Brits Nathan Heathcote and Oliver Bennett join all-star line-up
Former GRC king Joni Wiman ready to test his mettle
Tickets for opening round on sale for just SEK 100 on the gate
The reigning MSA British Rallycross Champion and a former Global Rallycross Champion are the latest additions to the star-studded RallyX on Ice entry list – with the opening round at Östersund in Sweden now just a few short days away.
Nathan Heathcote – who last year clinched the crown in Britain’s headlining Supercar class at his first attempt – has thrown his hat into the ring in the Supercar Lites field and will make his debut in round two at Höljes, venue for the FIA World Rallycross Championship outing in the summer.
Amongst the 20-year-old’s rivals will be World RX Supercar race-winner Kevin Eriksson, 2017 RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires Champion Cyril Raymond, erstwhile FIA European Rallycross Champion Robin Larsson, 2015 GRC Lites Champion Oliver Eriksson and upcoming American aces Austin Cindric, Cole Keatts and Conner Martell. Later in the campaign, he will even have the chance to go wheel-to-wheel with Verizon IndyCar Series heroes Josef Newgarden and Hélio Castroneves.
The newly-unveiled RX Academy entry list features ten protagonists, all of whom will pilot identical, factory-built Renault Clio RS RX cars and some of whom need little introduction. Joni Wiman is a former GRC Champion and X Games gold medallist, Simon Syversen is a regular front-runner in RX2, Oliver Solberg – the teenage son of motorsport hero Petter Solberg – lifted the runner-up laurels in RallyX Nordic last season and namesake Oliver Bennett finished third in the British Championship.
Add to that the likes of Timmy and Kevin Hansen and Niclas Grönholm in Speedcar Xtreme – for potent, 180km/h crosskarts – and the scene is set for a magnificent display of ice driving prowess and spectacular sideways action, with a total of 49 drivers across the three classes (24 Supercar Lites, 10 RX Academy and 15 Speedcar Xtreme), representing no fewer than 11 different nations.
Tickets for the curtain-raiser at Östersunds Motorstadion this Saturday (3 February) can be purchased on-site for SEK 100 (cash only), with gates opening at 08h30 and the racing getting underway at 09h00.
2018 RallyX on Ice Calendar
February 3 Östersund, Sweden
February 10 Höljes, Sweden
February 25 Ål, Norway
March 3 Gol, Norway
Media accreditation for all four RallyX on Ice events is now open. Interested journalists and photographers should contact RallyX on Ice Media Officer Russell Atkins (russell.atkins@mpacreative.com / +44 (0) 7725 223288).
Supercar Lites Entry List
DRIVER NATIONALITY CAR NUMBER EVENT(S)
Josef NEWGARDEN USA 2 ÅL
Hélio CASTRONEVES BRA 3 GOL
Robin LARSSON SWE 4 ALL
Mats OSKARSSON SWE 11 ALL
Anders MICHALAK SWE 12 ÖST, HÖL
Cyril RAYMOND FRA 13 ALL
Oliver ERIKSSON SWE 16 ALL
Hampus RÅDSTRÖM SWE 17 ALL
Ben-Philip GUNDERSEN NOR 20 ALL
Conner MARTELL USA 21 ALL
Austin CINDRIC USA 22 ÖST, HÖL
Pelle WILÉN SWE 23 ALL
Petter LEIRHOL NOR 27 ALL
Alexander WESTLUND SWE 47 ALL
Nathan HEATHCOTE GBR 50 HÖL, ÅL, GOL
Cole KEATTS USA 53 ALL
Vasiliy GRYAZIN LVA 55 ALL
Jami KALLIOMÄKI FIN 65 ALL
Sondre EVJEN NOR 69 ALL
Alexander LIE NOR 85 ALL
Troy DOWEL AUS 87 ALL
Jimmie WALFRIDSSON SWE 90 ALL
Jonathan WALFRIDSSON SWE 91 ALL
Kevin ERIKSSON SWE 96 ALL
RX Academy on Ice Entry List
DRIVER NATIONALITY CAR NUMBER
Simon SYVERSEN NOR 8
Oliver SOLBERG NOR 11
Sami-Matti TROGEN FIN 22
Marko MURU EST 27
Joni WIMAN FIN 31
Oliver BENNETT GBR 42
Jesse KALLIO FIN 47
Isak REIERSEN SWE 70
Jimi KALLIOMÄKI FIN 95
Marat KNYAZEV RUS 96
Speedcar Xtreme Entry List
DRIVER NATIONALITY CAR NUMBER
Aleksander WIIK NOR 1
Isac EGONSSON SWE 5
Jimmie ÖSTERBERG SWE 11
Linus ÖSTLUND SWE 12
Nils ANDERSSON SWE 14
Timmy HANSEN SWE 21
Micke GÖTHESSON SWE 34
Finn Erik LØBERG NOR 35
Arne WIIK NOR 55
Niclas GRÖNHOLM FIN 68
Kevin HANSEN SWE 71
Ruve VESKI EST 88
Ole Henry STEINSHOLT NOR 89
Jonathan ESKILSSON SWE 90
Peter LUNDMARK SWE 92
