European Rallycross

Albatec Ready To Defend EuroRX Lead

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The second round of the 2015 FIA European Rallycross Championship takes place at the Estering circuit, making its second appearance alongside the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship and Andy Scott‘s Albatec Racing squad is looking to continue its winning ways.

The team’s 2015 driver lineup of Jerome Grosset-Janin and James Grint had an excellent start to their EuroRX campaigns respectively at Mettet in Belgium, where Grosset-Janin took his first ever EuroRX win, also giving Albatec Racing its first EuroRX victory, whilst team-mate James Grint starred on his European Rallycross debut and just missed out on qualifying for the Semi-Finals.

The Dumfries based squad has a busy season in progress where they are competing in four different Rallycross Championships in 2015. After their debut with Julien Febreau in the French Rallycross Championship last weekend, James Grint took the chance to test the Peugeot 208 RX Supercar to gain a better understanding of the machine, before both Supercars were rebuilt to compete in this weekends EuroRX encounter, where hopes are high that they can repeat their performance and take a second victory.

Team Principal Andy Scott is looking for more of the teams winning ways in Germany: “We’re looking forward to going to Estering, it’s a track we all like, even its famed, challenging first corner and joker, which make racing there incredibly exciting. I’m certain it will suit both our drivers with their rally experience, as the fast, flowing gravel section is very similar to a rally stage. We’ve had a successful start to the season so far, across British, European and French RX, and we need to continue to work hard and take that knowledge and experience into this weekend. Jérome should be a strong contender again, he has experience of the track, while James had a great test at Faleyras yesterday, and I’m sure that he too will be challenging for a place in the finals.”

Frenchman Jerome Grosset-Janin is looking forward to returning to the Estering: “I’ve raced at Estering before and remember having good feelings driving the track. It is one of the “real” RX tracks of the season and I am really happy to go back there. The first corner is difficult, even if you’re on pole, you can lose everything through the first corner. It is like ‘everything is possible’! It is really strange and is one of the most difficult I know, I had a lot of trouble there last year! The strategy is really important because, like in Belgium, the joker is in the last corner. So it is really important to look at who are in the heats with us to joker at the right time. It’s also very tight, with a pretty high entrance speed. It can be difficult to find a good balance between speed and safety!”

James Grint is eager to get underway again, but he is aware of the Challenge of the Estering: “It’s been a while since Belgium, so I’ve had some time to prepare. I’ve been practicing my German for a start, but that’s not going too well! I have been watching a lot of videos though, trying to get a feel for the track. I tested yesterday so feel pretty car fit. The whole circuit looks pretty challenging, especially the first corner. The videos from previous races have helped, however I’m looking forward to the first track walk, then I will really get a feeling of how the track looks and feels. The biggest challenge for me is having no experience there but I’m sure I will manage. Mettet was a great experience, I loved every minute of it! I feel like I need to keep the same approach I had in Germany and just drive as fast and as clean as I can! I want to at least make the semi finals this time, I think I’m fast enough so we shall see what happens!”

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I have been a very passionate fan of Motorsport for over 30 years with Touring Cars as my favourite form of Motor Racing. I cover The TCR UK Series, The TCR Europe Series and The FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) as well as following various TCR Series around the world.
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