FIA World Rallycross Championship promotors IMG are confident that the series can continue to flourish in the 2019 season, despite the top three manufacturers pulling their support of the teams in the series.

Todays news that PSRX Volkswagen Sweden will not be on the grid in 2019 follows on from prior announcements that both Peugeot and Audi would be cutting their works programmes in the sport. Rallycross stalwarts Olsbergs MSE also revealed that they would not be participating with a full season entry, only supporting customers.

While the loss of the frontrunners overshadows the future of the sport as it remains in limbo until the 2021 switch to electric, Paul Bellamy, SVP & Managing Director, Motorsports at IMG remains optimistic about the next season.

“Going into 2019, there is now a wide open field and a huge opportunity for existing and new teams to step up to the podium in one of the most exciting motorsports championships there is.” said Bellamy.

“We have a lot of young, talented drivers coming through and are in ongoing discussions with a number of new teams looking to enter the series, especially now that we’ve made the championship more affordable and competitive with 10 rounds.

“We remain in continuous discussions with a number of manufacturers, including Volkswagen, as we move towards an electric series with the FIA in 2021.”