While his younger brother Kevin is using the 2024 season to discover the Supercar Lites category, former FIA European Championship competitor Tobias Daarbak is hoping that his experience at the highest level of competition will enable him to make his mark in this year’s RallyX championship, which promises to be tougher than ever.
Rallycross has been in the Daarbak family for over 20 years. Following in the footsteps of their father – Troels – and his five Danish championship titles, the sons have now taken over.
In addition to Kevin Daarbak and his five national CrossCar titles, Tobias Daarbak has also established himself as a benchmark in the category. Winner of seven consecutive Danish championships between 2011 and 2017, the young Dane then turned his attention to the European Rallycross Touringcar Championship.
His first experience at the highest level resulted in a seventh place overall and a podium finish at the end of the season at Höljes.
“Our passion for motorsport comes from our father, who competed in rallycross for several years and won the Danish national title five times,” explains Kevin.
“When our European TouringCar Championship programme came to an end, we decided to go for the Supercar category. Unfortunately, Covid-19 came along at the same time and we were forced to revise our plans for European competition. Nevertheless, I took advantage of this period to return to CrossCar in the Danish championship. For some time now our team has been taking a keen interest in the Supercar Lites category and this year we are fortunate enough to be able to enter two cars, one of which will be driven by my younger brother Kevin.”
However, the experienced 20-year-old Dane is aware that he will have to adapt to a completely different environment when tackling the Supercar Lites category.
“The Supercar Lites is a very different car to the ones I’ve driven so far. In fact, I’m curious to see how I can progress and how many races it will take before I’m able to challenge the favourites. Driving a four-wheel drive is still a novelty for me at the moment. All in all, I have only competed in one Supercar race, during the Swedish round of the FIA European Championship in 2020. So there’s still a lot for me to discover.”
Having qualified for the semi-finals of the Euro RX1 series in his first appearance at this level of competition, Tobias Daarbak will now be able to determine his true speed against rivals with identical equipment to his own.
“These experiences in the Euro RX have allowed us to progress as a team. We know that the level of competition in the RallyX championship is identical to that of the European championship. It’s a difficult mission for us because in this type of championship we can’t afford to relax for a single second. The slightest mistake can quickly take you from hero to zero. Ideally, my goal for this 2024 season is quite simple. I hope to qualify for as many finals as possible and show at the end of the season that I’m capable of fighting for the podium. However, we’ll be up against some very experienced drivers and I know how difficult the season promises to be.”
One thing is for sure, beyond the sporting achievements, Tobias has every intention of continuing the Daarbak family legacy in rallycross.
“We are a close-knit family who invest a lot of time and energy in motorsport. My brother and I made our debut in a CrossCar Mini. In fact, it was through CrossCar that we gained most of our experience in off-road competition. Our dream has always been to compete internationally with our family team and our loyal mechanics, and this RallyX programme will allow us to do just that. I’m convinced that this RallyX season will be a lot of fun.”
