Albatec Racing has confirmed a three car entry for World RX of France at Lohéac-Bretagne, round eight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship on 2-4 September. Reigning European Champion Tommy Rustad, French RX race winner Philippe Maloigne and double British RX vice-champion Andy Scott will race their 600bhp Peugeot 208 RX Supercars on the biggest event on the rallycross calendar.
The tiny village of Lohéac is home to just 700 inhabitants, but every year around 70,000 spectators descend on the 1.1km track, known as the Temple of Rallycross, located 30km south of Rennes, Brittany. For Albatec the event marks a return to the track on which WRC star Kris Meeke and four-time WTCC Champion Yvan Muller made their World RX debut with the Dumfries team.
This year it sees the debut appearance of Norwegian ace Rustad aboard his HTB Racing-backed car, who heads to France looking forward to returning to World RX action, following a strong performance in Canada in 2015. Lohéac is well known to Andy – he made his first appearance there in 2012, before returning to run alongside Meeke in 2013, and David Binks in 2014, where he reached the finals. Philippe too has previous experience of the Lohéac track, and goes into the event with an outright French RX victory already under his belt in his SamShield-backed 208 and excited about returning to compete against the cream of World RX.
Andy Scott, Team Principal and driver Albatec Racing #26 :
“It’s always a fantastic event at Lohéac, with massive crowds who are very passionate about rallycross, it’s the number one motorsport in France. We always have a great weekend there where performance is boosted by the strong support of the fans, it’s almost like a home event for me.
“I’m really looking forward to taking Tommy to Lohéac so he can experience what is arguably the biggest rallycross event of the year, and Philippe too, after a strong run of races in the French Rallycross Championship it will be really interesting to see how this measures up against the World RX stars."
Tommy Rustad, driver Albatec Racing #24 :
“I’m really looking forward to doing Lohéac, and being part of such a big event in the world championship with Albatec. I’m also very happy that Andy has offered me the chance to get more time in the car, which is good preparation for the next round of Euro RX.
“It’s a new track for me but I’m used to learning new tracks quite quickly, although I know it’s a high level in the world championship. I think if we can put everything together we can reach the semi-finals, and maybe even the final. I know the track is quite fast which suits me, with loads of grip on the gravel section and I’ve watched lots of videos of past races, and studied in-car footage to be as well prepared as possible.”
Philippe Maloigne, driver Albatec Racing #21 :
“I discovered rallycross as a spectator in 2013 at Lohéac, and raced there for the first time in 2014 in Super 1600 finishing fourth in my semi-final. For a French driver to have produced this performance in front of 70,000 French fans is a huge souvenir, but now racing in World Supercars three years after discovering the sport is simply amazing, especially aboard an Albatec 208.
“I’m very excited about racing there alongside Andy and Tommy. The track is a true rallycross venue, with lots of grip and very fast, but it’s not just the track that makes the weekend so special. The support from the crowd is incredible and the atmosphere is among the best you’ll find in rallycross.”
“We’ve had a successful start to the season in French RX and I’m feeling very confident with the team and the car after some consistently quick times and strong results. The quality and quantity of the entry will be very high, but I’m sure that being beside such experienced and competitive drivers like Tommy and Andy is going to pull my driving level up so if we continue to work well together as we have done all season, we should be able to come away with a good result.”
