The FIA's decision to take over the promotion of the FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX) has taken the rallycross community by surprise, but the move does not seem to have affected the Hansen clan.
After IMG's tenure from 2013 until the end of 2020 and Rallycross Promoter's management until November 2024, the World RX will move forward without a private operator for the first time in years.
While the FIA's call for bids to find a successor to Rallycross Promoter was largely unsuccessful, Kevin Hansen sees the situation as reassuring rather than problematic.
"The FIA assessed the market, analysed all the candidates and finally realised that they could do better. The World RX is its championship and the governing body has decided to take matters into its own hands with the ambition to make it something fantastic," says Kevin Hansen.
"If we look at previous promoters, as was the case until last year, their primary objective in rallycross was to make a profit, just like any other business. In that context, there's always a tendency to try and squeeze money from all possible sources to maximise profits and ensure returns for investors. Things will be different now that the FIA is in charge of promoting World RX," explains the younger Hansen brother.
"From now on, any profit generated by the championship can be reinvested in the sport to ensure its growth. In its statement, the FIA also stated that it will work with the different ASNs to strengthen the development of rallycross, from the grassroots to the top. And let's not forget the European Championship, which plays a crucial role in the development of young drivers, while the World Championship must take a further step to establish itself as a truly global competition"
While Kevin Hansen acknowledges that the previous promoters did a valuable job, he also recognises their limitations.
"I think the last two promoters, particularly IMG, did a good job up to a point. But when the manufacturers got involved, they became too focused on financial gain. At the same time, the technical regulations failed to keep costs under control. As a result, manufacturers started to pull out at the end of the 2018 season because the economic model was no longer viable. Then came the 2020 pandemic, which only made matters worse. IMG eventually decided to shut down its entire motorsport division, pulling out of both rallycross and speedway," recalls Hansen.
For the Swedish driver, however, the most damaging strategic mistake came from IMG's successor, who introduced a pay-TV model in 2021.
"This paywall significantly reduced our audience, which had previously been much larger. Meanwhile, the manufacturers were no longer involved in attracting new fans through their commercial platforms. Outside of this subscription-based system, there was no meaningful investment to expand World RX's reach," he said.
"As a result, we experienced years of stagnation, with growth that simply did not meet the real needs of the championship. That's how we got to where we are today. In short, some people tried to monetise the sport too aggressively when it was not yet financially stable. Many teams struggled to secure sufficient sponsorship due to the restrictive structure, and at the same time drivers were no longer being properly paid, forcing them to seek opportunities elsewhere".
Indeed, it is no coincidence that almost all of the World RX drivers have found a new home in Extreme E.
"We have been through a very difficult period and it has become essential to break through these limitations and restructure the sport with strong stakeholders who can work together. At the same time we need to reduce costs while continuing to invest in key areas to ensure the growth of World RX," concludes Hansen.