Timo Scheider has gained the title of “Driver Of The 12 months” within the annual FIA World Rallycross Championship ballot to search out the Prime Ten Drivers of the 12 months. The vote, held on the official world rallycross web site, declared the fourth-place finisher and occasion winner in South Africa one of the best driver of the 2023 area.
Scheider’s 12 months
Earlier than the season began, Scheider was a rank outsider in chance to win any occasions. For all of the double DTM champ’s expertise, he was beginning the yr in outdated equipment, racing in a 2022 SEAT Ibiza. “We all know issues shall be robust to start with in final yr’s automobile,” Scheider even admitted, “however the brand new automobile is because of be prepared later within the season and that ought to enable us to take an honest step ahead and combat with the others.”
He didn’t have to attend lengthy. In a surprising show, Scheider stepped onto the rostrum in solely the second occasion of the season in Hell, Norway. As soon as once more reaching the ultimate in Sweden, the championship then went on hiatus following the hearth at Lydden Hill in July. As soon as the choice was taken to finish the season in RX2e equipment, many assumed that Scheider could be at one thing of a drawback. Different drivers, akin to Kevin Hansen, have years of expertise racing these machines, whereas Scheider, not developing by means of the ranks of rallycross as others have, didn’t have such expertise to fall again on.
So it was a completely gorgeous flip of occasions when, in solely the second occasion within the ZEROID X1 automobiles, Scheider defeated all of the competitors and gained on the Killarney Worldwide Raceway. He overcame a gap warmth puncture to high the general heats leaderboard for the primary time in his profession. He defended mightily from a really quick Hansen to win his semi ultimate, earlier than capitalising on a fierce battle between Hansen and Johan Kristoffersson to take the general win within the ultimate.
The feelings for Scheider had been clearly very excessive after the win. “The extent of competitors in World RX is so excessive and everyone knows how tough it’s to beat Johan,” he defined, “so I’m super-proud for each myself and the ALL-INKL.COM group – they put a lot power into this challenge and have saved believing in me. It’s fairly overwhelming, to be trustworthy.”
On the ultimate double header of the yr in Hong Kong, Scheider managed to seize yet another podium earlier than the winter break. On account of these outcomes, Scheider completed simply out of the highest three in fourth place within the ultimate drivers’ standings. However is the underdog David versus Goliath story that propelled him to Driver of the 12 months standing with the followers.
Equally, second place within the rankings went to Patrick O’Donovan, the younger star who was a critical contender for the Euro RX1 title in solely his first season within the championship, and was extremely aggressive in his world rx debut in Hong Kong. Six-time world champion Kristoffersson was third, adopted by Euro RX1 privateer Sivert Svardal who claimed a vastly fashionable maiden victory in Hell.
Fifth went to Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, the RX2e star who challenged the massive weapons in world rallycross in Belgium. Sixth went to Klara Andersson, seventh to the perennially unfortunate Euro RX1 runner up Jānis Baumanis, adopted by Sébastian Loeb in eighth. Niclas Grönholm, who got here third within the championship, got here in ninth, whereas championship runner up and the one occasion winner in 2023 aside from Kristoffersson and Scheider, Kevin Hansen, rounds out the highest ten.
With the driving force rankings sorted out, all eyes flip to 2024. Together with a revised factors system and a brand new tyre supplier, the largest change for the 2024 is the “Battle of Applied sciences” idea which is able to pit electrical automobiles towards their inside combustion engine counterparts. With a hopefully expanded grid, the battle for Driver of the 12 months 2024 will certainly be a troublesome contest to win.
