte. This victory, over Geoff Sykes [left] and Sebastian Eriksson, extended Wiman’s points lead to 29—clinching him the inaugural series title.

Although the GRC Lites are a far cry from an affordable entry point in the Global Rallycross Championship, they definitely are an exciting addition to the series. It will be interesting to see how the GRC Lite will roll out in 2014 and who will be driving.  

 

For the second race in a row, Wiman failed to secure the hole shot in the final, this time falling behind Kevin Eriksson as a rough start dropped deJong through the field. But Eriksson’s good luck faded fairly quickly, as a cut right rear tire dropped him through the field like a stone until he eventually ended up seventh.

 

Geoff Sykes managed to avoid trouble at the start to coast to an easy second place, while jostling between the rest of the field allowed Sebastian Eriksson, who had missed his second heat race, to climb from ninth to fourth in the first lap. He battled with deJong once again, reminiscent of their duel in Atlanta, but held third place.

SUPERCAR FINAL RESULTS;

1.   Scott Speed, #77 OMSE2 Ford Fiesta

2.   Brian Deegan, #38 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST

3.   Toomas Heikkinen, #57 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST0

4.   Stephan Verdier, #4 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster

5.   Steve Arpin, #32 OMSE2 Ford Fiesta

6.   Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru PUMA Rallycross WRX STI

7.   Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST

8.   Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru PUMA Rallycross WRX STI

9.   Travis Pastrana, #199 Pastrana Racing Dodge Dart

10.                Tanner Foust, #34 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST



Photos; Neil McDAID / RALLYWORLDNEWS

 

Déjà vu, Toomas Heikkinen, Unchallenged as he claimed his Fifth Consecutive GRC Victory

 

Report By: Neil McDaid

Atlanta, Ga., August 10, 2013 – Finland’s Toomas Heikkinen continues to be untouchable in the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship, as he runs out front unchallenged in his Bluebeam OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST for the entire final. Toomas has now unofficially clinched the 2013 Drivers Championship, which we expect will be made official at Charlotte in September thus capping off a fantastic year for Heikkinen and Ford Racing.

Heikkinen who had cruised to victory in his heat race earlier in the day lined out on the front row for the final where he was flanked by fellow Fiesta drivers Ken Block to his right and Tanner Foust to his left. With the track configuration for Atlanta, it seemed that the middle lane was working best for most in the heat races in an effort to avoid the first turn shenanigans, as always Heikkinen made good use of his lane choice.  

 

Foust and Heikkinen launched hard off the line and were neck to neck heading into the first right hander and onto the gravel section, once again Topi would shine taking the perfect line and gaining the advantage on Foust.

Foust and Heikkinen would come together again going though the first left hander, but again the Finn would prevail and maintain the lead.

Although there are few that can question the speed and ability of Ken Block on the Global RallyCross tracks, Ken himself can’t seem to get the monkey off his back when it comes to the finals. Ken set fastest times in both qualifying sessions, and posted second fastest to Heikkinen in qualifying, after recovering from a spectacular roll I might add. Ken’s lack of luck in the final continued, Block would stall on the starting line, Ken would eventually get the Hoonigan Racing RX43 Fiesta going but he retired shortly thereafter. Although Ken has yet to take an outright victory in the GRC, he has medaled at XGames Munich and has also made the podium in Bristol.  

Back to the front and  it was all Heikkinen, chased by Foust then Brian Deegan, both Heikkinen and Foust opted to get the joker out of the way on the first lap, while Deegan took the long way around. From there it was Déjà vu as Heikkinen sailed off the front, although Foust keep pushing and closed the gap on a few occasions, he never at any time had Heikkinen on the ropes and under pressure.

Heikkinen, Foust, Deegan, Speed and Sandell are all run out of the OlsbergsMSE shop in California. One would assume that all the Ford Fiesta ST’s are equal, but if I recall correctly, Marcus Grönholm’s Fiesta always seemed to have a little more than the rest last year.

Again not to taking anything from Topi, but his car seems to have that extra little sprinkling of fairy dust, Topi was able to pull away from Tanner with ease on the front straight, and why not, Heikkinen is after all the official OlsbergsMSE team driver.

Subaru who had seen more downs than ups in Global RallyCross in 2013, have finally found their “a” game, the cars are much quicker than in prior events and the drivers are embracing the change.

