Niclas Grönholm and Klara Andersson will head up Construction Equipment Dealer Team’s maiden assault on the World Rallycross Championship this year.
The Nordic team will be run by renowned Scandinavian Touring Car Championship outfit PWR Racing, with former EKS team manager Emil Axelsson at the helm alongside Daniel Haglöf.
The team will have a distinctive SET Promotion feel about it in 2022, with Grönholm and Andersson as drivers and Jussi Pinomäki acting as team manager.
Grönholm’s family team GRX has had a close relationship with Pinomäki in the world championship while Andersson has raced for the team’s esports division.
“CE Dealer Team and its partners strive for gender equality and our program is a key part in driving this shift via our talented drivers Klara and Niclas,” said Pinomäki.
“The duo complement each other well in terms of raw talent and experience. We are confident that we have a robust setup that will enable our long-term goal of fighting for the FIA World Rallycross Championship titles.
“With that said, the competition in World RX is extremely tough and we are humble to the task ahead of us in this new constellation, we will work calmly and methodically towards our goals.”
Six-time World RX event winner Grönholm, who is dovetailing a campaign in RallyX Nordic this year in an ICE Hyundai for his family GRX team, believes that the experience across CE Dealer Team should enable him to hit the ground running.
I'm really pumped to get this new and ground-breaking journey goingNiclas Grönholm
“We need to work very hard for each round and while the team is a new constellation, we have a lot of combined experience and I think we can pull some surprises this year,” Grönholm said.
“I’m delighted to race together with Klara, I’m really pumped to get this new and ground-breaking journey going together.”
Following a breakthrough 2021 season in which she claimed the Swedish 2150 national title and made her international debut in the all-electric RX2e championship, Andersson continues her ascension to the top tier of rallycross this year and becomes the first female driver to embark on a full, top class World RX campaign.
“I have a lot to learn, but my long-term goal is to become the first female World Rallycross champion,” explained Andersson, who will also make her Extreme E debut in Sardinia with Xite Energy Racing after missing the opening round due to COVID-19.
“I have an unconditional love for rallycross, it’s so intense and unpredictable, and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of our cars for the pre-season testing.
“While I have rallycross experience, the World RX and the awesome 680hp electric beasts that we will race are new to me. None of us are expecting to get anything for free, we have plenty of hard work ahead of us to establish ourselves at the top.”
World RX will kick off officially at Höljes with a non-championship ‘launch event’ on July 2-3 before heading to the Nürburgring for the first points-scoring round of the season on July 30-31.
2022 World RX lineup so far
GCK Motorsport – TBA, TBA
Hansen Motorsport – Timmy Hansen, Kevin Hansen
Volkswagen Dealerteam – Johan Kristoffersson, TBA
Münnich Motorsport – TBA, TBA
ESmotorsport – TBA, TBA
CE Dealer Team – Niclas Grönholm, Klara Andersson
