Larsson plans World Rallycross graduation

Newly crowned European Rallycross champion Robin Larsson plans to graduate to the World Rallycross Championship next season with his Audi A1 Supercar.

Larsson claimed the European title at the final round of the series in Italy last month, topping the table ahead of World Rally Championship regular Henning Solberg. The European championship runs within five World RX events.

"We have worked hard all year and I really I feel like I belong here [in Supercar] now," said Larsson, who stunned regulars on his Supercar debut at the Lyddon Hill round in Great Britain in May, when he led the final and eventually finished second.

"The car was new for this season, so we have some work to do still to make it better," he said. "I absolutely want to race in World RX next year."

Larsson has had a mixed season, but highlighted his potential in Germany last month when he led Petter Solberg and Mattias Ekstrom in the final, only to make a mistake that dropped him to third by the finish.

"We've been fighting a lot this year and we've shown we have the speed to run with the World RX drivers too," he said. "It's really good to compete against guys like Petter Solberg, it's a great personal boost. It will be an interesting year next year if we can get everything together to drive in World RX."

Larsson is the first second-generation European champion. Father Lars won the title in 2006 and '07 in a Skoda Fabia, and now acts as team manager for the Larsson-Jernberg Racing team for which Robin drives.