Crowned European Rallycross Champion in 2022 in the FIA Euro RX3 category, Kobe Pauwels has officially confirmed his participation in the 2025 RallyX season, which is set to kick off on March 29 at the Montalegre circuit.
Regarded as one of the brightest prospects in rallycross, Pauwels made a name for himself with five wins and eight podiums in just ten races during his two-season tenure in Euro RX3 with Volland Racing. Since then, he has successfully transitioned to circuit racing, where his rise has been nothing short of impressive.
In 2023, he secured third place in the TCR Europe championship, claiming the title of Best Rookie. Last season, he repeated that feat in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, while also making a mark in GT World Challenge Europe, driving for Aston Martin and Comtoyou Racing.
Despite his growing commitments on tarmac, Pauwels will return to rallycross in 2025, competing in the Southern division of the RallyX series. He will race in the CrossCar category behind the wheel of his Mygale chassis, the same machine that led him to a national title in Belgium last season.
In just a few days, Pauwels will take on the Montalegre circuit, where he won his first FIA European Championship title in 2022, as he aims to establish himself among the best CrossCar specialists.
“Since leaving the European Championship at the end of 2022, I have only competed in one international rallycross event—last season’s RX2e round at Mettet,” Pauwels explains.
“That said, even though my main focus is now on circuit racing, I never truly left the world of rallycross—I still love the sport just as much. In fact, I’ve continued competing in CrossCar. Last year, we managed to win a second Belgian championship title in the Senior class, which made us realize it was time to take on a new challenge.”
A challenge that will take Pauwels to Montalegre, Valkenswaard, and Buxtehude, where he will battle for the RallyX South crown.
“To be honest, we’ve always kept an eye on the RallyX series. Until last year, it was difficult for us to manage the logistics, with the distances involved and my already packed schedule in GT racing.”
“However, when we saw this winter that RallyX was launching a Southern division, it immediately caught our attention. For us, it was the perfect opportunity to continue competing in CrossCar while discovering a whole new competitive environment.”
As an official Mygale CrossCar driver, Pauwels is determined to use the 2025 season to raise the profile of the French manufacturer, based in Magny-Cours.
“For us, RallyX South is a great way to measure our true level of performance against the best drivers in the category. I’m used to leading the way in Belgium, but this season will give us the chance to see if we’re already on the pace or if we still need to develop our chassis further,” explains Pauwels.
“That’s precisely why we decided to take on the top RallyX drivers. As an official Mygale driver, I’m already involved in chassis development, and this program will give us a much broader perspective on our car’s potential on rallycross circuits. Of course, we aim to perform well right away, but it’s still hard to say where we’ll stand against the competition.”