Dave Mirra, who has qualified for his first GRC final in 2013, was all over Brian Deegan in his heat race, and won the LCQ with a last lap pass. Mirra was taking names on the first lap of the final until he was barged off the track by Scott Speed while sitting in fourth place, thus ending what could have been a podium finish. Speed was issued a black flag for his actions while Mirra slid though the grass to scramble back onto the track.

Dave Mirra’s teammate Sverre Isachsen would overhaul Scott Speed for forth before the end of the second lap. Brian Deegan who had been running strongly in third place, pulled to the side of the track on lap 6 with engine problems, therefore conceding third to the Subaru’s Isachsen.

Off the front it was business as usual for the young Finn Heikkinen, who has taking the Global RallyCross scene by storm in 2013. Tanner Foust, who had little or no answer for the speed of Hekkinen, would get a left front puncture on the closing laps; Foust had to turn his attention to protecting his position from the hard charging Sverre Isachsen who was closing the gap for second.

It really hard to take anything away from Tomas Hekkinen, his dominance over the rest of the field in the Global RallyCross has been remarkable. Yes he has had a lot of luck in the first turn, but I have so say his lines are razor sharp and he stays committed no matter what’s going on around him.

 “It was quite a different race for me since I am now trying to win the championship,” said Heikkinen,. “I had a really great start in my Ford Fiesta ST in the final race, took the joker on the first lap, and was able to keep the lead.”

 “I have come such a long way from last season,” said Heikkinen, “I am confidant once again in the race car and think that I have the best car out there. It is always a battle, but I am very happy to be on top right now.”

 The runner-up finish was the second straight for Foust in the Rockstar Energy OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST and third podium appearance this season.

 “This track was really a difficult track and it once again came down to how you did on the start and avoiding collisions in the first corner,” said Foust, “Second never feels great, but I am glad to be on the podium again.

 “Topi had a great start. I thought I was gaining on him, but with three laps to go I got a puncture on the front left tire,” continued Foust. “I didn’t realize I had a puncture until I went through the water and was instantly sideways at the top of fifth gear going 100 mph.  That’s when I knew there was something wrong and from then on it was a matter of managing the position in second and keeping ahead of the rest of the field.”

For the Subaru Puma team, their hard fought battles throughout the earlier rounds of the 2013 GRC have finally started to pay off, the teams number one driver Sverre Isachsen has now finished on the podium in the last two rounds.  “I’m really happy right now. Today was extra good, because we had to go through the LCQ, and in the final I was completely last on the grid” said an elated Isachsen after the final.  “So it was even better for me personally to fight, and it was really a hard fight the whole way, of course. Third place this weekend as well is perfect. If you come to the final, everything can happen.”

 Dave Mirra was able to overcome been barged off the track on the first lap and clawed his PUMA sponsored Subaru back to forth overall. Mirra spoke regarding his final, “I got spun in the corner after the jump, but I fought back. Things happen in rallycross. I was very, very happy with my pace—I know in the LCQ I was reeling people in the that section, the whole dirt section, so I felt like I showed that I could drive at a fast pace. The crew really, really work hard to get that car dialed, and I’ve been sitting back waiting. Now that it’s here, it’s fun to go out and drive a car that you know is reliable and fast, and you know that you can put some times down. I’m very excited. The Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team did really well. They’re awesome, they work hard, and they get the credit—then I get the car and get to drive it. It’s pretty awesome.”

I for one had some high hopes for the Pastrana/ Dodge Team coming into Atlanta, the team has been going through many of the challenges with the car that like Subaru had been experiencing, were looking for a turnaround at Atlanta.  They had called on the services of WRC driver Henning Solberg to team up with Russia RX Champion Timur Timerzyanov to fill in for Pastrana and Bryce Menzies who both had conflicting commitments this weekend.  Unfortunately the cars was not on the same plan, booth Solberg’s and Timerzyanov cars gave trouble throughout the day, yielding yet another disastrous outing for the Dodge camp.

