Rising Norwegian star Thomas Bryntesson will join Marklund Motorsport for the final round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Rosario, Argentina (28-29 November).
Bryntesson will partner regular driver Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen in the 13th World RX event of the season driving a Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar, having impressed in his first year of the sport in the World RX support category, RX Lites. The Norwegian reached the RX Lites podium on his debut in Great Britain and won four events in a row thereafter. Despite missing the first round of the season, he came close to winning the championship at his first attempt. The Rosario event will mark the first time Bryntesson has raced a rallycross Supercar. He tested a Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar last week in Sweden and immediately impressed with his performance.
Heikkinen won the third round of World RX at Mettet in Belgium – for the second year in a row – and is targeting a strong finish in Argentina to bring a challenging season to a close.
Marklund Motorsport team manager, Michael Schneider, is looking forward to having Bryntesson as part of the team for the final round of the championship. “We are all very excited to have Thomas join us for Argentina. At the test last week he found the feeling and got to grips with the Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar very quickly. PG Andersson encouraged us to give a young driver a chance, which is something Jan (Marklund, team owner) was very keen on too. PG suggested Thomas and from what we have seen of him in RX Lites this season, and at this first Supercar test, he is a very competent driver,” said Schneider. “Topi went well at the final round of the championship last season and we are hopeful that together we can end this season on a high.”
Bryntesson has shone in his first season in rallycross. He took four victories from six starts in the RX Lites Cup. “I’m really thankful to PG Andersson and Marklund Motorsport for giving me this opportunity – it makes me really happy that they believe in me. We tested in Sweden at Holjes – my first impression of a Supercar was that they are great to drive and so fast. The lap times got better every lap. It’s really good to have Topi as a team mate for Argentina, he is very experienced, so I can learn a lot from him I think,” said the 19-year-old, who is planning to gain experience at the Argentine event, and hopes to score a good result for the team. “To start with I need to learn and to get some good experience in a Supercar, then we will see how the speed is. I will work hard and I hope for a good result for Marklund Motorsport.”
Finnish star Heikkinen is aiming for a podium finish in Argentina to end the season on a high. “The car is really good right now. We have had some bad luck recently. We need to solve some small details, put everything together and we can be on the top. The track in Argentina is new for everybody so it will be interesting to see how it is. We have the speed, and I’m confident in the pace of the car. I really want to be on the podium in Argentina, to end the year on a high,” he said.
FIA World Rallycross Championship, Drivers’ Standings:
1 Petter Solberg 279
2 Timmy Hansen 253
3 Johan Kristoffersson 228
4 Andreas Bakkerud 215
5 Davy Jeanney 189
6 Mattias Ekstrom 179
7 Reinis Nitiss 164
8 Toomas Heikkinen 128
9 Robin Larsson 119
10 Timur Timerzyanov 105
11 Manfred Stohl 75
12 PG Andersson 70
13 Anton Marklund 70
14 Tord Linnerud 49
15 Tanner Foust 44
FIA World Rallycross Championship, Teams’ Standings
1 Team Peugeot-Hansen 442
2 Ford OlsbergsMSE 379
3 SDRX 312
4 VW Team Sweden 277
5 EKS 228
6 Marklund Motorsport 226
7 World RX Team Austria 75
8 Munnich Motorsport 31
FIA World Rallycross Championship
April 24-26 Portugal (Montalegre)
May 1-3 Germany (Hockenheim)
May 15-17 Belgium (Mettet)*
May 22-24 Great Britain (Lydden Hill)
June 19-21 Germany (Estering)*
July 3-5 Sweden (Holjes)
Aug 7-8 Canada (Trois-Rivieres)
Aug 21-23 Norway (Hell)*
Sept 4-6 France (Loheac)
Sept 18-20 Spain (Barcelona)*
Oct 2-4 Turkey (Istanbul)
Oct 16-18 Italy (Franciacorta)*
Nov 27-29 Argentina (Rosario)
* = European championship event
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