Thursday, 2nd December 2021, Barcelona – QEV Technologies, the mobility engineering specialist based in Spain, celebrates a major win of this year: RX2e. Last weekend, November 27-28, the final rounds of the 2021 FIA World RX Championship took place at the Nürburgring, and the event included the finale of the 2021 FIA RX2e Championship. In this last round, the all-important championships were decided, as well as other positions in the final classification, all of them highly contested, signalling a culmination of two years of work by QEV Technologies and the high competitiveness of the drivers.
QEV Technologies, taking stock of the 2021 season, proudly concludes that this project has been a real achievement. At every level Spanish engineering has produced a rallycross car that is, all together, an improvement on its predecessor and this is clearly demonstrated by the results achieved at each weekend of competition. The vehicle’s undeniable performance, backed by the excellent reliability and safety it fosters, always guarantees the smooth running of events, as well as the safety of the drivers themselves – without neglecting the frantic and spectacular action that goes hand in hand with rallycross.
For the first time in history, an FIA motorsport competition has included a 100% electric category among other categories with combustion engine. Chosen by the FIA through a public tender, QEV Technologies, specialists in motorsport and electric racing, carried out this task: an all-electric category, created under the arrive-and-drive concept, and a format that is different to others on the World RX support bill.
Rallycross fans, although always faithful to the smell of fuel and the high noise of the engines, have welcomed this new electric category with open arms as the organisations and participants involved have delivered a fully functioning, high quality series from the outset.
If something stands out from the inaugural season, it is the reliability of the RX2e car completing a five-round championship devoid of technical issues. The reliable performance of RX2e throughout the 2021 season highlights the human talent behind the Spanish engineering, as well as its technical capacity to develop and manufacture hard-wearing and safe electric vehicles that can perform at the highest level.
The accessibility of driving an RX2e and its diverse range of setups make it a perfect tool to start your journey in the world of rallycross while at the same time, allowing the driver to work throughout the weekend with the engineers to adapt the car to each track and its characteristics.
The commitment to equality by the FIA, the promoter and QEV Technologies has led to three women participating in the RX2e competition: Klara Andersson, Laia Sanz and Christine GZ. A remarkable number that is expected to be surpassed in the coming years. Their strong results throughout the season – Andersson achieving victory in one of the qualifying heats at the Nürburgring – show that, although there is a long way to go, equal competitions are no longer a thing of the future but the present.
The single spec RX2e championship has put all the focus on the quality of the driver behind the wheel. Such has been the high competitiveness of the cars and the level of the drivers, that the winner of the championship – Belgian ace Guillaume De Ridder – was decided in the Final of the last round, at the Nürburgring. Third place overall was also decided in the dying moments of the season, after a tie-on points and podiums, the canary driver Pablo Suárez eventually taking the spoils having finished higher in the Finals than his rival Patrick O’Donovan.
QEV Technologies congratulates the first RX2e Champion in history Guillaume De Ridder, for his spectacular result in the inaugural season! His determination, ambition and constant performance earned him this great result.
Congratulations to runner-up Jesse Kallio for his well-deserved second place in the championship! It has been spectacular to see this pilot race on the track, showing that he is very capable of fighting for the victory in every race.
Congratulations to the Spanish driver Pablo Suárez, for achieving what, in the eyes of many, seemed an unattainable dream. Congratulations on your third position in the championship!
Finally, QEV Technologies wants to congratulate and thank all the competitors who have participated this year in the FIA RX2e Championship. It has been a thrilling, fair and diverse season, both by nationality and by age, gender and previous experience in motorsports.
Future
QEV Technologies states that 2022 will be a year of consolidation, both for the RX2e category and for the electrification of rallycross. At the moment, it is closing deals with other championships and promoters where RX2e can show its great potential, its ability to generate entertainment and competition in the sport.
As leaders in eRacing, the engineering is working together with the FIA and the promoter on new technical and sporting solutions that will make the RX2e an even more complete and effective machine.
Firstly, QEV Technologies would like to thank the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the new World RX promoter, Rallycross Promoter GmbH, for the opportunity and support throughout the development and formalisation of this successful project. We know that 2022 will be even better.
