Red Bull Global Rallycross Cancelled Entire 2018 Season, Series Looks Dead

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Global Rallycross (GRC) may be the perfect distillation of motorsport for those with a limited attention span. Unlike the World Rally Championship, Red Bull’s Rallycross takes place on tight circuits that allow spectators to see every second of the six-lap race. Meanwhile, a full grid ensures lots of contact between drivers while a dirt section ensures drifts and ramps guarantee plenty of airborne action. Excluding the qualifying laps, the entire event is a short burst of raw aggression as professional drivers power over-engineered and ludicrously fast economy cars around the track.

Unfortunately, a trail of unpaid bills has forced Global Rallycross to cease operations for the 2018 season. With its inaugural season having taken place in 2011, nobody expected GRC to fold this fast. But that appears to be what happened.

There were rumors circulating for weeks that the series was having serious money troubles. But a report from SpeedSport on Tuesday noted that New York’s Lancaster National Speedway and Dragway, confirmed that an Global Rallycross event that was supposed to be in June was a no-go. It then explained that it was informed that GRC was ceasing operations entirely.

Checking the official Red Bull Global Rallycross webpage revealed to us that it wasn’t solely the New York event that had been nixed. The entire 2018 schedule was mysteriously absent. Lancaster National Speedway later issued a tweet saying GRC intended to to reorganize and start back up in 2019, but reiterated that this year would be a bust.

What happened?

After the discontinuation of its supercars class, GRC focused on its modified “lites” division. But those supercars teams found a home with the newly formed IMG Americas Rallycross (ARX) championship. And the new series has been slyly promoting itself as an alternative for GRC.

“Rallycross is a perfect match for the way we digest entertainment today: short, sharp wheel-to-wheel races that are packed with action,” explained Paul Bellamy, senior vice president and managing director of motorsports for IMG, in a statement from last month.

However, Global Rallycross’ troubles extend far beyond the dangers of a new rival. The Detroit News published an article on Monday saying the organization owed nearly $76,000, which the State of Michigan said had to be paid or else it would pursue legal action. But GRC chief executive Colin Dyne says he has good reasons for not paying the state after it hosted a July 2015 race on Belle Isle.

Initially, he claims to have agreed to pay a $25,000 user fee for a state park but officials threatened to cancel the event because it was being held on the same weekend as a 5K/10K charity run. From there Dyne alleges that the state forced him make numerous concessions to keep his event, as well as an increased user fee of $100,000.

Other requirements included the purchasing of tables, chairs, a stage and other equipment for the 5K/10K while also paying for it to have have a commercial on NBC, which also broadcast the Global Rallycross events. Dyne also said the park never bothered to close the park during his races as promised. He estimates this allowed some 3,000 people to attend each day without paying admission.

“My ticket sales were dismal,” Dyne said. “This is not how people do business. You [Michigan] do not deserve the balance of your money.”

State officials maintain GRC was not forced to do anything but was, instead, asked to make concessions (which it did) so that the race would not interfere with the charity run and a wedding that same weekend. The permit for state land use also stipulates that Global Rallycross was not permitted “exclusive use of any department lands or facilities.”

While that appears to be the organization’s largest outstanding bill, it is not the only one. According to Jalopnik, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Connecticut is also claiming that GRC owes it $29,000 after making use of the location.

We’ve reached out to Global Rallycross to get its side of the story, but it has yet to respond. Either way it looks as if the 2018 season is dead in the water. Hopefully it can manage its current situation and return for next year. In the meantime, Americas Rallycross looks like it will be interesting.

[Images: Red Bull Global Rallycross]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Cimarron typeR Cimarron typeR on Apr 17, 2018

    Hopefully some reorganization would be able to bring this type of racing back . It's pretty cool to watch on TV as well as live (i'd imagine, having never been to a race). The problem it was never easy to find on TV.IRL would be wise to buy them out and broadcast as part of the race weekend on NBC sports. It does feature some known drivers,Scott Speed, Tanner Foust etc., ex WRC drivers from Europe etc. Honestly, if I could demo drive any race car from any discipline for a lap, it would be one of these monsters- well except for V10 era F1 car

  • TW5 TW5 on Apr 17, 2018

    Another gold mine buried under a landslide of incompetence. Oh well. Motorsports had a good half century.

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