The all-new FIA World Rallycross Championship gets underway in Portugal from May 3-4 when the Montalegre track in the north of the country hosts the thrilling bumper-to-bumper action. And Topi will be in the thick of the fight for glory in his #57 Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo RX, which he is using in competition for the first time this season having switched over from a GRC-specification Ford Fiesta.
Aged 23, the Flying Finn is a firm favourite for championship honours, but he admits that topping the title table at the end of the 12-event schedule will be a tough challenge.
”We’re targeting the title but of course we’ll have to work hard for it because it won’t come easy,” said Heikkinen, who was among a number of star drivers present at the World RX media day at the Franciacorta circuit in Italy earlier this week. ”You have to be consistent, you have to have a good car, be good at the start of the races, be aggressive, but also keep out of trouble. Every team is building their rallycross car in a different way so you will see many different types of car in the top five, which will make it really interesting.”
Topi will begin the season-opener on the back of an extensive testing schedule, which will conclude in Portugal next Thursday (May 1). ”We want to have the best car for when the season starts and that’s what we’ve been hunting for with the testing,” he said. ”We don’t have a lot of work to do to make the car perfect, but we’re working right now to find those special things and make sure the parts we’re using are the best parts and as light as possible. But as we’re going to have some contact in the races, our car needs to take the hits too, so you have to find the balance between performance and reliability.”
With 19 entries for the headlining Supercar class in Portugal – including double European champion Timur Timerzyanov, ex-world rally champion Petter Solberg and former F1 title-holder Jacques Villeneuve – Topi is braced for a hugely competitive year ahead.
”It’s going to be an exciting season with lots of good drivers of different ages and with different experience,” said Topi. ”You have guys coming from Formula One and rallies and they will bring their own fans and own styles, and that’s really building rallycross right now.
”For Montalegre, which is a really fast and technical track, you need to have good brakes for after the long straight and in the technical section. We have very good brakes from the Polo World Rally Car so hopefully our car can make a difference. The temperature can be quite high so we will have to look after the tyres well as there is a lot of Tarmac.”
