OLSBERGS MSE LAUNCHES MULTI-CHAMPIONSHIP RALLYCROSS CAMPAIGN

April 13, 2015 by Olsbergs MSE

• Talented young driver roster represents global force in rallycross

NYNÄSHAMN, Sweden (April 13, 2015) - Defending champions Olsbergs MSE today announce their return to the worldwide rallycross stage with a full roster of drivers preparing for an international, multi-championship campaign. The team finished atop the podium in both the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship last season and is again aiming for global dominance.

'We have the best young talents in the world driving for OMSE this season,' said team owner Andreas Eriksson. 'Our philosophy is to promote drivers through the ranks and support them with the best equipment. Our lineup shows a huge amount of potential in 2015.'

In Red Bull Global Rallycross, defending champion Joni Wiman returns to the team in the Red Bull / Bluebeam Ford Fiesta ST, this year joined by Supercars newcomer Mitchell DeJong in the Red Bull Ford Fiesta ST.

In World RX, drivers Reinis Nitiss and Andreas Bakkerud will be back to OMSE to defend their FIA World Rallycross Teams Championship title in a pair of bold red Ford Fiesta ST rallycross machines.

Also joining the team this season is Timur Timerzyanov, who will launch a wild card campaign for the drivers' title in his Red Bull / Viatti Ford Fiesta ST. His entry will be fielded by Namus OMSE

OMSE returns to competition with support from technical partner Ford. 'We're excited to continue our partnership with the Olsbergs MSE Ford team in both Red Bull Global Rallycross and the FIA World Rallycross Championship,' said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing.

'The team and its Fiesta ST program have won four straight championships in Red Bull Global Rallycross, as well as the 2014 FIA World Rallycross teams title. They've got an excellent platform with a young and talented driver lineup. We're really looking forward to the 2015 season.

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OMSE Ford Fiesta rallycross cars are class of the field at any race they enter. The powerful, 600-horsepower all-wheel drive Supercars machines are top performers that have scored countless wins and podiums at races around the world.

DeJong, at 17, is the youngest driver in Red Bull Global Rallycross. He won all but two races in the 2014 GRC Lites development series and will step up to the top Supercars class for the first time in 2015.

Teammate Wiman transitions from the rookie to an expert role on the team as he returns to defend his 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross drivers' title. The 21-year-old driver earned five podiums last season -- three second-place finishes and two thirds -- en route to his first drivers' title.

Bakkerud, 23, and Nitiss, 19, proved a potent pair on the World RX championship last year, together winning the coveted FIA World Rallycross Teams Championship title for OMSE. In 12 rounds of competition, they achieved 10 podium finishes between them, including three outright victories.

Team newcomer Timerzyanov, a two-time European Rallycross champion (2012, 2013), says he's excited about the opportunity to work with the OMSE squad this season. 'Team boss Andreas Eriksson wants to be the best and he will do anything to try to be the best,' said Timerzyanov. 'The people in this organization know every bolt on the cars and they know what they need to do to win. I trust this team.'

OMSE's multi-series campaigns in rallycross are guided by the new team slogan 'Extreme Forces,' representing their united worldwide challenge for rallycross dominance. Fans can follow the team across social media platforms using the #OMSE #XForces hashtags.

The successful Lites development series will also return in 2015 with full calendars supporting both the World RX and Global Rallycross championships. OMSE will field Lites cars in both championships, as well as in the RallyX Scandinavia series.

Confirmed for OMSE's 2015 GRC Lites squad are young American Austin Cindric and Swede Oliver Eriksson, who will also race a Lites car at home in the RallyX Scandinavia series. Kevin Eriksson will race in the RX Lites championship and race a Supercar in the RallyX Scandinavia series alongside Sebastian Eriksson. Sandra Hultgren also joins the Lites field in the RallyX Scandinavia series.

The OMSE organization is led by Andreas Eriksson, himself a championship rally and rallycross driver. He is supported by Chief Financial Officer Jan-Erik Steen and three-time European Rallycross Champion Jussi Pinomaki.

Rallycross is a blend of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition. It promises intense crowd-pleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment. As many as 10 drivers line up to start at once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, hills and transitions between pavement and gravel. It is sometimes described as an action motorsport and is emerging as the top youth-market motorsport in the world.

ABOUT OLSBERGS MSE:

Olsbergs MSE designs, builds and operates winning competition cars for motorsport. It is recognized as the global authority in the growing sport of rallycross.

OMSE is a Ford Racing technical partner, developing the Ford Fiesta platform for international competition. Together, Ford and OMSE have earned an astonishing 20 X Games medals, including podium sweeps at the world's leading action sports contest (Los Angeles, 2011; Brazil 2013). The team has also scored every rallycross championship in the United States since the sport debuted in that country in 2010, and won the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Teams Championship.

Founded in 2009, the organization represents a partnership between historic Swedish industrial company Olsbergs and rallycross specialists Motor Sport Evolution. In 2013, the company expanded its operations into the United States and now has dual headquarters with operations in both Sweden and the United States.

In 2015, Olsbergs MSE campaigned winning cars in World RX, the Global Rallycross Championship, and the Rallycross Supercar Scandinavia championship.