The Embassy/ERA European Rallycross Championship was the forerunner of the FIA European Rallycross Championship. It was organised in 1973 and 1974 by automobile clubs from Austria, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden and Finland (joined in 1974) under the supervision of the Thames Estuary Automobile Club (TEAC) of Great Britain on behalf of the manufacturer of Embassy cigarettes, tobacco company W. D. & H. O. Wills. At the end of 1974 the organisers founded the European Rallycross Association (ERA), before the motor sport of Rallycross was officially recognised by the FIA in 1976.
The Porsche 356 is a sports car that was first produced by Austrian company Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH (1948–1949), and then by German company Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH (1950–1965). It was Porsche's first production automobile. Earlier cars designed by the Austrian company include Cisitalia Grand Prix race car, the Volkswagen Beetle, and Auto Union Grand Prix cars.
The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is a mid-engined sports car designed, manufactured and marketed collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 until 1976. It was only available as a targa-topped two-seat roadster powered by either a flat-4 or flat-6 engine.
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German der Käfer, in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, intended for five occupants, that was manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.
Alexander Wurz is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from 1997 until 2007, and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Prodrive is a British motorsport and advanced engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Aston Martin, Mini and Volkswagen. Its advanced technology division now applies this motorsport engineering approach to deliver engineering solutions into automotive OEMs, aerospace, defence, marine and other sectors, which now represents more than half its turnover. Prodrive also has a specialist composite division based in Milton Keynes where it manufactures lightweight carbon composite CFRP and visual carbon components for many supercars and increasingly for the luxury automotive, aerospace and marine sectors.
Lydden Hill Race Circuit is a motorsport venue in Denton with Wootton, about half-way between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, England. The mile-long circuit is mainly used for Rallycross, Drift, Saloon and Sports car racing as well as Motorcycle racing.
The Ford Escort is a small family car that was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000.
Björn Waldegård was a Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979. His Swedish nickname was "Walle".
The European Rallycross Championship is a rallycross competition held in Europe, organised under the auspices of the FIA.
The 1974 World Sportscar Championship season was the 22nd season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship for Makes and FIA Cup for GT Cars which were contested concurrently over a ten race series from 25 April to 9 November 1974. The World Championship for Makes, which was open to Group 5 Sports Cars and Group 4 GT Cars, was won by Matra and the FIA Cup for GT Cars by Porsche.
M-Sport is an auto racing team and motorsport engineering company headquartered at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. Formed in 1979 by the World Rally Championship driver Malcolm Wilson, and originally known as Malcolm Wilson Motorsport, the company has had varying success entering cars in several rally championships. M-Sport has run Ford cars in the WRC as the official Ford World Rally Team and as independents since 1996, the only team and marque to consistently do so. The business expanded over time to become a successful manufacturer of rally cars, sold to competitors world wide. Besides rally, the company also ran the official Bentley Motorsport outfit competing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup between 2014 and 2019. M-Sport will also provide the official TOCA engine option used in BTCC from 2022.
The Keimola Motor Stadium was a dedicated race track located in Vantaa, Finland. It was founded by Finnish racing driver Curt Lincoln after the closure of the Eläintarha track in 1963. Construction started in 1965 and the track was opened on 12 June 1966. The track was 3.3 km (2.1 mi) long, consisting of eight turns and a 1 km (0.62 mi) home straight. Multiple racing series, including Formula Two, Formula Vee and Interserie, raced on the track during the years it was used. After many years of financial difficulties, the track was abandoned in late 1978. For many years of decay, there are plans to transform it into a residential area.
Olaf Manthey is a German former race car driver, and current owner of Porsche team Manthey Racing.
Johan David Kristoffersson is a Swedish racecar driver. He is a quadruple World Champion having won the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021. In 2018 he won a record breaking 11 out of 12 events in the championship. He is the son of former racing driver and Kristoffersson Motorsport (KMS) team owner Tommy Kristoffersson. He also won the Superstars Series championship in 2012, the same year in which he claimed the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia titles.
The Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship is an auto racing Rallycross series, running in the United Kingdom. From 2020 the championship became known as the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy presented by Cooper Tire.
The 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy was the fifth season of the FIA World Rallycross Championship an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallycross.
Guy Chasseuil is a French former racing driver. During his racing career he specialized in rallying and endurance racing.
Timur Shigabutdinov is a Russian racing driver, currently competing in the FIA European Rallycross Championship, Russian Circuit Racing Series and in the Can-Am X Race. In 2016, he finishing third in the standings at the FIA European Rallycross Championship.