For the teams coming off back to back racing weekends, three weekends for Ken Blocks crew [New England Forest Rally] they will be looking forward to a little breather before heading to Charlotte Motor speedway in September. From what we understand, GRC will not utilize the actual speedway this year, but will use the dirt track which is adjacent. For more information and tickets, check out www.global-rallycross.com

 

GRC ROUND 7 FINAL RESULTS

1.       Toomas Heikkinen

2.       Tanner Foust

3.       Sverre Isachsen

4.       Dave Mirra

5.       Timur Timerzyanov

6.       Brian Deegan

7.       Scott Speed

8.       Ken Block

9.       Steve Arpin

10.    Henning Solberg

11.    Patrik Sandell Sandell

12.    Bucky Lasek


Sources: Global RallyCross / Ford Racing

Photos/

Matthew Kalish- GRC /

Ford Racing

 

Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team puts New Hampshire behind them and looks forward to Bristol

 

 

CHERRY HILL, N.J., July 16, 2013 The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team returned to competition in the USA after overseas Global RallyCross (GRC) rounds in Barcelona and Munich. The fourth round of the GRC was held Thursday, July 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on unique course using part of the track's oval and pit lane while including dirt, tarmac and a jump.  The team's development of the Subaru STI Rallycross cars in the off-season began to pay dividends in New Hampshire where Team leader Sverre Isachsen qualified 3rd Overall and both he and teammate Bucky Lasek were able to progress to the Final.

Reaching the Final for the second time in his burgeoning Global RallyCross career Lasek put  forward his best performance to date.  In the Last Chance Qualifier race Lasek pulled off an impressive late race pass to finish 3rd and move to the Final.  Then in the Final Lasek ran in 5th Overall for a majority of the ten lap Final.  Just a few laps from the finish however a foreign object entered his engine bay and terminally damaged his engine on his 600hp Subaru STI.  "I drove the wheels off my Subaru here and it was great to be running in the top five," explains Lasek. "What happened was very unlucky but anything can, and does, happen in Rallycross and this just makes me even more eager to get to the next round in Bristol (Tennessee)."

Isachsen had a strong qualifying run, setting the 3rd fastest time and advanced to the Final with a second place finish in his Heat race.  In the Final however Isachsen's Subaru got a poor start dropping him to the back of the field, forcing the Norwegian to battle through the field to a 6th Overall result.  "I enjoyed the car here, we had a small issue at the start in the Final but overall we were able to run strong and we just need a clean run now to get the results we know we can achieve."

Subaru driver Dave Mirra had an event fraught with bad luck as a freak mechanical failure in his first heat race knocked him out of contention.  Mirra's confidence was buoyed however by setting the fastest lap time in the first timed practice.

The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team will now take their Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive 600hp 2013 Subaru WRX STI Rallycross cars to Bristol Motor Speedway for round 5 of the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship.  The event will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN July 20th at 1:30pm ET.

Photo/ Neil McDaid /Stock/ Rally World News

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/16/5571522/isachsen-6th-lasek-8th-at-hard.html#storylink=cpy

Global RallyCross, “Up the Front Straight and Down the Same Straight”

July 12th, Loudon, NH: Global RallyCross -GRC  makes a one day stop at New Hampshire International Speedway for round number 4 of the 2013 Championship.  After coming off one of the best course layouts to date for the GRC in Munich Germany, it was for the most part back to where we were last year with a course layout that used over 70 % of the Loudon Speedway track, which I have to say can get mundane at times as the gap opens on the long straights.

For 2013 the metal gap jump has been nixed for many good reasons, but unfortunately it was replaced at the Loudon configuration with a dirt hill, that wanted to be a table top jump,  problem was, based on its placement to the chicane the cars couldn't get enough traction in the dirt to get any proper air.

All that been said, the transition from the starting asphalt into the dirt section, then directly into a chicane was definitely the highlight of the track. One point that I must make, although the U.S. GRC track layouts pale in comparison to those in Europe, Americans who are new to European style RallyCross find this extremely exciting racing when compared to Nascar! Enough said.

Ken Block and his Hoonigan Racing Team’s Ford Fiesta set the mark throughout the heats, Block posted the fastest time of the day, netting him the starting position of his choice. Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen, of OlsbergsMSE/Ford Racing who was also driving a Ford Fiesta ST, took second with Tanner Foust of the Rockstar Energy /Ford Racing posting the third fastest making it an all Ford front row.

