Albatec Racing will field one Peugeot 208 Supercar for Andy Scott in round six of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at the legendary Hljes Motorstadion in Sweden next weekend (6&7 July). The teams second car has been rebuilt following Michal De Keersmaeckers heavy crash in Hungary last month, but the Belgian will not be among the 30-strong line-up for the biggest party on the rebranded RallycrossRX calendar.
The Albatec team heads to Sweden encouraged by its strong pace in the latest round in Norway. In the hands of former British Rallycross Vice-Champion Scott, the stunning new Peugeot 208 proved equal to its more established competitors, consistently matching their pace in both practice and warm-up.
Although forced out of contention with damaged suspension sustained in the final heat, the fledgling team was immensely pleased with the speed of the 600bhp, 2 litre-16v powerhouse, following several weeks of intensive development work alongside its engine partner Oreca. With further technical developments from both Sadev and Soben, the Peugeot 208 is expected to be at the forefront of competition when it hits the track next weekend.
For Team Principal Scott, the Swedish round of RallycrossRX is unquestionably his favourite. Steeped in rallycross history and located deep in the Vrmland forest, Hljes attracts around 25,000 spectators from across Europe and is held amid a party atmosphere, where near 24-hour daylight and non-stop music adds to the festival-like mood.
With the strongest RallycrossRX entry of the season so far, the competition next weekend is sure to be fierce. And with a combined 18,000bhp across the field, the massive crowds will be treated to a mouth-watering display of raw power versus awesome car control, with the lighting-quick four-wheel-drive Supercars, capable of 0-100kph in less than two seconds, headlining the track activity.
Taking to the track for the first time on Saturday morning for the free practice session, Scott is relishing his second appearance at the tough, challenging circuit as the Dumfries Scotsman bids for the teams first RX Supercar outright victory.
Andy Scott, Team Principal and driver Albatec Racing #26 :
It is naturally very disappointing that Michal will not be racing with us in Sweden, and indeed the remaining RallyrossRX rounds, however we fully understand the problems that his heavy accident in round three last month have caused.
Looking ahead to Sweden, Im really excited about it, as the Hljes event is one of the best on the European calendar and is without doubt my favourite. The track is great, technical and challenging, theres always a big attendance and the fans are very enthusiastic and the whole atmosphere is like a party.
Ive only raced there once before, winning a heat and placed in the top three going into the Sunday activities, and following our strong showing in Norway we go out to Sweden full of confidence and with high expectations of a good result.
Marc Laboulle, Team Manager Albatec Racing :
We are very happy with the pace we had in Norway and expect to be able to continue that development going forwards into Sweden. We all continue to work towards 100% reliability and have solved the problems we had in the final heat in Hell, so I am confident that will be able to provide Andy with a fast, reliable car with which he is able to obtain some strong results.
Naturally we are sorry to lose Michal, but after his big crash and all the damage sustained in Hungary, I am not entirely surprised. However I am confident that we will have two cars out again for Lohac if not sooner.
