2 new circuits to the series have completed the 2022 season calendar. It marks a return to continental Europe as well as a new foray into France, a country never before visited by the championship.
The 2022 Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy calendar has been completed with a pair of European rounds supporting local events. In October the Supercar class will race alongside the French Rallycross Championship at the former European rallycross venue of Dreux. It was last used in that series in 2012 when Kevin Proctor won having progressed from the C-final.
What will be the penultimate weekend of racing for the British contingent is the final round of the French series. It is unconfirmed how the different series will interact but it is not unlikely that they will share the track during the weekend. If that’s the case the drivers will not only be looking to beat their championship rivals but also avoid getting tangled up in title deciding battles in the fiercely competitive French series. No other classes will join the French round.
Meanwhile the Belgian BORA RX will play host to several support classes including Supernational, Retro, Super Retro, BMW Mini, All4 Mini and RX150. The Belgium championship had been set to support the series at both Lydden in April and Spa Francorchamps in December last year. However, travel restrictions and terrible flooding in Europe prevented either championship making the trip across the Channel.
This marks the first time since 2001 that championship run support classes will not race alongside the top class. On that occasion the large contingent of Stock Hatch racers raced at Lydden Hill. In more recent years some categories have run alongside other championships such as RX150, Swift, Junior and defunct Minicross. The season finale for 2020 was supposed to just be for support classes. However, this was cancelled due to Covid-19.
The top class title fight will be the joint longest ever at 11 rounds, only matched by 1990. In that year it was held over 11 weekends and 8 different circuits rather than 6 weekends and 4 circuits.
Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
This release comes off the back of recent news about new and returning drivers. 19 year old Bradley Sampson will step up to the top class in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. He had raced in the Retro 4WD/Group B class in the past 2 seasons. Fellow competitor Steve Harris has upgraded his ex-World RX Mini Countryman with the STARD powertrain and will be the first electric Supercar race in the UK. Michael Boak will make his long awaited dream of racing a Supercar come true in a newly acquired Skoda Fabia.
Colin Anson announced his returns to the 5 Nations paddock. He formerly raced a Ford KA but will instead drive the Opel Astra that won Christopher Evans the 2006 British Rallycross and Supercar titles. Dom Flitney will return having raced his Volvo C30 at the season finale. He is set to compete at every round. While unconfirmed yet it is expected that Ollie O’Donovan will step into his newly prepared Proton Iziz this season having taken a long development process through 2021.
Julian Godfrey is likely to return in his Ford Fiesta while Tristan Ovenden and Mike Sellar could race their Citroen DS3’s once again. With just these it would bring the grid to an incredible 8 different car brands with some others still being prepared in the background.
Retro 4WD will once again have the shortest season over 7 rounds. Retro and Super Retro will be held over 8 round with Junior and Swift having 9. Supernational, BMW Mini, All4 Mini and RX150 will have 10 rounds. The season kicks off next month during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
Supercar Calendar:
16th/18th April – Lydden Hill, England (Double Header)
14th/15th May – Pembrey, Wales (Double Header)
4th/5th June – Mondello, Ireland (Double Header)
27th/29th August – Pembrey, Wales (Double Header)
15th/16th October – Dreux, France
5th/6th November – Lydden Hill, England (Double header)
Support Class Calendar:
16th/18th April – Lydden Hill, England (Double Header)
14th/15th May – Pembrey, Wales (Double Header)
4th/5th June – Mondello, Ireland (Double Header) – No Retro
6th/7th August – Arendonk, Belgium – No Junior, Swift or Retro 4WD
27th/29th August – Pembrey, Wales (Double Header)
5th/6th November – Lydden Hill, England
Feature Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
