Rokas Baciuška is a rally raider first and foremost, but the World Rally-Raid Championship only has five races each year with months-long breaks between rounds. Wanting to keep his skills fresh during these lulls, he announced Monday that he will compete in the FIA European Rallycross Championship’s RX1 class.

He won’t do all six Euro RX races since Hungary clashes with the W2RC’s Desafío Ruta 40, though competing for the title isn’t his main goal. There is a four-month gap between the DR 40 and Rallye du Maroc, during which the remaining four Euro RX rounds take place.

“After my Dakar victory in January, I felt I needed more,” Baciuška explained. “My contract with Defender in the World Rally-Raid Championship is still in place, but with only five events on the calendar, it’s clear that I need more mileage to stay sharp. That’s why a program in the FIA European Rallycross Championship made sense to me.

“It’s been four or five years since I last raced in rallycross. The level will be very high and it won’t be easy, but for me, that’s not a problem. I just want to enjoy it, do my best and see where I stand.”

Baciuška currently leads the W2RC Stock standings after winning the category at the Dakar Rally and finishing runner-up at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. He has 26 points on Land Rover teammate Sara Price and 35 over Stéphane Peterhansel with three races to go.

With his focus being on rallies since the turn of the decade, he hasn’t had many opportunities to return to the discipline where he got his off-road start. Baciuška won Euro RX’s Super1600 class title as a rookie in 2018, then moved up to the World Rallycross Championship a year later and finished 11th in Supercar points. World RX has since shut down while Euro RX is now promoted as the premier rallycross series.

The 2026 Euro RX season begins in Latvia on May 9–10.

“It makes even more sense considering the opening round of the 2026 season will take place in Latvia, just a few kilometers from my home,” he remarked. “Not taking part in that event would have been almost absurd, especially for the fans who will be there in large numbers.”

Featured image credit: Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool