James Grint is making the move to Albatec Racing for the 2015 FIA European Rallycross Championship, theCheckeredFlag.co.uk spoke with him recently to find a little more out about the ex-rally driver and his thoughts ahead of the new season.
We started the interview asking Grint why he was making the switch from Rallying to Rallycross, “Rallycross is growing massively as a sport!” he said. “It’s got good manufacture support and the racing is very close and exciting, it’s got a lot of the best bits of rallying and racing all in one spectator friendly package. I still love rallying and always will but I am very excited to start my Euro RX campaign.”
Grint has driven a variety of machinery in the past but this season will be at the wheel of the Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 Supercar, his first impressions on the new machinery signal his excitement for the year ahead.
“The Albatec 208 handles just as any top level 4-wheel-drive rally car… only faster… much much faster! Nothing really compares acceleration of the Supercar under 2 seconds to 60mph takes some beating!”
The Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 that Grint will be racing in 2015
While Grint is taking part in the Euro RX championship this year his ultimate aim is to make it in to the FIA World Rallycross championship.
“The goal is World RX! I feel that Euro RX is going to be the perfect place for me to get up to speed and gain the experience needed to be fast in world RX.”
Grint plans to head in to his first race in Belgium with a positive attitude and admits that obviously he wants to do as well as he can, “I guess its a case of driving fast and taking a few chances.”
Jerome Grosset-Janin joins the Albatec line-up for 2015 alongside Grint and under the watchful eye of team owner Andy Scott, we asked if he would be looking for some pointers from the pair.
“They are both really fast and experienced drivers, I think I’m going learn a lot from them this year but I think my rally experience will be a good asset for the team too.” he admits.
With the new season ahead it has seen Grint preparing hard for his Euro RX assault. “I have a pretty serious training programme at the moment; In the gym twice a day so working hard there! I’ve also been watching videos on YouTube trying to get a feel for the tracks and who I’m racing. I’m doing my homework! We are testing this month too for a few days so should be pretty well prepared for Belgium.”
Grint has a positive outlook on the season ahead, we asked him for his tip for the title, “I think Jerome will be in with a shout but its going to be a tough battle as there are so many fast drivers” he said, before admitting “I want to be up there too! I’ve certainly got the car for the job and a few skills to back it up so don’t count the rally boy out!”
The 2015 FIA European Rallycross championship gets underway in Belgium over the weekend of 15-17 May, theCheckeredFlag.co.uk will have full coverage throughout the season.
