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Gryazin continues career renaissance as he joins RX2 grid

Russian ace becomes second rally star to switch to rallycross in 2017
23-year-old re-establishing career momentum after road accident
Former ERC front-runner dipped his toe in the water at RX Latvia last year

Vasiliy Gryazin is out to banish his injury blues as he joins the RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires in 2017, with the former rallying star keen to make a name for himself in the world of rallycross.

Having learnt his craft in Latvia and at S2000 level in Europe - catching the eye with the overall runner-up laurels in Rally Liepāja in 2014 - Gryazin stepped up to the FIA European Rally Championship Junior class in 2015 behind the wheel of a Peugeot 208 R2. Unfortunately, a road accident in Latvia that summer - when he collided head-on with a vehicle driving on the wrong side - left the young Russian in intensive care with two broken legs, concussion and internal organ damage.

A long road to recovery ensued, and Gryazin made his tentative return to competition last year, entering sporadic rallies in Latvia and the ERC and - perhaps inspired by the success of compatriot Timur Timerzyanov - trying his hand at rallycross in RX2's predecessor RX Lites in the season finale in Latvia, finishing ninth on his debut.

With his appetite whetted, the 23-year-old son of former Russian Rally Champion Stanislav Gryazin has now made the full-time switch to rallycross and is relishing the challenge ahead.

"I'm excited to be making the jump to rallycross in RX2 this year," enthused the Moscow native. "The aim for my rookie season has to be to compete in as many events as possible to gain maximum experience of the discipline and all the tracks. RX2 is the ideal proving ground and stepping-stone to ultimately progress to Supercar level in FIA World RX, and I can't wait to get started!"

Gryazin joins reigning RX Lites Champion Cyril Raymond, Swedish young gun William Nilsson, American ace Tanner Whitten, brother and sister Andreas and Jessica Bäckman and Belgian rally convert Guillaume De Ridder in having signed up to the inaugural campaign of RX2. Further driver announcements will be made over the coming days and weeks.

The 2017 RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires will take in seven rounds across three continents in support of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy, visiting Mettet in Belgium, Lydden Hill in Great Britain, Hell in Norway, Höljes in Sweden, Trois-Rivières in Canada, Lohéac in France and Cape Town in South Africa.