The upcoming Barcelona RX (16-18 September) forms the ninth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy and the penultimate round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship for Supercars, the Super1600 category and the supporting RX Lites Cup.

Staged at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, also home to the Spanish F1 and MotoGP races, the bespoke rallycross circuit – which features a last corner Joker Lap – constructed within the stadium area of the iconic racetrack will host World RX for a second time.

Last year’s Barcelona RX was a resounding success in what marked the sport’s return to Spain for the first since 1989 and the 2016 edition is shaping up to be even bigger. A total of 83 entries across four different categories will compete in Barcelona (22 World RX Supercars; 25 Euro RX Supercars; 26 Super1600 cars and ten RX Lites Cup entries).

With only four rounds of the 2016 season remaining, the Spanish RX round could be crucial in the 2016 title chase where series leaders Petter Solberg and Mattias Ekstrom are separated by just five points.

Solberg won last year’s inaugural Barcelona RX and will be eager to repeat his winning form from 2015 in order to edge further ahead in this year’s World Championship title fight.

Among the World Championship entries, double DTM Champion Timo Scheider will return to World RX and replace Reinis Nitiss in the Muennich Motorsport squad. Nitiss will race with Olsbergs MSE this weekend after departing from the Muennich Motorsport team where he finished fifth overall at the previous round in France.

Having missed France for national championship duty, Sweden’s Kevin Eriksson will also return to World RX action in Barcelona, in his regular OMSE prepared Fiesta. British-based team JRM Racing will field two MINI RX Supercars for Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit and Englishman Guy Wilks.

Wilks, a regular commentator on the official World RX TV show, is delighted to swap TV duties for driving in Barcelona.

He said, “I’ve been to many of the World RX events this season to commentate and, while that’s great fun and has given me a chance to assess the competition at close quarters, there’s nothing like the buzz of competing. It's been more than a year since I last drove the MINI RX so I'm interested to see how the car has developed with its new two-litre engine and to see if I can discover the kind of performance that will really give us a fair chance at the front of the World RX field.”

The FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX) returns to Barcelona for its fourth and penultimate round of the year. It is currently led by Sweden’s Kevin Hansen, who has won all three Euro RX rounds so far this season. Hansen is 23 points ahead of Tord Linnerud in the overall standings and needs to extend his lead over the Norwegian by just three points in order to secure the 2016 title.

Hungary’s Krisztian Szabo leads the FIA European Rallycross Championship for Super1600 after his win in France at the start of the month. He is just seven points ahead of Denmark’s Ulrik Linnemann who will be vying for a victory in Spain to retake the championship points lead.

Andorran Olympian Albert Llovera will be the most local driver racing in Barcelona and will compete in the one-make RX Lites Cup.  Eager to build on experience, gained in his first two appearances in Norway and Sweden, Llovera is aiming for a spot in the final.

“If I can get through the semi-final and into the final, that would be really important for my sponsors, and it would be really exciting. People in Barcelona know me as a rally driver, and I always have a lot of support – the spectators are very enthusiastic,” explained Llovera, whose car run by the LOTTO team is fitted with hand controls due to him being paralyzed from the waist down.

Paul Bellamy, World RX Managing Director for IMG, concluded, “This will be our second time out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and we can expect some extremely close racing as the World Championship nears the end of season and every point counts. There are 120 driver points still available this season and realistically seven drivers are still mathematically able to win this year’s coveted driver’s title.

"As we know, five points separate the top two but only one point separates Johan [Kristoffersson] and Andreas [Bakkerud] who are third and fourth respectively so it will be interesting to see how the standings look after this weekend.

"This will be the second time this year that rallycross has taken place at an F1 venue, with our Hockenheim round having already taken place earlier this season. The organizers of Barcelona RX are very experienced having previously brought X Games to the city and it is encouraging to see the same level of professionalism delivered in our Championship. Motorsport is popular in Barcelona and with a population of more than 1.6 million people, we have the ability to grow this event into one of the biggest.”

From a Cooper Tire point of view

Paul Coates, General Manager – Motorsport, Cooper Tire Europe commented, “It looks like the rallycross circuit at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with its fast tarmac corners and quick changes between tarmac and gravel will provide some exciting racing. In 2015 it proved to be a challenge because of the high ambient and track temperatures coupled with a particularly abrasive paved section.

Our tire engineers will be on hand to monitor tires throughout the weekend. This information, combined with driver feedback, helps our motorsport design and manufacturing facilities in the UK continue to provide the best products for the sport.”