In a massive coup for the series, international rally ace Alister McRae has confirmed he’ll be driving in the SIDCHROME EXTREME Rallycross Championship.
Alister will be driving the No 28 SIDCHROME Car, the same one in which he tested at the official test day in Sydney back in May.
“From the first moment I heard there were plans to run a Rallycross Championship in Australia, I started working to secure a spot on the grid,” said Alister. “I’ve been a rallycross fan for a long time and now is the right time for this action packed sport to make its mark on Australian soil.
“Now we’ve locked away a drive, I can focus on getting the SIDCHROME Supercar Lite dialed in and ready to take on all challengers at the first round in Queensland,” he added.
Rallycross is the world’s fastest growing motorsport. It’s already huge in Europe and the US attracting drivers like Ken Block and Petter Solberg.
David Ridden, managing director, Global Rallycross Australia said, “It’s hard to explain how excited we are to welcome Alister to the Championship. He’s a world class driver with a wealth of experience across a number of motorsport disciplines, on both two and four wheels.”
This news comes hot on the heels of the release of the dates and track maps for each of the seven rounds.
“The Championship is gaining momentum fast,” said David. “Locking away the round dates and venues, completing the track designs and now having Alister confirm he’ll be running in the Supercar Lites Class proves we’re the real deal.”
Anyone who was lucky enough to attend the Sydney test day will agree the Supercar Lite is a pretty special piece of kit. Built by the team at Olsbergs MS on a tubular spaceframe they run a naturally aspired engine punching out 310BHP and 300Nm of torque, a 6 speed sequential SADEV gearbox and permanent four-wheel drive.
“After driving the Supercar Lite at the Sydney test day I was hooked,” explained Alister. “The level of engineering and the quality of the finish is world class. The real clincher is just how responsive it is to driver inputs in a variety of conditions.
“The level of grip changed completely in the afternoon session, but the car balance remained the same, it really hooked up,” said Alister. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re on slippery tarmac or a dry track, the car is awesome.”
Other drivers at the test day included Chris Atkinson, Brendan Reeves, Adrian Coppin and Jack Monkhouse plus fast New Zealanders Ben Hunt and Matt Summerfield.
“There were some very fast drivers at the Sydney test day and I hope they are pulling their own programs together to get on the grid for the first event,” Alister said.
“Running door handle to door handle with these guys, hitting massive jumps and taking on the challenge of dealing with the combination of dirt and tarmac surfaces will be something that every Australian Motorsport fan won’t want to miss,” he added.
The first round of the SIDCHROME Extreme Rallycross Championship is running at Lakeside Park in Queensland, September 4-5. Fans can pre-register for tickets by visiting extremerallycross.com.au.
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