Citroen-supported electric rallycross car to debut in Latvia
The works-supported Citroen C3 ERX electric rallycross car, initially planned to race in the first Projekt E event during World Rallycross’ Swedish opening weekend, will make its debut in Latvia next week, driven by Cyril Raymond.
World rally star Mads Ostberg was planned to drive the STARD-built C3 ERX for its maiden outing at the Swedish round, which was won by Ken Block, but the Norwegian was ‘unable to participate because of the global coronavirus pandemic and its effect on the project,’ according to a STARD statement.
Ostberg’s WRC2 commitments at Rally Turkey with Citroen Racing next week mean he is unavailable to drive in the Latvian Projekt E round, where two time RX2 International Series champion Cyril Raymond, who won European Rallycross Supercar events in 2018 and raced a Renault Clio in World RX last year with the GCK Academy team, will debut the new car.
STARD ran its first Projekt E build, a Ford Fiesta, in public for the first time at the Bikernieki circuit on the outskirts of Riga during the World RX event 12 months ago.
"I'm delighted to join the Projekt E grid, especially at the wheel of a French car,” said Raymond. “I've made my reputation in single-specification categories, being double RX2 Champion, and I really believe that the Projekt E format suits my style completely. I’m convinced that electric rallycross will not only provide me with the opportunities I need to carry on in this sport, but will allow drivers to make a career out of racing in this discipline, which is perfectly suited to demonstrating the incredible capabilities of electric technology.”
The C3 ERX is based on Citroen’s C3 R5 chassis, fitted with STARD’s ‘revolution’ triple-motor, twin-transmission, four-wheel drive electric powertrain.
“Citroen has an amazing history in global motorsport and it’s an honour to be able to give the new Citroen C3 ERX its first competitive outing,” said Raymond. “I'd like to thank STARD, Citroen Racing and Manfred Stohl for the trust they're putting in me to drive the car, and I will put in maximum effort to do my best in Riga.”
Norwegian team Holten Motorsport ran its Projekt E specification electric car in the opening round of the Norwegian Rallycross Championship last weekend at Gardermoen, where Svein Bjarte Holten set a fastest time in qualifying against conventional rallycross Supercars and finished third in the final.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.