FIA road sport director Emilia Abel is very happy with the beginning to World RX's new era
Photography by Red Bull
Words by Luke Barry
New era, new generation, new start… whatever you wanted to call the World Rallycross opener in Lousada, for the governing body of world motorsport it was a step into the dark.
Running both the sporting and technical organization and the promotion of World RX, the FIA is putting itself very firmly in the spotlight for what’s been considered a series which has faced significant challenges in recent years. Dwindling competitor numbers, reduced manufacturer interest and a paywall to watch the best of the action had hit hard.
From the outset, the FIA made clear its intention to return World RX to the fans and streaming the Portuguese opener live from Lousada for free looks to have been the perfect first step.
Early indications are of around half a million people watching Sunday’s finals – with thousands coming through the gate to sit in the stands and see Niclas Grönholm’s round one win.
Niclas Grönholm was the winner of the race, but FIA the winner from the event
FIA road sport director Emilia Abel was among the masses in Portugal. Did round one deliver what she was hoping for?
“It definitely exceeded my expectations,” she told DirtFish. “On every level.
“The ASN, the local organizer was just superb – support like this makes our job in organizing championships so much easier.
“You know, in six weeks, the local organizing team had a national [rallycross] event in April, then they had WRC, then they had our official test event [for World RX] and then they had World RX. And from the event on Thursday night in the center of Lousada to introduce the local population to World RX all the way to the end of the event on Sunday, they were all super-smiley and making everything happen.
“I’m sure you saw the images, from Thursday night until the finish, it was spectacular. We had huge crowds, a fantastic atmosphere, lots of people watching for free on the live stream, great racing and amazing weather.
“World Rallycross made people stand up and cheer again last week. We made people smile. That’s a great start. We know there is more work to do, this is just the beginning.”
Words:David Evans
Tags: World Rallycross Championship, World RX, World RX 2025
Publish Date June 16, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/06/upLbevWU-SI202506010528-780x520.jpg June 16, 2025
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