Rallycross Championship “in talks” with the aim of hosting a street race on ring road circuit
MotoFest Coventry, sponsored by E.ON. has revealed it is in “advanced talks” with the FIA World Rallycross Championship to host a round of the World RX championship on its unique sprint circuit, created from the city’s ring road.
The FIA World Rallycross Championship is aiming to host a street race at MotoFest Coventry in 2025, after engaging in advanced discussions with the UK’s largest free to attend annual motoring and motorsport festival event.
Buoyed by the tremendous success of World RX’s inaugural downtown event in Hong Kong last November, Rallycross Promoter is working hard to bring the spectacular dual-surface discipline to more city-centres, to introduce its irresistible no-holds-barred blend of fast-paced entertainment and doorhandle-to-doorhandle duels to swathes of new audiences.
The series will this year race full-speed ahead into its eagerly anticipated new ‘Battle of Technologies’ era, pitting cutting-edge electric RX1e machinery directly against sustainably-fuelled combustion cars for the first time.
There has been no street circuit in Britain since the days of the Birmingham Superprix, which hosted single-seater, touring car and sportscar competition from 1986 to 1990 – but a feasibility study conducted by internationally-renowned track designer Driven International has determined that one could be constructed in the UK’s ‘Motor City’ to stage a rallycross event*.
A proposed layout has already been drafted with the support and input of Kevin Hansen, 2023 FIA World Rallycross Championship runner-up, and over the next few months, a period of consultation will take place with partners and importantly local residents to agree how the project can be taken forward.
The World RX championship round would form part of an extended MotoFest Coventry festival weekend, sitting alongside its current well-established sprint circuit programme, including the British Automobile Racing Club’s (BARC) Connaught Speed Championship Rounds.
MotoFest Coventry will also continue to host its dedicated Crewsade Drift Arena, live action arenas, dynamic and static car displays and full entertainment programme across the festival weekend.
James Noble, MotoFest Coventry Festival Director, said: “MotoFest Coventry is hugely excited to have entered into advanced discussions with the FIA World Rallycross Championship promoter to host a World RX round at our 2025 festival weekend.
“We have made no secret in the past of our ambition to stage competitive motorsport on Coventry Ring Road and having successfully delivered closed-road time trials, we are now driving forward with the next phase of that plan. With a track design drawn up by Driven International, we are close to having all the pieces in place for this ambitious project.
“We are now actively seeking commercial partners to provide the necessary infrastructure and finance required to turbocharge our ambitions and take the plan off the start line.
“With the ambition to stage exhilarating, all-electric racing on our unique city centre sprint circuit, we are taking MotoFest Coventry to the next level by putting the event at the heart of sustainable motorsport for now and the future.
“This is a massive opportunity to showcase Coventry’s motoring past with a project that will help secure its future as a city at the heart of transport innovation and development.”
Arne Dirks, Managing Director, Rallycross Promoter, said: “Since being appointed promoter of this championship, one thing that has been clear to us is rallycross’ enormous potential to appeal to new audiences – a point very well-illustrated by the phenomenal success of our inaugural city-centre event in Hong Kong last year. That was a real ‘milestone’ moment and has encouraged us to explore further metropolitan locations.
“MotoFest Coventry has solidly established itself as one of the UK’s most popular car-themed events, and after being introduced to James [Noble – Festival Director] and his team, we quickly agreed that we share a common vision – to bring maximum entertainment to as many people as possible in a dynamic downtown setting. We are excited to continue working together as we investigate the possibility of incorporating World RX into MotoFest in 2025 and beyond.”
Andrew Wheatley, Road Sport Director, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), added: “Following the success of World RX’s first event in Hong Kong last year, it’s great to see Rallycross Promoter pushing ahead with its plans to bring the sport to more city centres. The compact footprint and intense, high-energy nature of rallycross make it well-suited to an urban environment, and with its strong sustainability credentials, Coventry would be an ideal location. We look forward to seeing how this exciting project develops.”
Celebrating all things automotive past, present and future, MotoFest Coventry is the Midlands region’s most well-attended annual event, attracting in excess of 200,000 visitors, and is estimated to bring in a £10 million boost to the regional economy.
The £10m figure was calculated in an independent peer reviewed postgraduate study by Coventry University, working in partnership with Coventry Business Improvement District (BID), sponsors and exhibitors.
Based on average spend, business uplift, visitor footfall and hotel occupancy rates, the number crunching revealed the event injected approximately £10m into the local economy and the wider region.
MotoFest Coventry is a two-day festival dedicated to the city of Coventry’s motoring heritage. This year’s event takes place on Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June. It will feature a unique blend of racing demonstrations, static displays, live music and anything else with a connection to Coventry, transport and the city’s motoring heritage.
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