Into the final, typically the prime lane choice is on the inside of the first corner, for whatever reason  Ken Block would select the middle starting position therefore giving Heikkinen who had the second fastest time the option for the inside line, and he took it!. Maybe Ken was thinking of last year where he got driven in the tire wall on the start, or just felt more comfortable with the launching from the center position, who knows, but I have to think he is reevaluating his starting position today.   

Tanner Foust would line up to Blocks left. Swedish Rally driver, Patrick Sandell [Ford Fiesta], Norway’s  Sveere Isachsen[Subaru STI] and Brian Deegan [Ford ] would make up the second row.   The third and final row would see Travis Pastrana in the Dodge Dart, scrapping his way into the final via the LCQ lined up with Scott Speed [Ford] and Bucky Lasek in the second of the Subaru’s to make the final.

When the lights turned green, Heikkinen seemed to get the better launch nosing just slightly ahead of Ken Block, but Ken would made up the difference by the end of the straight, but Block would lift/brake just before entering the gravel section letting Tanner and Heikkinen past on both sides.  There is no question that Ken Block will fight you to the tooth and nail on any rally stage in the world, and has shown massive skills in his Gymkhana series of videos. But when it comes to RallyCross Ken is  just a little too much of a gentleman, he needs to follow the lead of Heikkinen and the likes of Liam Doran into the first turn, if a headlight fits, push on into the turn.

 As the cars climbed the dirt hill [sorry can't call it a jump] for the first time, it was Foust, Heikkinen, Sandell and Block, with Deegan breathing down Block’s neck. Coming off the dirt hill drivers had the option to take the mandatory joker lap, or drift out onto turn one. From there it was down the front straight [counter to normal track direction] through a chicane before braking hard for the unique “over the wall” ramp constructed at the Magic Mile.  Once over the wall they would head down the same straight, to start the cycle of remaining 9 laps [total 10]. Travis Pastrana’s GRC season would go from bad to worse when the rear of his car slide off the ramp on the first lap resulting in a rear flat, Pastrana would push on, but his race was over, no returning to the pits in GRC.

With a clear track ahead, Foust would make hay and open his lead on Sandell who was battling to hold off his teammate Heikkinen for second. Ken Block and Deegan were door to door until Block opted for the early Joker giving up the position to Deegan. Unfortunately a little extra drift by Block in the joker would also let Bucky Lasek in the Subaru slip through. The racing up front would space out some until Foust took his Joker lap, which let Sandell get on Foust’s rear bumper sliding out of turn one, but Tanner held the line and the lead.

Down to the penultimate lap, Heikkinen was still hounding Sandell for second, as the pair crested the dirt hill Sandell would opt to take his mandatory Joker, opening the door for Heikkinen to try and close the gap to Foust.

Toomas Heikkinen has quickly become the force to be reckoned with in the 2013 GRC championship, coming off the victory in Germany, Topi was clearly looking for a repeat victory in Loudon as he charged all out in his pursuit of Foust on the last lap.

As Foust entered the dirt section for the final time, Heikkinen had somehow closed the gap on the Rockstar Energy driver.  Heikkinen would pile on the pressure on Foust as the charged front straight for the final time.

Tanner would try to protect the insider line as he entered the over the wall ramp, but that’s where it all went wrong for Foust. Tanner would get off the racing line and get into the loose gravel on the inside, resulting in a spectacular wreck into the guard rail.  

With Foust up against the guardrail  Heikkinen slips through on the final turn to grab the victory, Brian Deegan who had overhauled Sandell would now move to second, Sandell would also get by Foust’s crippled car for third. Tanner would manage to get the car re fired and hobble across the line in forth just ahead of Ken Block.

 “I think it was difficult for everyone”, noted Heikkinen after the race, “with the raining and drying. There were a lot of different things. For all of us, we had a tough day—it was tricky to change your setup every time. Even the qualification was a little bit different for everybody. But all in all, it was a great day.

A somewhat dejected Tanner Foust said “That was a tough way to end the race—that’s never fun! Topi was pressuring for the whole race, and then on the very last straightaway, it seemed like he had a little bit of a run. So I thought I’d play it safe—my spotter said he had a chance on the inside, so I played it safe and hit the brakes on the inside corner to protect the turn. But there’s just gravel from all the rain, dragging that mud out. As soon as I touched the brakes, I knew I was in for a pretty wild ride. The car just rotated, went straight into the wall, and then was face-to-face with Brian coming in at 100 miles per hour! The first events of the year, the first six seconds have been the most exciting, and this one, it was the last six. I don’t know what hurts more, but it was a pretty exciting day. Hopefully it was a good show.”

