Motorsport.tv has a real treat for you this weekend with round seven of the FIA World Rallycross Championship coming LIVE from Holjes. With overtaking opportunities galore into the spectacular uphill turn one, the banked Velodrome hairpin and the enormous jump leading into the final corner, the 1.2 km Swedish circuit is rightly held up as the greatest purpose-built rallycross venue in the world and is a huge draw for the fans, with 45,000 people expected in Varmland across the weekend. Don’t miss a moment of the action, LIVE on Motorsport.tv!
Local talent is strongly represented in RX, with second-generation racer Johan Kristofferson leading the points for Petter Solberg’s Volkswagen team, just eight points ahead of defending champion Mattias Ekstrom, who gave the Audi S1 a first win at Holjes in only its third appearance in 2014. However, Ekstrom has been forced to pass up his chances of winning at home for a third time due to a clash with DTM at the Norisring, leaving relief driver P-G Andersson with the daunting task of taking points off Ekstrom’s championship rivals. But it’s not just Kristofferson and Lydden Hill winner Solberg that Andersson will have to worry about – Timmy Hansen has come agonizingly close to winning his home round for the last two years, penalised for an overly physical final corner move on Ekstrom in 2015, then passed on the final lap last year by Andreas Bakkerud. After a puncture robbed him of victory in Belgium, could Hansen finally banish his bad luck?
This is a good weekend for 4WD beasts sliding around on loose gravel, as the FIA World Rally Championship heads east for Rally Poland. After taking his first victory last time out in Sardinia, Estonia’s Ott Tanak will be hoping he can make it two from two at an event where he has always fared well, while M-Sport team-mate Sebastien Ogier could become the joint-second most successful driver in the near 100-year history of the event if he takes his third win here. Having benched Kris Meeke after his third roll in as many rallies in Sardinia, Citroen’s hopes lie squarely on the shoulders of 2016 winner Andreas Mikkelsen, but in only his second outing in a modern WRC car, can he take the fight to the championship leaders?
Next it’s Delayed-as-Live coverage from the FIA European Truck Racing Championship’s season highlight, the ADAC Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. After a disappointing weekend in Misano plagued by mechanical troubles for his new IVECO truck, defending champion Jochen Hahn looking to bounce back on home turf and reduce the gap to series leader Adam Lacko, who racked up three wins from four in the Italian sunshine. Not far behind him though is Germany’s Steffi Halm, enjoying her best season to date in the Reinert MAN truck. Can Halm upstage the boys?
One week on from Tony Cairoli’s clean sweep in Italy, the FIM MXGP Championship reconvenes in Portugal with LIVE coverage of round 12 in Agueda. Cairoli delighted his home fans with a double win in Ottobiano and consolidated his championship lead in the process, but had to work hard for it as KTM team-mate Jeffrey Herlings ran him close in both outings. After a steady start to his first season in the class, the Dutchman has been one of the standpoint performers since Latvia in May and could mount a challenge on the battle brewing for second between Gautier Paulin and Clement Desalle with another win in Portugal. Watch out too for Tim Gajser, back after an injury forced him to skip France and Russia. Could the defending champion carry on where he left off in the spring?
Staying on two-wheels, there’s LIVE action from the Italian Superbikes at Mugello as the next generation of domestic talent hopes to emulate great names such as Agostini, Biaggi, Rossi and Simoncelli, while the Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup return to the Sachsenring, with Spaniard Aleix Viu leading the way.
Then, if that’s not enough, be sure to catch highlights from round three of the Blancpain GT Series Asia from Suzuka in Japan as Max Goetz joined the fray in the championship-leading GruppeM Mercedes alongside Hunter Abbott, and a double bill of NASCAR from the Iowa Speedway. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Hendrick protégé William Byron resumed his search for his first win after missing out to Cup star Denny Hamlin in a photo-finish at Kentucky, while in the Camping World Truck Series, could John Hunter Nemechek make it two wins in a row?
Friday 30th June
18:55 – The Flying Lap, Episode 14
20:30 – NHRA Drag Racing Championship, Round 10, Summernationals
22:00 – Rally Ypres Review
22:35 – FIA World Rally Championship, Round 8, Rally Poland (Day 1)
Saturday 1st July
12:50 – LIVE Italian Motorcycle Racing, Rd 5, Mugello (Moto 3 Race 1)
13:40 – LIVE Italian Motorcycle Racing, Rd 5, Mugello (Superbikes Race 1)
14:30 – LIVE Italian Motorcycle Racing, Rd 5, Mugello (600 Supersport Race 1)
15:20 – LIVE Italian Motorcycle Racing, Rd 5, Mugello (Pre-Moto 3 Race 1)
16:15 – Delayed-as-Live Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup, Rd 3, Sachsenring (Race 1)
17:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 3, Nürburgring (Race 1)
17:50 – Delayed-as-Live FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 3, Nürburgring (Race 2)
19:15 – Ginetta GT5 Challenge, Rd 4, Silverstone
20:30 – Blancpain GT Series Asia, Rd 3, Suzuka
21:30 – NASCAR Xfinity Series, Round 14, Iowa Speedway
22:35 – FIA World Rally Championship, Round 8, Rally Poland (Day 2)
Sunday 2nd July
13:00 – LIVE FIA World Rallycross Championship, Rd 7, Holjes
15:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MXGP World Championship, Rd 12, Portugal (Race 1)
16:00 – LIVE FIM MX2 World Championship, Rd 12, Portugal (Race 2)
17:00 – LIVE FIM MXGP World Championship, Rd 12, Portugal (Race 2)
18:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 3, Nürburgring (Race 3)
18:50 – Delayed-as-Live FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Rd 3, Nürburgring (Race 4)
20:15 – Ferrari Challenge Europe, Rd 3, Hungaroring
21:30 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Round 9, Iowa Speedway
22:35 – FIA World Rally Championship, Round 8, Rally Poland (Day 3)
