Ahlin-Kottulinsky joins RX150 line-up for BelgiumSwedish racing driver Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky will make her RX150 Rallycross Championship debut at the fifth round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Maasmechelen in Belgium (July 16 – 17), driving the ODYSSEY Batteries-backed celebrity buggy. Ahlin-Kottulinsky, who is competing in an Audi R8 LMS car in the ADAC GT Masters in Germany this year, is no stranger to rallycross. She raced an RX Lites Cup car in 2014 and finished fifth at her home round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship support category at Holjes. “Rallycross is so, so much fun and there is so much action. It’s really different to circuit racing,” she said. “In a circuit race you can think about where to overtake a car for four laps, but in rallycross it is only four laps long so you don’t have that time, you just have to take all the chances you have. There is so much adrenaline inside the car. I’ll never forget making the final at Holjes.” The celebrity RX150 buggy has been driven previously by World RX stars Andreas Bakkerud, Reinis Nitiss and Janis Baumanis, while rally legend Dai Llewellin drove the machine at the last round at Pembrey. An incredible list of top motorsport names have driven the RX150 buggies since their inception, including many F1, WRC, DTM, WTCC and Le Mans champions, having been used at the Race of Champions on a number of occasions. Unlike many Scandinavian drivers who have previously competed in Crosskart, Ahlin-Kottulinsky has never driven a buggy, but is looking forward to the challenge and thinks her programme with Audi this year will stand her in good stead on her return to rallycross. “At my last race at the Lausitzring we were just one place out of the points. It’s a big challenge, because what I did before was just to drive front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive cars, the R8 is a lot different; 580bhp, rear-wheel drive. I’m learning step-by-step and it’s getting better and better all the in time,” she explained. “I’ve no experience at all of a buggy, but I’ve heard that they are similar to a Supercar on lap time so it will be fast! It’s a good challenge to do this, you learn from every bit of driving you get to do, in any car.” RX150 Rallycross Championship promoter Ollie O’Donovan is excited to have Ahlin-Kottulinsky racing the ODYSSEY buggy at Maasmechelen.“The Audi TT Cup (in which she raced last year) is a hard series and Mikaela showed last season that she has the ability to race with some of the best drivers out there,” said O’Donovan. “It will be interesting to see how she gets on in the RX150. With the event running over two days, that helps any newcomer because it gives them some time to reflect on practice and the opening race of the weekend on Saturday evening and see where they can find more time. It would be fantastic to see her mixing it with the regular guys and fighting to be on the podium.” The RX150 Rallycross Championship is currently led by reigning champion, Chrissy Palmer. RX150 Rallycross Championship standings: 1 Chrissy Palmer 128 |
