Following a successful eRacing series, World Rallycross gets back to reality this weekend with a double-header at Holjes in Sweden in a shortened season that packs 10 events into seven weekends.

The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy will begin with a full event – comprising three rounds of qualifying races, semi-finals and the final – taking place each day.

FIA World Rallycross Champion Timmy Hansen will begin the defence of the title he won in dramatic circumstances in Cape Town last November.

Entering the last event of the year in a three-way battle for the title, Hansen ended the season level on points with Andreas Bakkerud, the title decided in favour of the Swedish driver as he won four events to Bakkerud’s single victory. Hansen will again be joined at Team Hansen by younger brother Kevin who was the third player in last year’s title battle.

The entry for the first event contains 17 drivers, including two returning former champions. Johan Kristoffersson, World Champion in 2017 and 2018, is back in World RX with the VW Polo Supercar he raced two years ago.

KYB Team JC has recruited 2016 World Champion Mattias Ekstrom as substitute for Janis Baumanis who has had to drop out of the championship at the last moment because of budget issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ekstrom races alongside 2019 European Champion Robin Larsson.

The 2019 World RX of Sweden was won by Sebastian Eriksson and the Swede returns to his home track this year where he will race an Olsbergs MSE Honda Civic in a bid to repeat the win.

Ferratum Team will join the World Championship for all events, its new car driven by Finn Jani Paasonen.

Niclas Gronholm and Timur Timerzyanov won three events for GRX Taneco in 2019 and return for the 2020 season. In Sweden they are joined by a third Hyundai i20 Supercar from the GRX SET stable with multiple European Champion Krisztian Szabo at the wheel.

A pair of Renault Clios from Unkorrupted will be driven by Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit and Lithunanian Rokas Baciuska.

Timo Scheider returns with ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport, the team this year expanded to two cars with Rene Muennich handling the second of its Seat Ibizas.

GCK Bilstein has a solo Renault Megane for Anton Marklund while the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel entry is for two further Meganes in the hands of Bakkerud and Liam Doran.