Up-and-coming Australian rallycross driver Troy Dowel will race on ice for the first time when the inaugural RX2 On Ice series takes place early next year.

The 17-year-old from Melbourne won the 2WD class in this year’s RXAus Australian Rallycross Championship and finished third in the AWD class.

Dowel, son of former Australian Rally Champion Justin, is also part of the RX Academy in Finland and made his full rally debut in the ARC section of Kennards Hire Rally Australia earlier this month.

RX2 On Ice will be contested over a rapid-fire four rounds in five weekends in the cold of Scandinavia.

“I am really excited to get the opportunity to get to race in such extreme conditions to develop my skills,” said Dowel.

“I really enjoyed working with Jussi (Pinomäki) and his team in the RX Academy and it helped me improve in all areas of my racing.

“Racing on ice will be a huge challenge and I can’t wait to get back to Finland for testing.

“I would really like to thank Ozstaff and the new Up&Go emergency puncture repair kit for their support in helping develop my career in Europe.”

Pinomäki, the founder of RX Academy, was keen to welcome Dowel back to Europe for the series.

“It will be amazing to have Troy back to Europe, to race in RX2 on Ice with us,” he said.

“We started to work together last summer in RX Academy, and this will be a natural step for him while building his International career in Rallycross.

“We managed to make good progress last year, and I’m interested to see him now in one level higher car.

“I believe it will be a really good training to race on ice and snow, and for sure an amazing experience as well.

“The plan is to proceed step by step towards bigger events and tougher competition, as Troy develops as a driver and gets more experience.”

RX2 On Ice 2018 Calendar