While Estonian 2022 champion Maiko Tamm has capitalized on the introduction of the Pro-AM Supercar championship to make a name for himself on the international scene, the RallyX promoter has confirmed the addition of a similar format for the Open 2WD category.
Following the success of the Pro-AM Supercar championship, it’s now the turn of the Open 2WD category to follow the same path.
The objective is identical to that pursued in Supercar. The aim is to enable young drivers, or those with less powerful and less efficient cars than the “Pro” drivers, to compete for the “Pro-Am” title.
“Today, we can confirm that the Open 2WD category will benefit, as it is already the case in Supercar, from a Pro championship and a Pro Am championship in 2024,” notes Andreas Eriksson.
“All ‘Pro’ and ‘Pro-Am’ drivers will continue to compete together in qualifying and in the semi-finals. On the other hand, once this stage has been completed, the drivers entered in the Pro-Am championship will benefit from their own final, as is currently the case in Supercar, and they will be able to fight it out for a chance to win this championship.”
To have a chance of competing in this new “Pro-Am” championship, drivers will still need to provide a few guarantees.
“The “Pro-Am” championship will be reserved for cars up to 2400cc. These drivers will therefore have the choice of opting for either the “Pro” championship or the “Pro-Am” championship, depending on their equipment or their level of ability. And then, by limiting the “Pro-Am” championship to 2400cc vehicles, it also gives owners of Super1600s and FWDs cars the opportunity to try their luck in RallyX”.
Given the devilish 600 horsepower of the leaders in the Open 2WD class, the RallyX championship has opted for a solution that will win over the Rallycross community.
“The Open 2WD category is a bit like what we know in Supercar. Those who compete at the top are hard to challenge, so we had to restore a better balance by allowing as many people as possible to take part. In our view, creating a “Pro-Am” championship is a very good idea to allow younger drivers or those with less powerful cars to fight for a title”
“I think this articulation can encourage as many drivers and teams as possible to go ahead and bet on the RallyX championship. We’re convinced that many owners of two-wheel-drive cars don’t necessarily want to invest in such powerful engines to fight for top honors in Open 2WD. On the other hand, we want to give them the opportunity to compete in our championship with real stakes at stake,” adds Andreas Eriksson.
