Tanner Foust will head into the Red Bull Global Rallycross season finale double header in Los Angeles next month with the championship lead after taking a dominant win at Evergreen Speedway near Seattle.
The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver continued his incredible 100% heat win record for 2016 by taking victories in both of his heat races and his semi final en route to the final at a venue he knows well from his drifting days.
“It’s a pleasure to be back here,” said Foust. “The fans here are absolutely awesome—I was lucky enough to come back here about a month ago and across the country the fans here are the best. The track was gnarly, and all the teams had a big battle. But Volkswagen Andretti pulled it off and it was spectacular.”
In the final Foust led from start to finish while the Olsbergs Honda pairing of Sebastian Eriksson and Joni Wiman both got great starts to move into the other two podium places, while reigning champion Scott Speed had to settle for fourth.
A late joker from Steve Arpin allowed him to complete the top five ahead of Chris Atkinson and his fellow Ganassi driver Brian Deegan.
Nelson Piquet Jr. recovered from a huge fire in his first heat race qualify for the final via the Last Chance Qualifier. He was the last finisher on the lead lap in eighth, while the returning David Higgins finished a lap down in ninth. The last driver in the final, Austin Dyne, pulled off after just two laps with a puncture.
A surprise omission from the final was three-time race winner Patrik Sandell.
The Swede had a poor start in the LCQ but recovered into a transfer spot, only to spin on the final lap.
In GRC lites, Cabot Bigham‘s championship hopes took a hit after he was involved in a race-ending collision with Christian Brooks and Travis PeCoy. Conner Martell won the race in the support category, giving DirtFish Motorsports a popular win at their home race.
After the events in Seattle, Foust holds a slender 13 point lead over Speed in Supercars as the series heads to its home town of Los Angeles, California.
Scott Speed can become the first driver to retain the title since, ironically Tanner Foust in 2012, while Foust can add to his record championship haul and become the first driver to claim a third crown. Meanwhile, Lites championship leader Oliver Eriksson can become not only the first driver to retain the title in the series’ four year history, but he can become the first ever two-time GRC Lites champion.
Oliver Eriksson stands a chance of being the first ever multiple GRC Lites champion – Credit: Larry Chen/Red Bull Global Rallycross
