Albatec Racing got its 2017 campaign underway for the FIA Euorpean Rallycross Championship for Supercars at the Euro RX of Spain, where the team just missed out on a place in the Supercar Final.
2015 Euro RX Champion Tommy Rustad faired the best as he made his way through Qualifying to take a place in the Semi-Finals where he battled with the likes of 2014 Euro RX Champion Robin Larsson and Polish driver Martin Kaczmarski.
Tommy Rustad faired the best out of the Albatec Trio, making it to the Semi-Finals in Spain. Credit: Albatec Racing
Ultimately he lost out after contact damaged his steering and Rustad came home in fourth, but the Norwegian knows there is more to come.
“We had good speed on Sunday, but overall I was expecting a better weekend but a lot of other top drivers were also struggling this weekend. Albatec has upgraded the Peugeot very well, so I’m very happy with both the team and the car.”
Finnish driver Jere Kalliokoski made his Euro RX debut in Spain, where he finished in 15th position at the end of Qualifying.
Jere Kalliokoski just missed out on a place in the Semi-Final on his EuroRX debut. Credit: Albatec Racing
Kalliokoski missed out on a Semi-Final place by just three points but was happy with his weekends performance.
“I’m quite satisfied with the weekend. We had good, clean races except for the third qualifying race after a collision with other cars,” said Kalliokoski. “It was good to have a first win in my Q4 race, but unfortunately that wasn’t enough to advance to the semi-finals, and I missed out by just three points. But overall the weekend was a good experience for me.”
Philippe Maloigne was in the thick of the action at the Euro RX of Spain. Credit: Albatec Racing
Philippe Maloigne endured a more difficult time during the event, suffering a puncture through contact in both Q2 and Q3 which meant the French driver would finish in 20th place overall.
“It’s not been as good a weekend as I’d hoped as we’ve been a little unlucky, but it’s been a good warm-up for the French championship,” explained Maloigne. “Of course, I’m a bit disappointed with the result and not being able to get many clean, clear laps, but despite this there were many, many positives from the weekend.”
