The history of rallycross: From a stopgap to a resounding success

The rallycross concept is simple, yet revolutionary. On tarmac-gravel tracks, about one kilometer in length, up to six drivers compete with each other in four qualifying heats and a knock-out system with semi-finals and a final. The format combines wheel-to-wheel duels from circuit racing with spectacular drifts from rally racing. Daredevil maneuvers and car contact are not uncommon in these tightly scheduled races, each lasting about three minutes. Plus, the series features brute cars with up to 600 hp and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds – faster than the race cars in Formula 1.

February 4, 1967 is deemed to have marked the birth of rallycross. The first official competition was held at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit in Kent. The winner of this acclaimed premiere was future Formula 1 driver and Rally Monte Carlo winner Vic Elford who had borrowed a bright red Porsche 911. In spite, or rather because, of the numerous collisions in the races and nearly all cars having only scrap value in the end, the crowd and the TV audiences were thrilled. By the end of the 1960s up to ten million Britons would follow the races on television.

So it was only a matter of time for rallycross to successfully spread to the continent. The motorsport-mad Dutch were the first to pick up on it. At the same time, the sport saw rapid growth in interest particularly in Scandinavia. Even today, Sweden, Norway and Finland continue to be rallycross hot spots. The European Rallycross Championship marked the debut of the first Europe-wide series in 1973. The grid would at times feature obscure cars such as souped-up VW Beetles with 300-hp Porsche Carrera engines or Ford Escorts powered by BMW units from Formula 2. The cars in today’s World Rallycross Championship have about twice as much horsepower. “The cars are overpowered,” admits Ekström who has about 580 horsepower under the hood of his Audi S1 EKS RX quattro.

As interest kept growing, the FIA appeared on the scene in 1976, inviting entries by rallycross drivers for the FIA European Cup and tightening the regulations. This did not put a damper on enthusiasm for the series, though. Quite the opposite was true. The late 1980s and early 1990s are still regarded as the first heyday of rallycross. Division 1 featuring two-wheel drive Group A cars was dominated by 14-time European champion Kenneth Hansen who would occasionally be fighting a gripping duel with Mattias Ekström’s father, Bengt. 

The top category of rallycross back then met with even greater applause. Competing in Division 2 were extremely modified four-wheel drive race cars originally homologated for Groups A or B and powered by engines delivering up to 750 horsepower. One of the dominant competitors was “Mr. Rallycross,” Martin Schanche. The six-time European champion is regarded as Norway’s Michael Schumacher and for years was one of the celebrated superstars in rallycross. In 1987, the Group B cars banned from the World Rally Championship began to experience their renaissance in Division 2. Race cars such as the Audi Sport quattro S1 found a new home in the European Rallycross Championship and went on to dominate the scene in the subsequent years.

Following the turbo race cars’ swan song and a few modifications of the regulations in the mid-1990s, rallycross racing became a clearly less prominent topic in the media.  Cost savings and a lack of professionalism in marketing caused the series to fall into a deep slumber. Only since the sports marketing agency IMG has come in, plus its upgrading from a European to a World Championship in 2014, has rallycross been experiencing its second spring.