FIA World RallycrossRallycross

Matvey Furazhkin Signs for ESMotorsport-LabasGAS

2 Mins read
IMG: FIAWorldRallycross.com

ESmotorsport-LabasGAS have announced that Matvey Furazhkin will drive the team’s Skoda Fabia WRX at the next round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in France.

The 19-year-old from Russia previously competed in the FIA European Autocross championship in the Junior Buggy class. He made his debut in the ‘Touring’ category of the FIA European Autocross championship at the end of 2018 and became the youngest ever winner on his debut. This season, he has taken six wins from six rounds in his Skoda Fabia.

Loheac will be the Russian’s first outing in a Supercar. Speaking ahead of his first test, he said: “This year I’m participating in Touring Autocross class in order to get used to this kind of car, to the weight and driving features in order to make it easier for me to transition into rallycross. We chose ESmotorsport because it is a very promising team that is developing and wants to achieve high results, which coincides with our goals and desires”.

IMG: FIAWorldRallycross.com

Furazhkin’s announcement means that Kevin Abbring is sitting out another round of the championship. However, the team have confirmed that Abbring will return for the final round of the championship in South Africa.

It was a communication mistake when the entry list was announced for Loheac that Kevin Abbring was our entry. We would have gladly had Kevin behind the wheel, but unfortunately, it is not possible for him to do this race” said team manager Robertas Maneikis. “It’s very exciting that Matvey‘s vision is much the same as ours. We look forward to his transition into rallycross” 

Furazhkin is the third different driver to drive for ESmotorsport-LabasGAS this season. Rokas Baciuska drove the Skoda Fabia WRX in the opening two rounds but was quickly replaced by Kevin Abbring. Abbring competed in Norway and Sweden and managed to take the team’s best results with two fourth places. The question is, why replace an experienced rally and rallycross driver who’s achieved the team’s best results to-date with an inexperienced youngster who has not yet competed at a standard as high as World RX? Why not take a driver from Euro RX, RX2 or Super 1600? What is going on at ESmotorsport-LabasGAS?

IMG: FIAWorldRallycross.com

The next round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship gets underway on the 31 August at the prestigious Loheac-Bretagne circuit in France. You can catch all the action live on the official FIA World RX YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RallycrossRXTV

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I'm 20 years old and i'm from Ireland. Cover World RX for The Checkered Flag. Part-time Motorsport Commentator
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