Renowned rallycross team Hansen Motorsport is exploring a return to Nitrocross next season.
The team won the first two editions of the contest — the standalone events at the 2018 and ’19 Nitro World Games — before coming close to a three-peat in 2021, the series’ first full season. But as both Nitrocross and World Rallycross transitioned to electric vehicles in 2022, Hansen opted to consolidate its operations and focus exclusively on the European-based series. However, team principal Kenneth Hansen was in attendance at the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season at Glen Helen Raceway, checking out how the series has developed as he prepares to take his family team back across the Atlantic
“I like rallycross, so it’s quite good to visit here and have a look,” he told RACER. “We have been here for some years, we have been here with success and we like it.
“At the time they changed into electric cars we were doing World RX also so we put every effort into one side as best as we could,” he explained. “But of course now we have stabilized a little, so we are looking to see if we can do something more.”
A return Stateside would be an expansion for the team, not a replacement for its World RX effort, Hansen stressed.
“The world championship will always be a world championship, so that’s a base for us,” he insisted. “But we managed to do Nitro and RallyX [Nordic], and also World RX at the same time so it’s not a problem to have another ‘problem.’”
The Nitrocross environment is one that contrasts those in Europe, which Hansen says is another attraction.
“In the U.S. it’s quite a lot about the show and perhaps the sporting side is a little less, and in World RX the sporting side is perhaps a little too heavy. It’s very well structured by the FIA but it’s also difficult to move outside the box,” he admitted. “So I think if we would mix it up a little, it could be a good way, but it’s not easy to do that.
“Perhaps it’s also good that it’s quite different, because for us when we did World RX then came here, it’s very different, it’s something new. But then you come back to the stabilized side in World RX and it’s also good to go back — it doesn’t change all the time and you know it will be like that, but it’s interesting both ways.”
Hansen suggested that Nitrocross might not be the only place his team is looking to expand, with the idea of venturing outside the rallycross sphere for the first time also being an opportunity.
“We are always open to looking at things and of course we have even been looking at other things outside the box,” he revealed. “Even if we are not entering a program that could be quite different, we are learning from it.
“We were visiting the E1 boat series and that’s quite different, but we are learning from it, so that’s good. We don’t close any doors and we will look at different things.”
But for now, Nitrocross is top of the list, and could return to the Hansen portfolio as soon as next year. Hansen said that the team will look to align with another competitor, and while he wouldn’t be drawn on who that could be, RACER understands two of the series’ current five squads are serious possibilities.
“The next season for Nitro starts in September next year, so why wait? It’s better to work on it and see if we can get things together,” Hansen said. “I think if we do a program here, last time we did it completely ourselves and did it by containers — we didn’t have a base. If we would do this again, we would have a base and try to partner up with someone.”
