August 2015
Albatec Racing First And Third At Lydden Hill
Dumfries, Scotland (UK) — Monday 31 August 2015; Albatec Racing secured a double podium at Lydden Hill’s round seven of the MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Shannon Group on Bank Holiday Monday (31 August) to keep its championship hopes very much alive.
Andy Scott’s third place in a thrilling Supercar final aboard his Peugeot 208 RX ensures that the battle for the title will go down to the wire at the final round at Croft on 10 October. While a stirring third RX150 victory of the season for reigning champion Marc Scott means that he heads to North Yorkshire perfectly poised to retain his crown for a third successive year.
Lydden Hill, the spiritual home of rallycross in the UK and the venue for the penultimate round of the hotly-contested Supercar series, saw Andy Scott head to Kent second in the title standings in his two litre, 16v Peugeot. The early series leader, who started his 2015 campaign with victory in the season-opening rounds at Croft and Lydden Hill, and twice second at Pembrey, went into the event 13 points adrift of four-time British champion Julian Godfrey.
Now following a strong performance, which saw the Dumfries racer finish third behind race winner Ollie O’Donovan and Kevin Procter, and crucially ahead of Godfrey, Andy has closed the gap to the leader, with everything to play for in the final round.
Marc also went into the weekend second in the points, his joint lead disappearing in Wales after finishing fourth. Trailing series leader Chrissy Palmer by nine points prior to the weekend, and with dropped scores coming into play, the Lochmaben racer who held off World RX racer Reinis Nitiss for a fourth win of the year has radically reduced the deficit to just two points, with one round remaining.
The final rounds of both series take place at Croft, North Yorkshire on Saturday 10 October.
Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal and driver :
“It was a good race, a good weekend all round actually. We had no problems with the car all weekend, and although it was great to finish ahead of Julian, a bigger margin would have been better!
“I’m happy though, it was a close race in the end and it’s great for the championship to have it go down to the final race. We’ve got a busy time before then, with World RX at Loheác next weekend and of course our Euro RX campaign in Spain, but we’ll come back fighting for Croft.”
Marc Scott :
“I knew before we came here what my plan needed to be, and we managed to pull it off. I felt a lot more focused, more positive and determined this weekend and of course it’s great to beat someone like Reinis Nitiss. We had a little problem in the practice but otherwise everything went well, with a strong result across all three heats.
“In the final Nitiss got the drop on me at the start, but I was well lined up on the inside of the track and managed to take the lead into the first corner. It was a great race and I’m really happy with the result, now it’s all down to the final round.”
Double Semi-Final Slot Marks Albatec High In Hell
Lånkebanan, Hell (Norway) — Sunday 23 August 2015; Albatec Racing took both its Peugeot 208 RX Supercars to the finals for the first time this weekend, with Jérôme Grosset-Janin and James Grint taking up position in the two races at the NAF World RX of Norway. Round three of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Lånkabanan, near Hell, saw 19,000 enthusiastic spectators, and millions of TV viewers around the world treated to a world-class demonstration from the record 47-car entry.
Heading into the weekend with a slender two-point lead in Euro RX following first and second places in the opening two rounds, Jérôme was immediately on the pace aboard his Poujoulat-backed two-litre, 16v 208 RX, comfortably among the crucial top 12 qualifying positions. Across Saturday’s two heats, the former French Champion was placed third after heat one, and fourth after heat two, to head into the overnight classification fourth overall.
The Frenchman maintained that pace in Sunday’s final two heats, to set-up a place in the second of the two semi-finals. A great move on Ollie O’Donovan allowed Jerome to take second place, and the following lap the race lead. With everyone else having taken their compulsory joker lap, Jérôme set some scorching laps to build a five second lead, and even after he’d taken his joker, held that advantage to the flag.
Lining up on the front row for the six-lap Final, a great start placed him second, however on lap two he was unable to avoid a spinning Frode Holte in front, causing damage to his 208, and dropping him just outside the podium places.
Briton James Grint made it a double for the Dumfries team, powering his Up&Go-supported car to his first semi final appearance in European rallycross. In only his third Euro RX outing, the 25 year-old secured three second places from four races, and was consistently in the overall top ten qualifiers.
Despite first corner contact with Lukas Walfridson in his opening heat, he was tenth overall, and a stunning performance in his second race saw him make a flying start and finish second, to lay seventh overall overnight.
Sunday’s final two qualifying races again allowed the Hertfordshire racer to show his potential, and even a slower overall heat time in both races could not prevent him from qualifying ninth to secure a place in the first semi-final. Running fourth on the opening lap, a slow joker lap dropped him down to fifth, but left the former rally man happy with his pace and performance.
The team will resume its bid for the Euro RX title in round four of the FIA European Rallycross Championship, in Barcelona, Spain over the weekend of 19&20 September. Before that, Andy Scott will continue his bid for British Rallycross Championship honours on August Bank Holiday Monday at Lydden Hill, while Jérôme will join Citroën WTCC driver, ten-time Andros Trophy winner Yvan Muller in World RX of France at Lohéac in two weeks time.
Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal:
“It’s been an incredible weekend. The crowd and the whole atmosphere of the event were amazing, and the cars were reliable and fast all weekend. I’m delighted to have had both cars reach the semi finals; James did an exceptional job on only his third Euro RX event, in what was an incredibly competitive field. He was consistently fast all weekend and in the running for a place in the finals throughout.
“Naturally it’s rather a disappointing result for Jérôme after first and second in the opening two races, but once again he had the pace, it was just a combination of things that meant he was unable to challenge for the win and hold on to the series lead. But that is rallycross, things change so quickly, and we will fight back in Spain.”
Jérôme Grosset-Janin Albatec Racing driver #74:
“The car was good, and the mechanics did a good job. The final was very tricky, it was hard competition. I made a good start, but I got a push from behind, I tried to hold my place as much as possible, but it was very hard. Tommy [Rustad] did a very good job; we knew before we came here he’d be very fast. We finished fourth, which is not so bad for the championship, so let’s think a little bit now about Lohéac in two weeks time, and then come back fighting for the European championship in Spain.”
James Grint, Albatec Racing driver #27:
“Obviously I’d have liked to have got through to the final but I think we’re making good progress, the results and pace are much better than they have been in other races. I’m really happy with the result, and hope in Barcelona we can reach the final. We’ve got everything lined-up now, the car is handling perfectly, it was faultless all weekend, we actually haven’t changed anything since testing. I’m really happy with the result, I like my base set-up, so that’s how we’ll be going to Barcelona, so thank you Albatec!”
Albatec Racing Ready For The Road To Hell
Dumfries, Scotland (UK) — Thursday 20 August 2015; Albatec Racing embarks on three back-to-back rallycross events starting with its bid for FIA European Rallycross Championship honours in the NAF World Rallycross of Norway this weekend. Round three takes place at the Lånkebanan, close to the town of Hell, where series leader Jérôme Grosset-Janin will look to increase his slender championship lead aboard his Poujoulat-backed Peugeot 208 RX Supercar.
Completing the line-up will be regular Euro RX teammate James Grint, the Briton switching from rallying to concentrate on rallycross. Now with support from Australian breakfast drink Up&Go adorning his two-litre 16v Peugeot 208, the 25 year-old will hope to put his stage experience to good use on a track which traditionally suits rally drivers.
The Norwegian track has not previously been kind to former French champion Jérôme. After proving his pace in practice and the opening heat last year, an engine failure in heat two ended his bid for victory. With first and second places under his belt in the opening two rounds this year, he now heads to Norway full of confidence after a successful test at Chateauroux.
The venue is another brand new track for James, but in the two previous rounds the Hertfordshire man proved his ability to learn new circuits, and was able to set competitive times in only his first season. The RX newcomer has been busy examining the track during the two-month lay-off, and after an equally successful test in France, is determined to reach the semi finals in Norway amid a record 47-car entry.
Track action kicks off with open practice at 10.30am on Saturday 22 August, with the opening two heats starting from 13.00. Warm-up at 08.30 on Sunday morning starts track proceedings with the third heats from 10.00, and the fourth at 11.00. The Euro RX semi-finals, in which the fastest 12 from all the heats, get underway at 13.45, with the fastest three from both semi finals progressing to the Finals at 15.00. Live timing, live streaming in certain territories, and additional information can be found on the official website at www.rallycrossrx.com.
Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal:
“We’re looking forward to getting back to racing on the European stage after a lengthy gap since Germany. The entry this weekend is incredibly strong, across both World and Euro RX, and as always I expect tough competition. The decision to split the World and Euro runners at the semi final stage this year makes things a little easier, but I don’t expect it to be an easy weekend.
“As always the team and both Jérôme and James will give it everything we’ve got in our bid to reach the finals, and hopefully we can come away still holding onto our championship lead.”
Jérôme Grosset-Janin, Albatec Racing driver #74:
“I’m feeling pretty confident ahead of Norway, the car always feels great and offers me exactly what I need to allow me to feel relaxed and at home. After a good test in France, where we made some improvements to the chassis set-up, I’m really looking forward to it.
“I didn’t have the best weekend here last year with an engine failure in heat two, but before that I was fast, and I believe I had the pace to go all the way. Now after a long break, and a few days away exploring the team’s country in Scotland, I feel relaxed and ready to get back racing.”
James Grint, Albatec Racing driver #27:
“It was really good to get back in the car in testing after such a long time away, and although I wasn’t feeling well, it was overall a successful test. We found a few new tricks, but I’m confident that we actually already have a pretty good base set-up, as we only needed very small changes. The new Exe-TC dampers are fantastic, so I’m looking forward to seeing how those work in Norway.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back racing, the track looks like it will suit a rally driver, and it’s a real driver’s circuit.”