Former Renault Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr has confirmed that he will appear in the second round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy in the RX Lites Cup that takes place this weekend at the Lydden Hill race circuit.
The 2006 GP2 Series runner-up raced in Formula One in 2008 and 2009 and had a best finish of second in the German Grand Prix in his debut season. He is the son of three-time F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet, and in recent years has been plying his trade in NASCAR.
“I’m very excited about the chance to race this weekend and I’d like to thank the team and sponsors that invited me to the UK,” said Piquet Jr.
“I’ve lived in the UK and won a championship there but it’s been five years since my last race on British soil. This is a good opportunity to learn more about rallycross and get to know the European drivers. It will be my first RX Lites race and it will prepare me well for the X Games too.”
RX Lites is run by Swedish Rallycross specialists Olsbergs MSE, and each entrant will run in identical 310bhp, all-wheel-drive, rear-engined machinery that is aimed to keep costs extremely low. A Supercar drive at World RX of Argentina in November is up for grabs for the winner of the 2014 RX Lites, while the second and third placed drivers will get a test day each in an Olsbergs MSE Supercar.
Piquet Jr’s appearance means ten RX Lites entrants will be present at Lydden Hill, and Martin Anayi, the World RX Managing Director for IMG Motorsport has praised the line-up and the addition of the Brazilian to the series for this weekend.
“We’ve got a tremendous line-up for World RX of Great Britain this weekend but the news that Nelson Piquet Jr is set to join us in the RX Lites is the icing on the cake,” said Anayi. “The RX Lites Cup provided fantastic race action at the opening round in Portugal and with promising names such as Nelson joining the line-up for Lydden, it’s set to be even more exciting this weekend.”
Piquet Jr. heads to Lydden Hill in a positive mood having finished fourth place in the opening round of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship last weekend in Barbados.
