LOUDON, NH (July 11, 2013) — Today, 15-year-old Mitchell DeJong of Temecula, California will shred rubber aboard his #24 Red Bull GRC Lites race car during the inaugural Global Rallycross Lites Series event at New Hampshire Speedway.
Coming off a 2012 TORC off-road short course championship, the now 9-time racing champ will make his biggest racing move into Global Rallycross to compete in the 2013 six-race GRC Lites Spec Series. The GRC Lites series accompanies the growing U.S. Global Rallycross events, known for combining high flying ramp jumps, mixed with a hybrid dirt & paved track layout. Fans across the globe have taken hold of the adrenaline pumping form of racing, and the third stop in the tour will land fittingly in Mitchell’s backyard at the fanatical and ever-popular X Games Los Angeles on August 4th.
When asked about the new shift to GRC at New Hampshire Speedway, Mitchell commented, “The anticipation is killing me! After getting rained out of practice on Wednesday, I’m really looking forward to going out and mixing it up with these guys. It’s time to get this new Red Bull Olsbergs MSE SuperCar Lite jumping and sliding. Ultimately, I feel really fortunate to be here; Red Bull has taken me under their “wing” and they believe in my passion for racing. I’m living my dreams; now, if I can just find time to take my drivers permit test, I may be able to legally drive a car like this on the city streets when I’m finally old enough! (laughing)”
Watch Mitchell and the Inaugural Global Rallycross Lites race with over 36 million households on the ESPN Network:
Thursday, July 11, 5:30 PM ET on ESPN 3 (espn3.com, LIVE)
Saturday, July 13, 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
Mitchell’s GRC LItes Partners:
About Mitchell:
At age 15, Mitchell DeJong has taken a different path than most teenage youth, instead of playing ball sports he wakes each day with racing on his mind. Whether it’s a casual game on iRacing driving simulator, racing Losi r/c cars, or strength training, he takes every step today poised to live his dream as a racing champion in every sport he competes in. The passion to drive grew at an early age while helping his dad in the family off-road shop building high-end off-road cars. At first chance Mitchell won karting and off-road championships in 2007, at only age 9. Since then, he has accumulated 9 total championships in 6 seasons putting him on pace to be one of the winningest off-road drivers of all time. Global Rallycross and racing in X Games has always been a dream for Mitchell. He’s turned great success on the track into an opportunity to race GRC Lites and he will begin working hard to be the best amongst great drivers from around the world.
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Built by top rallycross preparer OlsbergsMSE, the Lites produce 310 HP, just over half the power of the top Supercar vehicles and are designed to be more manageable for developing star drivers. The cars are purpose-built racers that are fast, nimble, and exciting to watch. They are all-wheel drive and capable of handling the jumps, door-to-door combat and surface changes of a typical rallycross course. The class will run as a support series on the same courses as the Supercars at all US GRC events, with the Last Chance Qualifiers and Finals expected to run immediately before the main Supercar races.
“The racing is going to be close, since all cars conform to the same specification, and driving talent will be the deciding factor in these races,” said OlsbergsMSE CEO Andreas Eriksson, who worked with GRC to develop the class. “There is no better place than GRC Lites competitions to learn the sport.”
“GRC Lites continues the growth of Global Rallycross and will provide the perfect venue for drivers to hone their rallycross skills infront of our thousands of spectators,” said GRC CEO Colin Dyne.
About Global Rallycross:
Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) features the world’s top action sport athletes and combines them with the best elements of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition to deliver intense action in a variety of fan-friendly environments. Action sport stars including Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, Brian Deegan, Dave Mirra, Bucky Lasik, Marcus Gronholm and Ken Block have described the sport as “motocross – with a roll cage.”
2013 GRC LItes Schedule:
July 11: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH
July 20: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN
August 4: X Games, Los Angeles, Irwindale, CA
August 10: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA
September 22: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
November 7: SEMA Las Vegas, NV
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Category: Press Releases
LOUDON, NH (July 11, 2013) — Today, 15-year-old Mitchell DeJong of Temecula, California will shred rubber aboard his #24 Red Bull GRC Lites race car during the inaugural Global Rallycross Lites Series event at New Hampshire Speedway.
