World RX postpones maiden Nurburgring round due to flooding
The World Rallycross Championship’s maiden visit to the Nurburgring, set to take place next week as the second and third rounds of the 2021 series, has been postponed.
The event has been delayed due to the recent flooding disaster in central Europe with the venue and its facilities being used as an integral part of the relief effort in the region, specifically as a collection and distribution centre.
The German round will therefore move from a July 31-August 1 date to become the final round of the series, on November 27-28.
“Everybody has seen the pictures of the devastating recent flooding in Germany, and whilst the Nurburgring itself has thankfully been largely spared by this natural disaster, the same cannot unfortunately be said for the surrounding area,” said World RX Director Arne Dirks.
“It is important to remember that there are far more important matters at stake here than rallycross, and we must pay immense tribute to the event organisers, who have worked night and day to help the humanitarian efforts.
"At the same time, they have collaborated very closely with us as the World Championship promoter and the FIA to find a solution to reschedule the event, and we are very much looking forward to going to this legendary venue later in the year.”
Andrew Jordan, Ford
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
Earlier this week, World RX announced that the Latvian round in Riga, that will take place in its traditional September slot, will run as a double-header weekend, much like the Nurbringring, instead of a single round over two days.
Like Holjes in Sweden, Kouvola in Finland and Catalunya-Barcelona in Spain, the Latvian round hosted a double-header weekend last year amid the heavily Coronavirus-hit schedule.
“This is fantastic news for rallycross fans,” said event director Raimonds Strokss. “For two days, spectators at our race weekend in Latvia will have the opportunity to follow twice as many races and twice as many intriguing semi-finals and finals.
"The 2021 World Championship title will be won in a car running an internal combustion engine, and spectators have been given a unique opportunity to enjoy these cars for the final time before World RX moves forward and switches to electric vehicles in 2022.
"There is much greater responsibility when organising a double-header event – an increased number of races accordingly increases the amount of work required for everything to run smoothly – but I believe that we, our partners and all our service providers are more than ready to bring their best and maintain the high-quality standard set by the events hosted in Latvia.”
Ahead of the opening of World RX that begins today in Spain, triple European Rallycross Champion Timur Timerzyanov has been forced to withdraw, the Russian having testing positive for coronavirus ahead of leaving for the event.
Revised 2021 World Rallycross calendar:
| Round | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | World RX of Catalunya | 23.07. - 24.07. |
| 2. | World RX of Sweden | 20.08. - 22.08. |
| 3. | World RX of Loheac | 03.09. - 05.09. |
| 4. | World RX of Riga-Latvia 1 | 18.09. - 19.09. |
| 5. | World RX of Riga-Latvia 2 | 18.09. - 19.09. |
| 6. | Spa World RX of Benelux | 09.10. - 10.10. |
| 7. | World RX of Portugal | 23.10. - 24.10. |
| 8. | World RX of Germany 1 | 27.11. - 28.11. |
| 9. | World RX of Germany 2 | 27.11. - 28.11. |
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