Ken Block who was the man to beat through the heats, ended up in fifth, “It’s frustrating to have the final result that I do after having an amazing qualifying session and first heat,” said Block. “Unfortunately, that’s just how RallyCross goes. That first corner is a total crapshoot. Sometimes you get lucky and get through clean, sometimes you get pinched. Either way I feel that I drove well today and that our car is running strong. Hopefully our luck is more favorable next weekend in Tennessee.”

Ford continues to dominate the Global RallyCross Championship, Pastrana/RedBull racing, are having a challenging year in 2013 in the 2 car Dodge team, but there is glimmers of hope in there.

For Subaru one has to wonder is Global RallyCross tarnishing their outstanding Stage Rally heritage in the USA, a heritage that has seen fans flock to the showrooms for the nearly race ready WRX and STI. While two of the Subaru’s made it to the final in New Hampshire, neither of them finished. No Subaru’s made to the final in Germany in round 3. I expect there will be some hard questions to be answered on the validly of this program for Subaru unless something changes drastically. GRC moves to Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend, track layout will again be interesting, but hopefully they can use a little more infield and less asphalt.

PHOTOS: Ford Racing / Hoonigan Racing
Report: Neil McDaid

Global Rallycross Confirms 2013 Schedule Featuring International Expansion

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 Iguaçu (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 driver’s champion and manufacturer’s 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 Iguaçu, 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 For more information: http://www.global-rallycross.com/news/press-releases/global-rallycross-confirms-2013-schedule-featuring-international-expansion/

Second Rallycross Race Added to X Games Munich A second medal race has been added to the X Games Munich competition schedule on June 29th. The race will serve as Round 2 of the Global Rallycross (GRC) season, replacing last month’s rain cancelled event in Barcelona. Round 3 will be contested on the same circuit on June 30th and each event will feature its own practice and qualifying sessions. Both events will count for full points in the GRC standings and X Games will award medals for both rounds. The weekend schedule will be 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 Please tune in to ESPN and www.global-rallycross.com for full coverage and broadcast times.

Scott Speed to Debut Global Rallycross' Star Car at X Games in Brazil

LOS ANGELES, CA. (April 12, 2013) — Global Rallycross is all about introducing new and forward-thinking elements to race competition. In the spirit of that innovation, Global Rallycross is proud to announce the implementation of the Star Car, a competitive twist for Global Rallycross. To debut the Star Car at the X Games in Foz do Iguacu, Global Rallycross brought Scott Speed on board to take the wheel.

“The Star Car idea was sparked initially as means to create an element of surprise and suspense to both fans and drivers for each of the nine Global Rallycross events this season,” said Colin Dyne, Global Rallycross CEO. “But as the idea has become a reality for Global Rallycross, it is an exceptional element that allows for talented drivers like Scott Speed to get a taste of what Global Rallycross really has to offer.”

In each race of the 2013 season, Global Rallycross will select the Star Car driver who will compete against the regular field of Global Rallycross drivers. With that in mind, every Star Car driver is selected specifically, each bringing a different quality to the series.

For Speed, Global Rallycross selected him to debut the Star Car in Brazil because of his personality, driving ability and his overall fit for Global Rallycross. Speed has raced across the globe, winning two European Formula Renault championships before driving 28 races in Formula 1 in 2006 and 2007. Since transitioning to stock car racing, he has won in the Craftsman Truck Series and spent five seasons at the Sprint Cup level.

"I've always been open to looking for other racing series I can try," said Speed. "So when this thing came up, obviously the series has grown, it's gotten bigger and bigger, and I've always had my eye on this series and how it's coming. And when the first race was on one of the off weekends that I had, I immediately began working on something to be able to try it."

The Star Car will be run by OMSE2, a satellite operation of defending GRC champions OlsbergsMSE. The Star Car will be the same model of Ford Fiesta that took four race victories and the top two spots in last year's GRC standings.The Star Car will make its debut at Global X Games in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, on April 21.