Two-time Open 2WD champion in the RallyX championship, Simon Tiger has no intention of taking his foot off the gas in 2024.
With a BMW M3 powered by a turbocharged rotary engine developing breathtaking power, Simon Tiger has no plans to change his tune.
Admittedly, the 2021 and 2023 RallyX champion knows that this desire to push the limits a little further can affect his reliability, but it would take more than that to turn Simon Tiger away from his philosophy.
Last year, two engine failures and a broken gearbox could have swung the championship in Viktor Johansson’s favour.
“I have absolutely no intention of sacrificing our philosophy just to achieve greater reliability,” explains Simon.
” In fact, it’s quite the opposite, with more and more extreme concepts and technical choices. Besides, the public isn’t wrong and that’s why the Open 2WD category is so popular. Our cars are crazy and so is the sound of our engines”.
“Of course, I could put a Volvo block in my car and still be confident that I could go as fast as with my rotary engine, but to be honest, the sound of a Volvo engine clearly tends to put me to sleep,” jokes Tiger.
” I want to hear ‘pops’ and ‘bangs’ when I’m behind the wheel, and I suppose the same goes for the fans. Of course the key is reliability and we’re always working on that, but the problems we had last year were just bad luck. In fact, we’ve never had that kind of problem with the engine or the transmission before. We think we’ve identified the source of these issues and we’ll be back this year with the knowledge that they’ve been resolved”
While his duel with Viktor Johansson will resume in 2024, Simon Tiger is particularly hopeful that the introduction of the Pro and Pro Am categories will tend to attract more drivers to the 2WD Open Championship.
” I sincerely hope that the Open 2WD category will be as successful as the introduction of the Pro and Pro Am championships in Supercar. The introduction of the Pro Am championship is a very good addition and perhaps it will encourage drivers to look at the RallyX championship in a different light. The potential of the RallyX championship in terms of media coverage is unmatched. It’s by far the best rallycross series at the moment, and I hope that more and more drivers will be able to see that.”
