GRC: SH Racing allies with RTD Motorsport for driver development

SH Rallycross announced it has formed an alliance with RTD Autosport for the Red Bull Global Rallycross Lites Championship, beginning in the 2016 season.

A division of Race Tech Development, RTD Autosport, is owned and operated by Mike Maurini who is also the owner of an elite level karting program. Attracting drivers from around the world with the assistance of karting mogul Martijn Koene, the international program operates under the name Team Koene USA.

The alliance provides young karting talent a direct pipeline to GRC Lites, with the ultimate goal of competing for the SH Rallycross SuperCar team. RTD Autosport expects to announce the first driver of the "PipeLine" program in the coming weeks.

Led by team owner James "Sulli" Sullivan and Dennis Reinbold, SH Rallycross fields an entry in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship with Formula 1 and NASCAR veteran Nelson Piquet Jr. as driver. SH Racing also competes in the Verizon IndyCar Series as co-owner of KVSH Racing with Sebastien Bourdais.

"I am very happy that we are able to announce the partnership between RTD Autosport and SH Rallycross for the Global Rallycross Lites Championship," explained Maurini. "With the help of Chris Wheeler, we were able to lay out the program with the SH staff and we couldn't be happier with what we have put in place. Sulli and his team are proven winners in both GRC and IndyCar, and I know we will produce a solid GRC Lites PipeLine program from karting to SuperCars."

SH Rallycross finished fourth in the 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross SuperCar standings on the strength of four podium performances from Piquet Jr., the team's first win in Washington D.C, and being the only SuperCar team to make every main event.