Aksel Lund Svindal is well-known for his snowboarding exploits, having received two gold medals within the Winter Olympics and 5 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. Since retiring from the game, he turned his eyes in the direction of auto racing, and on 13/14 August will showcase his driving skill in his residence nation as he enters the FIA RX2e Championship spherical in Hell, Norway. Will probably be his maiden foray into rallycross.
“I’ve large respect for rallycross drivers as a result of its a sport that’s simply action-packed,” stated Svindal. “There’s a lot taking place, and while you exit within the automotive for the primary time, it’s definitely a handful however it handles very well. As Norwegians, we’re accustomed to the acceleration of electrical automobiles, and each the acceleration and dealing with of the RX2e automotive on such tough surfaces may be very spectacular.
“Even when I’m solely an novice and that is only for enjoyable, to go to Hell and see every little thing up shut and be a part of the motion is one thing I’m actually trying ahead to. It’s no secret that I’m an enormous advocate of sustainability and innovation, and with the rising electrification of motorsport and the unbelievable efficiency that can deliver, I’m tremendous excited to see what the longer term has in retailer.”
The Hell spherical, held at Lånkebanen, is the second of the 2022 RX2e season. To arrange for the beginning, he take a look at drove an RX2e automotive at Circuit de Calafat in Catalonia with Klara Andersson and the unrelated Nils Andersson as mentors.
Though he escalated his driving profession following his exit from snowboarding in 2018, Svindal already possessed prior aggressive motorsport expertise when he competed within the Audi Sport TT Cup‘s 2015 Purple Bull Ring spherical. Amongst his opponents within the occasion have been fellow skiers Felix Neureuther and Marcel Hirscher, whereas Svindal’s #96 was additionally piloted by ski veterans Jon Olsson and Sven Hannawald in the course of the season.
Now with extra time to pursue racing, Svindal grew to become a model ambassador for Porsche in 2019, and three years later joined the Porsche Dash Problem Scandinavia. Representing Porsche Expertise Racing alongside fellow Norwegian skier Ingemar Stenmark, he received the season opener at Anderstorp Raceway in Might and is presently fifth in factors.
In January, Svindal and Stenmark participated within the Race of Champions‘ celeb race in Sweden, the place they competed in opposition to one other skier in Anja Pärson and tennis star Jonas Björkman. Svindal held off Stenmark by 0.8 seconds to win. Though the celeb competitors used Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport automobiles, the primary Race of Champions featured RX2e vehicles.
The 39-year-old is amongst a handful of Olympic medalists who can also boast racing on their résumés, particularly in FIA-sanctioned championships. For instance, reigning Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah received the 2012 bronze in skeet taking pictures. FIA World Rallycross alumnus Guerlain Chicherit can also be a four-time ski freeriding world champion.
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming such a pure, dyed-in-the-wool racer and sporting icon as Aksel to the World RX household in Hell,” commented Rallycross Promoter GmbH govt director Arne Dirks. “He’s a world-class athlete from a very completely different sport however whose skillset, dedication, and lightning-fast reactions ought to equip him effectively to deal with the varied challenges he’ll face in RX2e. We will’t wait to see how he will get on subsequent weekend.”
