Cooper Tire celebrates inaugural FIA World Rallycross Champion

The inaugural FIA World Rallycross Championship has not only wowed fans across Europe as a high octane action-packed spectacle, but has also now crowned a worthy champion – former World Rally Championship (WRC) star, Petter Solberg.
 
Having won the WRC in 2003, the Norwegian driver secured his World Rallycross Championship victory at the Italian round (28 September).
 
At the round previous, FIA World Rallycross Associate Partner and exclusive tire supplier, Cooper Tire Europe, shadowed Solberg at the German Estering Circuit as the enigmatic driver set up his historic title triumph, with a last-ditch victory taken by the smallest margin in the sport’s history – five thousandths of a second.
 
To see how he did it and get a taste of the ferocious action, see Cooper Tire’s video here:
http://youtu.be/eQxFoaOq0EY
 
PSRX driver, Solberg, took four emphatic World Rallycross wins this season (three consecutively) on his way to the title. The 0.05s German victory came at the expense of former DTM champion, Mattias Ekstrom, in front of 10,000 spectators.
 
Marketing Communications Manager for Cooper Tire Europe, Sarah McRoberts, commented: “We want to congratulate Petter Solberg on becoming not only the inaugural World Rallycross Champion, but also the first ever double discipline FIA World Champion.
 
“It has been a fabulous season so far and we are proud to be associated with such an exciting series. Cooper’s rallycross tires are specifically designed to cope with the incredible demands put on them by the host of talented drivers in World Rallycross and we are committed to delivering a premium tire for this unique motorsport discipline.”
 
With just two rounds of the 2014 season remaining, there are still plenty of thrilling on-track battles to be had and championship positions to be decided. The penultimate round on the calendar takes place this weekend in Turkey (11-12 October).
 
For more information about the FIA World Rallycross Championship, visit http://www.rallycrossrx.com/.