Belgian rally star makes it four confirmed nationalities on inaugural RX2 grid
24-year-old approaching 2017 as a learning year in rallycross
Nivelles native twins competitive commitments with engineering apprenticeship
Guillaume De Ridder will trade rallying for rallycross in 2017, after becoming the latest name to confirm his place on the grid in the RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires.
A successful karter, De Ridder stepped up to cars in 2013 in the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy in his Belgian homeland, winning the national title in the Group N class the following season behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.
The 24-year-old continued to compete in Belgium and France in 2015 and 2016 in a Peugeot 208 R2, dovetailing his rallying programme with a powertrain engineering apprenticeship with Renault Sport Racing. As he prepares to switch disciplines to RX2 this year – with the season kicking off at his home circuit of Mettet next month – the Nivelles native has a set of clearly defined objectives.
“My aim this season is to get to grips with the world of rallycross by learning as much as possible about the handling and behaviour of the RX2 car and the tracks, so that I can be ready to do battle for the title in 2018,” De Ridder explained. “That is my mid-term goal, and then the longer-term ambition is to step up to the pinnacle of the FIA World Rallycross Championship – and fight for the biggest trophy in the sport!”
De Ridder joins reigning RX Lites Champion Cyril Raymond, Swedish young gun William Nilsson, American ace Tanner Whitten and brother and sister Andreas and Jessica Bäckman in having signed up to the inaugural campaign of RX2. Further driver announcements will be made over the coming days and weeks.
The 2017 RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires will take in seven rounds across three continents in support of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy, visiting Mettet in Belgium, Lydden Hill in Great Britain, Hell in Norway, Höljes in Sweden, Trois-Rivières in Canada, Lohéac in France and Cape Town in South Africa.
