Former Red Bull Global Rallycross Champion Tanner Foust made his return to the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Barcelona at the inaugural WorldRX of Spain.
The American Top Gear presenter made his fourth appearance in the series, swapping his regular Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle GRC for the VW-Marklund Motorsport Polo and followed up his CanadaRX podium by qualifying for the Supercar Final.
His weekend got off to a slow start where during heat one he suffered from visibility issues due to the dust and clipped a wall. However, Foust came out fighting during the remaining heats and to state his intent he went second fastest during heat three. All this hard work led to a place in Semi-Final One where he progressed through with Timmy Hansen and Robin Larsson.
“I got in some dust and I thought I was in the right spot, but I wasn’t,” said Foust. “The crew got the car back into shape for the second heat but with so many fast cars shooting for just six spots in the final, it is very tough to recover from a problem like that early in the weekend.”
In the Final, Foust managed to avoid the first corner pile-up and found himself in a race long fight with Team Peugeot-Hansen‘s Davy Jeanney for fourth place. However, despite a near photo finish between the pair, Foust secured fifth place behind the french driver.
The American driver was happy with his weekend’s work in front of the fans and spoke about how far Rallycross had come over the last few years.
“It is great to see new fans come to an F1 track and see the excitement of rallycross in a new city,” said Foust. “It is great to see the sport grow so much so fast, the consistency of the racing, the speed of the cars and the drivers… It’s really incredible how the level has changed.”
Tanner Foust was also honoured during the weekend as he was appointed as International Ambassador for Drive For Life, the official charity partner of the FIA European Rallycross Championship. The charity aims to help underprivileged children by providing support to individuals and communities through automotive based programme.
