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More Racing
GRX: Las Vegas Preview
Matt Cleary previews the special Las Vegas SEMA round of the Global Rally Cross Championship.
Tanner Foust's flying Ford is just one of many GRC cars that will compete Tuesday at SEMA. (Photo: GRC)
The enthusiast world is set to converge on Sin City this week for the annual edition of the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) show.
Over 60,000 attendees will make their way to the Las Vegas Convention Center to take in a huge range of new products and displays as thousands of exhibitors vie for attention. Show visitors will try to absorb an abundance of automotive and racing options in a town that is designed to overload the senses.
Now in its 44th year, SEMA has blossomed into an absolute happening, featuring everything from bling-tastic giant rims to in-person custom car builds to a range of new product introductions and roll-outs.
While everyone will be looking to see what is next in automotive aftermarket or racing technology, there will also be a chance to have a look at what is next on the racing scene, as Global Rally Cross (GRC) will stage the final round of the 2012 championship Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
As evidenced by the huge displays and heavy presence of high-level corporate management figures, SEMA is an event that manufacturers take very seriously. And this round of GRC competition is well-placed to capture the imagination of a range of industry movers this week as GRC has ambitiously set up a track directly across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center in the Gold lot.
What exactly IS Global Rally Cross?
Think SuperCross Motorcycle racing meets European Rallying meets wild Gymkhana meets some Evil Knievel and Joey Chitwood thrown in there, all coming together in a tight package of racing that seems to perfectly reflect America’s narrowing attention span.
Utilizing rally-prepared 600 hp all-wheel drive machines prepared to FIA European Rallycross Championship specification, GRC stages a series of quick heat races to minnow the field down to 10 cars for the grand final.
The machinery includes the Hyundai Veloster, Subaru WRX STi, Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, and for the Scandinavian Flick set, even a pair of Saabs.
With the exception of the Los Angeles street-based X Games round, the 2012 GRC season has been staged in conjunction with NASCAR events, utilizing segments of pit lane as part of the mixed surface racing that includes some breathtaking jumps. This week’s Vegas race has given course designers a freer hand, and the track features whoops, a water splash, a banked corner and of course, a significant jump. That jump has already caught one competitor out as David Binks’ Ford Fiesta suffered significant damage in Sunday’s practice. Binks has already returned to the track, but his eBay Ford Fiesta suffered too much damage to be repaired in time.
The 2012 season has attracted some of the best talent from across the globe, with Marcus Gronholm winning the opening two rounds before WRC Champion Sebastian Loeb won the X Games round.
The Las Vegas entry list includes a range of names who were names before they went racing, like Dave Mirra, Ken Block, and Bucky Lasek, as well as Travis Pastrana, who won the GRC race in New Hampshire but is not entered to compete this week (although he will be on site to show his support).
The stage is set for a Championship battle, as 2011 GRC Champion Tanner Foust leads his teammate Brian Deegan by just 6 points heading into Tuesday’s event.
“This (finale race) is going to be pretty brutal,” said Foust. “This track is just gnarly so it’s going to be fun… This track is unique this year because it’s in a parking lot right across the street from the Convention Center in Las Vegas and SEMA is going on, so it’s not fitting into a NASCAR track as they have been all season. It’s pretty tight and technical and it’s got a dirt jump instead of a metal jump and then all the industry people from SEMA are going to walk across the street and pack the stands so it’s going to be pretty cool.”
With experience at Skip Barber Racing School, Lime Rock Park, and several IndyCar teams, Matt Cleary has covered open wheel and sports car racing for over a decade. Working for Sunday Group Management, Cleary also provides strategic motorsports consulting for a range of clients in the sport. You can follow him on Twitter @sundaygroup
Over 60,000 attendees will make their way to the Las Vegas Convention Center to take in a huge range of new products and displays as thousands of exhibitors vie for attention. Show visitors will try to absorb an abundance of automotive and racing options in a town that is designed to overload the senses.
Now in its 44th year, SEMA has blossomed into an absolute happening, featuring everything from bling-tastic giant rims to in-person custom car builds to a range of new product introductions and roll-outs.
While everyone will be looking to see what is next in automotive aftermarket or racing technology, there will also be a chance to have a look at what is next on the racing scene, as Global Rally Cross (GRC) will stage the final round of the 2012 championship Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
As evidenced by the huge displays and heavy presence of high-level corporate management figures, SEMA is an event that manufacturers take very seriously. And this round of GRC competition is well-placed to capture the imagination of a range of industry movers this week as GRC has ambitiously set up a track directly across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center in the Gold lot.
What exactly IS Global Rally Cross?
Think SuperCross Motorcycle racing meets European Rallying meets wild Gymkhana meets some Evil Knievel and Joey Chitwood thrown in there, all coming together in a tight package of racing that seems to perfectly reflect America’s narrowing attention span.
Utilizing rally-prepared 600 hp all-wheel drive machines prepared to FIA European Rallycross Championship specification, GRC stages a series of quick heat races to minnow the field down to 10 cars for the grand final.
The machinery includes the Hyundai Veloster, Subaru WRX STi, Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, and for the Scandinavian Flick set, even a pair of Saabs.
With the exception of the Los Angeles street-based X Games round, the 2012 GRC season has been staged in conjunction with NASCAR events, utilizing segments of pit lane as part of the mixed surface racing that includes some breathtaking jumps. This week’s Vegas race has given course designers a freer hand, and the track features whoops, a water splash, a banked corner and of course, a significant jump. That jump has already caught one competitor out as David Binks’ Ford Fiesta suffered significant damage in Sunday’s practice. Binks has already returned to the track, but his eBay Ford Fiesta suffered too much damage to be repaired in time.
The 2012 season has attracted some of the best talent from across the globe, with Marcus Gronholm winning the opening two rounds before WRC Champion Sebastian Loeb won the X Games round.
The Las Vegas entry list includes a range of names who were names before they went racing, like Dave Mirra, Ken Block, and Bucky Lasek, as well as Travis Pastrana, who won the GRC race in New Hampshire but is not entered to compete this week (although he will be on site to show his support).
The stage is set for a Championship battle, as 2011 GRC Champion Tanner Foust leads his teammate Brian Deegan by just 6 points heading into Tuesday’s event.
“This (finale race) is going to be pretty brutal,” said Foust. “This track is just gnarly so it’s going to be fun… This track is unique this year because it’s in a parking lot right across the street from the Convention Center in Las Vegas and SEMA is going on, so it’s not fitting into a NASCAR track as they have been all season. It’s pretty tight and technical and it’s got a dirt jump instead of a metal jump and then all the industry people from SEMA are going to walk across the street and pack the stands so it’s going to be pretty cool.”
With experience at Skip Barber Racing School, Lime Rock Park, and several IndyCar teams, Matt Cleary has covered open wheel and sports car racing for over a decade. Working for Sunday Group Management, Cleary also provides strategic motorsports consulting for a range of clients in the sport. You can follow him on Twitter @sundaygroup
DTM Zandvoort
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