CAMPEONATO MUNDO DE RALICROSS - A CHEGADA DOS ELECTRICOS

Quarta, 06 Outubro 2021 16:51 | Actualizado em Sábado, 13 Abril 2024 08:25

KMS commits to three-car team for new electric era

• Kristoffersson Motorsport confirms order of three Kreisel kits

• Swedish outfit boasts stellar success record in rallycross competition

• Team relishing ‘the ultimate challenge’ as World RX goes electric

 Kristoffersson Motorsport (KMS) is the first confirmed team for the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship, after the hugely accomplished Swedish outfit announced that it has ordered three kits for the maiden season of the sport’s exciting new electric era.

Rallycross Promoter GmbH revealed last week that 14 kits have already been reserved from pioneering Austrian firm Kreisel Electric, the company behind the cutting-edge RX1e car that is set to truly electrify World RX, with faster acceleration and greater all-round performance than ever before courtesy of 500kW delivered to the twin motors – equivalent to 680bhp – and 880Nm of instant torque.

Founded by former FIA European Rallycross Championship front-runner and multiple Swedish title-winner Tommy Kristoffersson – father of three-time World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson – the eponymously-named Kristoffersson Motorsport outfit has achieved considerable success in both rallycross and touring car racing.

After Tommy Kristoffersson hung up his helmet in 2008, Johan picked up the mantle and won the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship in 2012 behind the wheel of a biogas-fuelled Volkswagen Scirocco. The next season, KMS returned to Euro RX in the headlining Supercar (now Euro RX1) class, with victories and podium finishes for both Kristoffersson Jnr and Ole Christian Veiby over the following three years.

In parallel with that programme, KMS entered World RX at the series’ inception in 2014, initially running under the Volkswagen Dealer Team KMS banner before changing to Volkswagen Team Sweden and subsequently Volkswagen RX Sweden. Johan Kristoffersson reached the top step of the rostrum in the 2015 curtain-raiser in Portugal en route to third in the Drivers’ standings, before grabbing the runner-up spoils in 2016, tallying his second career triumph in France along the way.

In 2017 and 2018, KMS then played an instrumental role in the back-to-back Drivers’ and Teams’ titles achieved by PSRX Volkswagen Sweden, contributing vital personnel and infrastructure to the all-conquering project. Following a year away, the squad rejoined the fray as Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS in 2020, propelling Kristoffersson to his third Drivers’ crown.

Tommy Kristoffersson, Team Owner, Kristoffersson Motorsport, said:

“We have already won one World Championship title with our own team last year,  but to fight for the first-ever World Championship crown with electric rallycross cars is the ultimate challenge and one that really inspires us – it was simply an opportunity that was far too good to turn down.

“We have a lot of history in rallycross – this is what we do best – and we had several options available to us for 2022, but I was not interested in starting something if we could not do it properly. Thankfully, like us, our new investors truly believe in the future of electric rallycross and are ready to embrace this exciting change.

“We have great faith in the promoter and believe these cars have fantastic development potential and will produce spectacular entertainment – they will be extremely fast. I am absolutely convinced that we will create a product that will make fans raise their eyebrows and drop their jaws. Now, our focus switches to finding a manufacturer we can compete with and the right drivers to do the job...”

Arne Dirks, Executive Director, Rallycross Promoter GmbH, said:

“We are delighted to announce Kristoffersson Motorsport’s participation in World RX’s new electric era, and to commit to three cars is a real signal of intent and show of belief in what we are doing here. Tommy has been a strong supporter of our move towards a more sustainable future from the start, and KMS’ success record speaks for itself. With Tommy’s vision and the wealth of experience and expertise he has built up around him, I have no doubt that the team will be a front-runner right from the outset.”

About Rallycross Promoter GmbH

Rallycross Promoter GmbH, a joint company of Red Bull GmbH and KW25 Beteiligungs GmbH, is responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, including TV production and the marketing of global media and sponsorship rights. The Promoter also has responsibility to increase the field of participants and to propose the venues that form the calendars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship and supporting series.