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Volkswagen Partners With Andretti Autosport for 2014 Global Rallycross Season

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Andretti Autosport, one of the premier teams currently competing in international motorsport, has announced its intent to enter the 2014 Global Rallycross season. The Indianapolis-based operation will compete using Volkswagen Supercars.

“We are excited to confirm our intent to compete with Volkswagen in Global Rallycross events, and look forward to sharing more details at a later date,” Andretti Autosport released in a statement. A more detailed unveiling, including the team’s full 2014 lineup, will take place at the Chicago Auto Show on February 6.

Led by team owner and 42-time IndyCar race winner Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport boasts four IndyCar Series championships, the most recent of which came in the 2012 season, and two Indianapolis 500 victories. Andretti Autosport  has competed in the American Le Mans Series, various steps of IndyCar’s Mazda Road to Indy ladder and is also due to compete in the FIA Formula E Championship in its inaugural season.

In 2013, privateer team Marklund Motorsport fielded Volkswagens in select GRC events. Five drivers, including two-time World Rally champion Carlos Sainz and two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom, raced the cars.

Image via Autoweek

Fiesta ST, Expanded Partnerships Highlight Ford’s 2013 Global Rallycross Commitment

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN (Feb. 6, 2013) – After finishing 1-2 in last year’s Global Rallycross Championship with drivers Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan, Ford announced today that they are stepping up their commitment to this year’s GRC season by introducing the new Fiesta ST to the series.

The updated car is based on the 2014 Ford Fiesta ST, a performance version of the Fiesta already available in showrooms across America. Foust and Deegan at Olsbergs MSE will debut the new Fiesta ST at April’s Global X Games round in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, while Ken Block at Hoonigan Racing Division is in the process of building a new Fiesta ST to debut later this year.

“Global Rallycross has been a great series for us to demonstrate what Ford’s small performance cars can do,” Ford Racing director Jamie Allison said in a release. “With great drivers and teams, and now a formal manufacturer partnership with OlsbergsMSE, Ford Racing’s commitment to Global Rallycross is quickly growing. We’re excited about the debut of the Fiesta ST GRC car this year, and it will be fantastic to see Ford’s global performance car compete in four countries around the world this season.”

Continuing its support of X Games after success in years past, Ford will be the sole automotive sponsor of all four Global X Games events this year, which include stops at Barcelona in May, Munich in June, and Los Angeles in August. Last year, Ford won silver and bronze medals at X Games in Los Angeles with Block and Deegan, respectively.

Ford has also formalized its partnership with Olsbergs MSE in order to encourage the car’s development. Olsbergs MSE fielded a minimum of three Fiestas in each race of last year’s GRC season, scoring four wins and podium finishes at all six events.

“Olsbergs MSE has a good history developing extreme/rallycross cars, and with the longer-term manufacturer relationship with Ford and its technical support, together we will develop even stronger rallycross cars,” added Andreas Eriksson, Olsbergs MSE team principal. “The partnership is exactly what Olsbergs MSE needs to continue to be a winning team in the coming years.”

Foust, Deegan, and the new car will all be at this week’s Chicago Auto Show, with the Fiesta ST on display on Thursday and Friday.

Image via Ford Racing