With nine wins and a total of ten podiums in his career since the introduction of the Open 2WD category, two-time RallyX champion Simon Tiger has announced that he will defend his title in 2024.
Despite being the first winner of the 2023 season in Nysum, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Simon Tiger. Leader of the overall standings until the fourth stage of the championship, the BMW M3 driver eventually lost the RallyX lead in Tierp.
With three rounds to go in the 2023 campaign, Simon Tiger was as much as 21 points behind Viktor Johansson, before turning the tables at the end of the championship to claim his second title in three years.
A prize that Simon Tiger fully appreciates.
“Any trophy you can win always has a special taste, but the 2023 one is particularly pleasing because nothing was easy for us. In the first half of the season we blew two engines and a gearbox and, to be honest, I was ready to give up because I knew how much work it would take and the budget we’d have to invest to get the car running again,” says Simon.
Fortunately, the BMW M3 driver had the support of Kalix’s magician, Fredrik Tiger.
“I had no motivation left to continue the season, but my father had no intention of giving up. He repaired the car before calling me to say that if I changed my mind, everyone was ready to go again. Obviously, I went back on my original decision and it was the right thing to do as our efforts paid off in the end. Honestly, I wouldn’t have won this championship if it wasn’t for my dad. He’s the one who pulled out all the stops to get us to the end of the season, when I was ready to give it all up.”
One thing’s for sure: after two crowns in the last three seasons, Simon Tiger doesn’t seem ready to slow down in 2024.
“Motivation comes naturally as long as I can keep winning races and fighting for titles. However, as I said, my main challenge is to find the motivation I need when things aren’t going my way. That’s why my family and my team play such an important role. Even when things aren’t going my way, they’re the ones who make me want to go back to the garage and work on the car.”
In his bid for a third RallyX championship crown, Simon Tiger will keep the same technical choices as he did last year.
“The aim is to run the car in the same configuration as in 2023. We have a few minor improvements in the pipeline, but I’m very happy with the way the car performed at the end of the 2023 season, so there’s no reason to change anything. If I continue to take things seriously with my driving, I know we’ll still have a car that can help us win again this year.”
