Having relocated from its traditional home in Los Angeles to the Circuit of The Americas as part of a multi-year deal, the US Grand Prix venue will mark a step into the unknown for Heikkinen and Marklund as well as the other 18 invited drivers who will be appearing at the extreme sports extravaganza.

While Heikkinen and Marklund will compete in their familiar Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars, the event format, tyres and fuel will mark a departure from what they are used to in the FIA World Rallycross Championship where they have become established frontrunners in the opening two rounds of the 2014 season.

Changes aplenty for Marklund duo
In X Games-style RallyCross, finishing positions rather than lap times are key to progression. There are four six-lap quarterfinals each contested by five drivers. The top three in each will go through to the semi-finals with the losers eliminated. The semi-finals total four laps with six drivers in action in both races. The first three in each semi will go through to the 10-lap final. While the fuel supply won’t have a major impact on power or performance, US-style rallycross cars use Yokohama radial tyres compared to the bespoke Cooper covers supplied as standard to World RX competitors.

Heikkinen prepares for a homecoming
While Topi Heikkinen might be hot property in World RX, he actually made his name in Global RallyCross and heads to Texas as the defending X Games gold medallist. ”I’m absolutely stoked to be going back to America to see all my friends and fans,” said the 23-year-old Finn. ”I don’t know anything about the track at all apart from the fact that it’s going to be really exciting and fantastic.”

Anton Marklund goes for gold
Rising Swedish star Anton Marklund has high hopes of success in Austin. With previous X Games experience to count on, Marklund has been buoyed by the competitiveness of the Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars overseen by his father Jan’s team. ”I was satisfied with my X Games performances last year but now I have a car that’s so much better,” said Marklund, 21. ”X Games is one of the biggest events you can do in action sports and motorsports and it’s great to be one of the 20 drivers taking part. But X Games is very special and you have to be very quick immediately. There is no last chance because if you don’t have a good heat then you’re out. But I really think we have a chance to win, the Volkswagen is an amazing car and I’m more confident than ever. I’m going for gold.”

A logistical challenge in store
The challenge in America is not just about winning medals, it’s also about getting the Marklund Motorsport team’s Polo RX Supercars to Texas and back to the north of Norway in time for round three of the World Rallycross Championship on June 14/15. ”We flew our cars from Amsterdam on May 27, the same day we had our third car in Belgium for a media event to announce François Duval in our team for World RX of Belgium in July,” explained team principal Jan Marklund. ”That car will then be in Sweden for two days of testing on Friday and Saturday then on Monday morning [June 2] we fly out to Austin. We don’t get the cars back to Amsterdam until Wednesday June 11 and we need to get them re-prepared and to the north of Norway by the Friday in time for the race at Hell. We have the possibility to use two other cars if there’s a problem but we would rather keep Topi and Anton in their own cars. It’s going to be a busy few weeks.”