Headline Drivers for 2026
Johan Kristoffersson (Sweden, KMS). The undisputed GOAT of the modern era. Six FIA World RX titles in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024, plus a record-extending crown in 2025. Also a Scandinavian Touring Car champion. Stepping back into Euro RX1 for the first time since 2014.
Niclas Gronholm (Finland, GRX-SET). Son of two-time WRC champion Marcus Gronholm. Led much of the 2025 World RX standings in the Hyundai i20 RX1 before Kristoffersson overhauled him. Lethal at Holjes and Loheac.
Timmy and Kevin Hansen (Sweden, Hansen World RX Team). Brothers from the most decorated family in the sport. Timmy was the 2019 World champion. Kevin was runner-up to Kristoffersson in 2023 and 2024. Both committed to a full 2026 schedule in the Peugeot 208 WRX.
Andreas Bakkerud (Norway). Three-time European champion (Super 1600 in 2011 and 2012, Euro RX1 in 2021), eight World RX wins, and the local hero who won Hell, Norway in 2014. Spent 2025 in the FIA TV commentary booth and has called his 2026 Euro RX1 return his "biggest mission."
Patrick O'Donovan (UK/Ireland, O'Donovan Racing). Three-time British Rallycross champion and 2024 Euro RX1 title-holder. Drives the unique Proton Iriz RX. Son of Irish rallycross legend Ollie O'Donovan.
Klara Andersson (Sweden, CE Dealer Team). Former Cross Car champion, Extreme E race winner, the first woman to take a top-class World RX pole in the electric era.
Ole Christian Veiby (Norway, KMS). Former WRC2 race winner, won Hong Kong for KMS in 2023, now Kristoffersson's right-hand man.
Damian Litwinowicz (Poland) and Janis Baumanis (Latvia) round out the top of the chasing pack — Litwinowicz was the 2025 Euro RX1 runner-up, Baumanis is the local hero for the Latvian opener.
The North American Watchlist
The American story in rallycross is, for the moment, a story of legacies. Ken Block won the inaugural 2014 European Rallycross round at Lankebanen and built the entire Gymkhana fanbase that still drives the US scene today. He passed away in January 2023. Travis Pastrana won the 2021 Nitrocross title in a Subaru WRX STi but is sitting 2026 out — he won Sno*Drift on the ARA stage rally schedule and made a NASCAR Truck appearance at Daytona for Niece Motorsports in February. Tanner Foust (two-time GRC champion) and Scott Speed (four-time GRC champion, the most successful US rallycross driver ever) are inactive at the top level. Canadian Steve Arpin, who raced for Loenbro Motorsports and Chip Ganassi in the GRC and ARX years, remains the highest-profile maple-leaf rallycrosser. RallyX Americas Hypercar entries from Hansen, JC Raceteknik, OMSE and SET Promotion will name their American drivers ahead of the June 20–21 Crandon opener.
The Cars: Iconic Rallycross Machines
Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX (RX1). Built and run by Kristoffersson Motorsport. The "601" name references the 600-plus horsepower output. The benchmark RX1 car of the late 2020s and the machine that ended the World RX era as champion.
Peugeot 208 WRX (RX1). Hansen family weapon — an evolution of the original 208 WRX Supercar that won Timmy Hansen the 2019 title. Distinctive Monster Energy livery.
Hyundai i20 RX1 (GRX). Built in Finland by GRX. Niclas Gronholm's car. Loosely based on the WRC i20 silhouette with a full RX1 chassis underneath.
Audi S1 EKS RX (RX1). Originally developed by Mattias Ekstrom's EKS team that won the 2018 manufacturers' title. Customer chassis still campaigned by JC Raceteknik and privateers.
Ford Fiesta RX (RX1). Built by OMSE and Loenbro. Iconic in the GRC and ARX era — Block, Foust and Arpin all drove one. A privateer staple in Euro RX.
Proton Iriz RX (RX1). Built by Mellors Elliot Motorsport in the UK. The only Asian-branded car at the front. Took O'Donovan to the 2024 Euro RX1 title.
First Corner FC1-X (RallyX Americas Hypercar). All-electric, dual-motor, around 1,000 hp peak (some sources quote 1,200), 0–60 mph in roughly 1.4 to 1.5 seconds. A QEV Technologies and Olsbergs MSE joint venture. Originally raced in Nitrocross 2022–2024, now the centerpiece of RallyX Americas. The quickest-accelerating closed-cockpit race car on Earth.
Engine Types and Powertrains
Modern rallycross sits on two engineering pillars.
The 2.0-liter turbo four. The RX1 supercar formula. Roughly 570 to 600 horsepower and 620 to 680 lb-ft of torque, four-wheel drive, Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox, anti-lag exhaust that spits flame on every shift, around 1,300 kg fully fueled. Zero to sixty in under two seconds is faster than a Formula 1 car off the line, because rallycross drivetrains are built around launch traction rather than aero downforce.
The all-electric hypercar. The FC1-X represents the path the World series briefly explored with the RX1e Polo, before reverting to combustion for 2026. Two motors, instant torque, around 1,000 hp peak, plus regenerative braking. Different driving discipline: less throttle modulation, more brake-balance management.
The new RX4 class for 2026 Euro RX uses essentially unmodified Rally4 stage rally cars (Renault Clio, Peugeot 208, Ford Fiesta) with the co-driver seat removed — a 1.6-liter turbo, front-wheel drive, around 210 hp. The new RX5 / Cross Car class is a tube-frame buggy with a roughly 1.0-liter motorcycle-derived engine. Both classes exist to cut the cost of entry to FIA-level competition.
Setup Philosophy: Tarmac One Lap, Gravel the Next
A rallycross circuit is typically 60–70% asphalt and 30–40% gravel. Lankebanen is 63 to 37. Holjes is closer to 50–50. That mix dictates almost every setup choice — tire compound, ride height, differential lock percentages and damping all have to compromise between two completely different surface behaviors. Top teams change setup between qualifying sessions on the same day. Newcomers tend to set the car up for the surface they like and lose six tenths a lap on the one they don't.
Stage Rally Cars That Cross Over: Subaru, Audi, Ford, Lancia, Porsche, Toyota
Plenty of fans land here looking for the great manufacturer rally cars rather than the rallycross variants — and the bloodlines genuinely do connect. The Subaru WRX STi built Pastrana's career and sat under his 2021 Nitrocross title. The Audi S1 Quattro defined Group B in the 1980s and lent its name to the Ekstrom EKS rallycross car. The Ford Fiesta ran rally and rallycross simultaneously through the 2010s — Ken Block's Gymkhana cars were Fiesta-based. The Lancia Stratos, 037 and Delta Integrale remain the highest-status rally cars ever built. The Porsche 911 SC RS is a Group B oddity beloved by collectors. Toyota's modern rally pedigree is mostly stage rally — the Toyota Yaris WRC car has dominated the World Rally Championship in the late 2020s. None of these manufacturers run a current works rallycross program, but their DNA is everywhere on the grid.
Rally vs Rallycross — A Quick Refresher
Stage rally is one car at a time on closed public roads, against the clock, often over hundreds of kilometers per day with a co-driver reading pace notes. Rallycross is wheel-to-wheel on a closed mixed-surface circuit of about 1,000 meters, no co-driver, four to six laps per race, with a mandatory longer "joker" detour each driver must take exactly once. Rally is the marathon. Rallycross is the sprint with elbows.
For more on who runs these cars and where, head to rallycross teams and leagues 2026, or see them in action this month. You can always come back to the Rallycross In Hell magazine for the bigger picture.