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2014 A Big Year For Global RallyCross

Tight battle in Charlotte between Toomas Heikkinen (57) and Steve Arpin (32).  (Photo Credit: Matt Kalish)

2014 marks the fourth season of competition for Global Rallycross.   It will be a season of growth and change.

If you are not familiar with GRC, it is a mixture of road racing and off-road racing with seventy foot jumps. Six hundred plus horsepower all wheel drive racecars compete on the short multi surface courses, battling door to door like they are racing at Martinsville.  Events are held in a festival type atmosphere with an open paddock allowing fans to get up close and personal with the drivers and teams.  On track there is constant action with heat races and last chance qualifying races leading up to excitement filled feature races.

Typical Global Rallycross action at the start of a race. (Photo Credit: Global Rallycross Staff)

Typical Global Rallycross action at the start of a race. (Photo Credit: Global Rallycross Staff)

The United States based Global Rallycross started with four events in 2011, its inaugural season.  In 2012, the season grew to six events with twenty-five drivers racing for eleven different teams.  Last season the series expanded globally.  The schedule grew to nine events including races in Brazil and Munich.  Thirty-one drivers competed in 2013 driving for fourteen teams and ten different manufacturers.

The expansion last season began with Colin Dyne coming on board in late 2012 and taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer.

“I saw an opportunity with big potential for the series in the motorsports arena,” said Dyne.  “There was a place for something that is young, fast and exciting, so that is what pushed me in that direction.”

This season the series grows to ten races and visits new cities including New York, Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington DC.  Also new for this season is a series title sponsor by Red Bull along with a TV deal where most races will be broadcast on NBC.

“NBC is a big step forward for the series being on network TV with that kind of exposure,” explained Dyne.  “With that, we bring new fans to the arena here that haven’t seen GRC before.  We are able to expose the sport much better on a network channel like NBC and we are excited about that.”

A star studded lineup of drivers from all forms of action sports will be taking to the track each event.  Drivers like gold medal winning skateboarder Bucky Lasek competes in his Subaru against Formula 1 and NASCAR driver Scott Speed in his Volkswagen and even 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice.  The field is full of champions from multiple disciplines.

Scott Speed (white 77) races Travis Pastrana (blue 99) in Las Vegas. (Photo Credit: Matt Kalish)

Scott Speed (white 77) races Travis Pastrana (blue 99) in Las Vegas. (Photo Credit: Matt Kalish)

“The driver lineup is quite eclectic,” said Dyne.  “The diversity is great and there will be drivers coming in from other series that see GRC as an opportunity financially and sponsorship wise with the desired demographics that we have, the 18 – 40 year olds.  For the amount of time they have to spend on it, a ten or twelve race schedule, they get an opportunity to showcase themselves on a national level in a great environment.”

Ford, Subaru, Hyundai are among the manufacturers investing in GRC and Rallycross worldwide.  Joining them is Volkswagen with the GRC effort headed this season by Andretti Autosport, well known for their championship winning IndyCar Series accomplishments.
“I think it’s going to up the ante in the series,” commented Dyne about Andretti’s entry into GRC.  “Andretti brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience from operating not just a race team but also from a business perspective on the marketing side and sponsorship side.  It’s huge for the series and a testament to the series with a company like Andretti teaming up with VW.  VW, when they go into motorsports, they go into it very seriously make a significant investment. On both sides, it’s a win-win for everybody.”

“This year is an important year for us because we have our new partners on board with us,” said Dyne.  “There is a big uplift with VW, RedBull and with NBC and our existing partners of Ford and Subaru. Hyundai is on board this year too.  I think it’s a solid foundation.  When I came into the business the plan was to get the series on a real strong footing and build on that.  We are doing that piece by piece, and some of these moves are quite big ones.

The Global Rallycross Series is growing strong and will be introducing itself to many new fans as the season races through the ten event schedule.  The action starts with the season opening event on May 18th at the Top Gear Festival in Barbados (broadcast May 24th on NBC).

Find out more about GRC at their website: global-rallycross.com

 

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