- South African in hopes to provide a challenge for his rivals
- Woolridge will make use of all his raid experience although the lack of side-by-side racing will be a defiance for him
- Extreme E Driver focused on learning and progressing positively heat by heat
Wednesday 10th August
South African ace Lance Woolridge will get to his grips when he makes his rallycross bow at RX2e Rallycross Championship – Round 2 – Ramudden World RX of Norway, on 13 & 14 of August. Excited for this completely new discipline for him, Lance expects to add a set of skills to his driving and enhance his motorsport career.
Lance, aware of his lack of experience in side-by-side racing – he has never taken part in a rallycross race – is fully confident in the experience he has behind him. He is approaching the race weekend with a “step by step” mentality: gain as much experience as possible by focusing on improving heat by heat.
However, the 31-year-old has his own vast pool of motorsport knowledge to fall back on: By being a two-time Class T champion in the South African Cross Country Series, he was signed by Veloce Racing as reserve driver for the inaugural season of the new electric off-road racing series Extreme E in 2021. He made his series debut at the season-ending Jurassic X-Prix in Dorset, replacing Stéphane Sarrazin, and was subsequently promoted to full-time driver for 2022 alongside Christine GZ.
But RX2e will be a completely different proposition for the south African… FIA RX2e, a joint project between Spanish electro-mobility specialist QEV Technologies and Swedish rallycross powerhouse Olsbergs MSE, is the leading support series to the World RX program and will see competitors face off in identical four wheel-drive, all-electric cars capable of generating 250kW (335bhp) of power and up to 510Nm torque. Precisely, one of the key attractions of RX2e is that the emphasis is on driver skill behind the wheel in this one-make series, prioritising skills and ingenuity above all else.
Lance Woolridge will have plenty to learn as he gets up to speed with the frenetic nature of RX2e and goes wheel-to-wheel with drivers boasting much more experience in the discipline.
Lance Woolridge said: “I’m very excited to enter a completely new discipline for me, that will help me to add a set of skills to my driving and enhance my motorsport career. I will be happy to progress my learning and speed throughout the weekend – I know I am up against some very fast drivers with this being their primary discipline I am not expecting to be winning but I hope I can at least provide a challenge for them. Coming from rally raid, I am confident with reading terrain and going fast, but do not often race against other cars side by side so this will be the challenge for me”
“I have never driven the car and have never driven rallycross! I think going to this smaller car from my 2 Tn cross country car, I will feel the car to be a lot more nimble, responsive, and easy to control!
“This new and exciting electric era for motorsport adds an entire new dimension to the sport – I’m excited to be able to add a second discipline of electric motorsport to my career so I am really looking forward to the challenge!”
Janina González, Project Manager, FIA RX2e Championship, said: “The FIA RX2e Championship prides itself on its distinctive ‘arrive and drive’ concept, giving racers an unrivalled opportunity to get behind the wheel of high-performance machinery.
“Lance Woolridge’s participation in Round 2 will be another indication of this accessibility, and we are eager to see how well he can adapt to the European rallycross championship. He will be able to show all his off-road experience, and I’m sure fans will be excited to see how he stacks up on our fiercely competitive field. We wish Lance all the best in Hell, Norway!”
