Coventry in talks to host closed-road World Rallycross event

Motorfest event director James Noble said: “We have made no secret in the past of our ambition to stage competitive motorsport on Coventry Ring Road and, having successfully delivered closed-road time trials, we're now driving forward with the next phase of that plan.”

He added that organisers were seeking commercial partners to help with the infrastructure and finance, calling it a “massive opportunity” to secure Coventry’s future as “a city at the heart of transport innovation and development.”  

Noble added that the prospect of staging an all-electric world championship event would put Motorfest “the event at the heart of sustainable motorsport for now and the future.”

The top-level supercar category of WorldRX switched to an all-electric formula in 2022, but a fire that destroyed cars at the Lydden Hill event forced the cancellation of three rounds and meant the machines weren't used for the remainder of the year.

The 684bhp electric RX1e cars are set to return in this year’s championship, which will start on 6/7 July, but combustion-engined supercars will also be allowed, as long as they are sustainably fuelled.

WorldRX staged an event on a street circuit in Hong Kong at the end of last year and called that race a test case that could led to more temporary circuits being added to the calendar in the coming years.

Rallycross Promoter boss Arne Dirks said that rallycross has “enormous potential to appeal to new audiences – a point very well illustrated by the phenomenal success of our inaugural city-centre event in Hong Kong last year".

"That was a real ‘milestone’ moment and has encouraged us to explore further metropolitan locations," Dirks added.

This year’s WorldRX calendar is set to feature five double-header rounds, although the British round at Lydden Hill has been dropped.

The Coventry plans also have the support of the FIA, world motorsport’s governing body.

The organisation’s road sport director, Andrew Wheatley, described Coventry as an “ideal location” for an event, adding: “The compact footprint and intense, high-energy nature of rallycross make it well-suited to an urban environment, and with its strong sustainability credentials."

If the Coventry street circuit project goes ahead, it will be the first true closed-road motor race in the UK since the Birminham Superprix, which ran on a 2.47-mile course from 1986 until 1990.

That event was headlined by Formula 3000, at that point the main feeder category to Formula 1, and also hosted the British Touring Car Championship.