The 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship got under way in anger yesterday at the Top Gear Barbados Festival as Nelson Piquet Jr., Scott Speed and Tanner Foust all took wins in their respective heats, here is a round up of the on-track action.
Heat 1A
Piquet Jr. showed he could turn his practice and qualifying form in to a race win as he took victory in the first heat. Joni Wiman took second place on his GRC Supercar debut with Subaru’s Bucky Lasek putting earlier practice issues to rest to come home third. Rhys Millen finished in fourth ahead of Sverre Isachsen who suffered a spin after picking up a puncture.
| POS | NUMBER | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | DIFFERENCE | TOTAL TIME | BEST LAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | SH Racing Rallycross | 6 | 4:38.760 | 45.053 | |
| 2 | 31 | Joni Wiman | Olsbergs MSE | 6 | 2.555 | 4:41.315 | 45.845 |
| 3 | 81 | Bucky Lasek | Subaru Rally Team USA | 6 | 8.653 | 4:47.413 | 46.704 |
| 4 | 67 | Rhys Millen | Rhys Millen Racing | 6 | 11.792 | 4:50.552 | 46.065 |
| 5 | 11 | Sverre Isachsen | Subaru Rally Team USA | 6 | 33.068 | 5:11.828 | 45.561 |
Heat 1B
Despite Ken Block taking the heat win, it was later ruled that he had violated the rules after causing a collision with Scott Speed and Patrik Sandell.
Upon review of the start, race director Tim Mayer assessed a five-second penalty to Block, altering the finishing order of the heat and handing the win to Speed.
Patrik Sandell finished in third place ahead of Steve Arpin who only completed 2 laps due to tire failure after going off the jump; Thankfully for Arpin the car wasn’t damaged and will return for the second set of heat races later today.
| POS | NUMBER | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | DIFFERENCE | TOTAL TIME | BEST LAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Scott Speed | Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross | 6 | 4:39.652 | 45.039 | |
| 2 | 43 | Ken Block | Hoonigan Racing Division | 6 | 1.496 | 4:41.148* | 44.795 |
| 3 | 18 | Patrik Sandell | Olsbergs MSE | 6 | 3.595 | 4:43.247 | 45.272 |
| 4 | 00 | Steve Arpin | Royal Purple Racing/OMSE2 | 2 | 4 laps | 1:35.232 | 47.237 |
*Includes 5 second penalty
Heat 1C
Foust fired a clear warning shot to his fellow competitiors that he is all out for his third championship win as he took the win in the third and final race of the first heats in emphatic style, beating the Rockstar Energy Drink backed Ford Fiesta ST of Brian Deegan by 6.113 seconds. Austin Dyne took third place ahead of New Zealander Emma Gilmour who continues her GRC learning curve.
| POS | NUMBER | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | DIFFERENCE | TOTAL TIME | BEST LAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | Tanner Foust | Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross | 6 | 4:34.629 | 44.090 | |
| 2 | 38 | Brian Deegan | Rockstar Energy Drink | 6 | 6.113 | 4:40.742 | 45.414 |
| 3 | 14 | Austin Dyne | Barracuda Racing | 6 | 7.969 | 4:42.598 | 44.836 |
| 4 | 27 | Emma Gilmour | Rhys Millen Racing | 6 | 15.434 | 4:50.063 | 45.857 |