The engineering acknowledges and thanks the great work and collaboration of all the suppliers involved in the project: AP Racing, BRAID Wheels, Cascadia Motion, MAGELEC Propulsion, OMP Racing, R53 Engineering, ZN (ZeroNoise) and Power Electronics.
Thirdly, QEV Technologies would like to highlight the trust placed in our company and the project by the drivers, who have already seen their expectations about RX2e fulfilled.
We would also like to thank Circuit de Catalunya-Montmeló, Höljes Circuit, Lohéac Circuit, Circuit de Spa and Nürburgring Circuit for their hard work during each race weekend.
Finally, a special mention to our partner OlsbergsMSE. The historic success of the RX2e is due to the excellent relationship and convergence between the two companies, as they have solved and dealt with all the situations they have been exposed to, even in times of pandemic.
About RX2e
RX2e is the 100% electric category of European Rallycross, sanctioned by the FIA, a joint project between QEV Technologies, the Spanish engineering company specialized in electric mobility and the Swedish powerhouse of Rallycross OlsbergsMSE. It is the leading series in support of the FIA World Rallycross Championship this season (2021-2022), being the first international electric step to rallycross and the pathway to the top of the sport for aspiring stars.
One of the key attractions of the RX2e is the emphasis on the skill of the driver behind the wheel in this single-spec series, prioritizing dexterity and ingenuity above all else. The two engines in the RX2e car generate a spectacular 250 kW (335 hp) of power and up to 510 Nm of torque. This represents a significant improvement over the Supercar Lites, the RX2e’s predecessor combustion category, reducing the gap to the World Rallycross Championship supercar class.
On July 5, 2019 the FIA opened the tender for the project. On October 4 of that same year, QEV Technologies was the winner together with its partner OlsbergsMSE, thus initiating the development and manufacture of the test car. In total, 4,000 km of track development have been carried out, under the responsibility of the renowned driver Oliver Eriksson.
Throughout the development of the car, carried out at the Châteauroux, Nysum, Höljes, Piteä, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Calafat circuits, more than 25 drivers tested the RX2e, providing feedback and information on the performance of the prototype. Among them are Sebastian Eriksson, Johan Kristoffersson, Timmy Hansen, Kevin Hansen, Marcus Grönholm, Kevin Eriksson, Anton Marklund, Andreas Bakkerud, Guillaume De Ridder, Damien Meunier, Cyril Raymond and Fraser McConnell.
Benoit Dupont, FIA Off-Road Category Manager, states: “This first year of RX2e has reached all the targets set by the FIA as it showed electric vehicles are a perfect fit for Rallycross. The public could discover these amazing cars that brought a lot of action and allowed a different reading of what was happening on track.”
“It will now stand as the perfect road to electric World RX which will start in 2022. I want to congratulate all the Drivers that took part in the championship this year and especially Guillaume and Jesse for their performances. I want to thank QEV Technologies for the incredible level of reliability shown by these cars and the perfect organisation they put up. On to many other successful seasons of electric Rallycross”, Dupont ends thrilled.
Joan Orús, CEO of QEV Technologies declares: “I am very pleased with the work done by all the people involved in this project. On a personal level, it is satisfying to have developed an electric vehicle from scratch, which has had excellent reviews from everyone: the FIA, the drivers and even other manufacturers,” he continues.
“I want to congratulate all the people who have worked on this, in adverse conditions because of the Covid-19. From QEV Technologies, we have shown once again that, when we commit to a project, we give 100% and meet expectations. After all the months of development, we arrived at the 1st round with a car that is perfectly prepared, reliable, and ready to compete. Also, I want to thank all the suppliers that have worked with us on this project. This would not have been possible with them.
“Now, with great enthusiasm and after many years in the world of electric motorsport, we are beginning to see how competitions are becoming electrified. The future is now, and QEV Technologies continues to work from the leadership to draw new horizons in motorsport!”, concludes excited Joan Orús.
About QEV Technologies
QEV Technologies is a global electromobility and automotive technology company based in Barcelona (Spain), but providing services all around the world. It is made up of professionals from the world of motorsports and competition with extensive experience. Some of the company’s usual services are providing technical support to competition teams or automobile brands, being pioneers in the use and development of cutting-edge technology.
For more information, please contact to:
Hayley Wang
E: wanghui@qevtech.com
