Albatec Racing took victory in the opening round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy (Euro RX) at the Circuit Jules Tacheny, Mettet today.
Frenchman Jérôme Grosset-Janin starting from the front row, powered his two-litre 16v Peugeot 208 RX to a solid victory, to take the lead in the points tables. The result marks a milestone for the Dumfries team, which now leads both Euro RX and British RX, following Andy Scott’s two wins and second place in the opening three rounds.
Former French champion Jérôme, on his debut competition with the team, had been on the pace all weekend, and set himself up with pole position for his semi final, which he comfortably won from the lights. Earning a front row start for the six-lap Final, the former rally man didn’t have an easy run, suffering a heavy hit at the start, which caused damage to his Poujoulat-backed car. Despite that, Jerome drove a perfect and controlled race to score an emotional victory in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
On the back of a strong performance in his debut Supercar race at Pembrey last weekend, Briton James Grint again impressed with his performance aboard the second Albatec Peugeot 208. After a solid day yesterday, the Hertfordshire driver suffered a puncture in his opening heat this morning, and despite another gutsy drive in the second, he finished just outside the crucial top 12 qualifiers.
Both Jérôme and James will return to race action in the second round of Euro RX, at the Estering, Germany over the weekend of 19-21 June, while the team heads straight to Lydden Hill, Kent for next weekend’s round four of World RX, the Motorsport News World RX of Great Britain, where David Binks returns to the team alongside Team Principal Andy.
Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal:
“Fantastic! We’ve invested a lot of time and hard work in rallycross over many years and to win our first European championship race as a team is an unbelievable feeling and goes part way to paying us back all the hard work that the team has done to reach what I hope will be the first of many wins. I’ve got to shake myself a bit for it to sink in that we’re now leading both the British and European championships, it really is a dream come true.
“Jérôme has been really quick all weekend, but it’s not been without issues. We’ve had some incidents, we’ve had damage to repair, but it’s testament to the way everyone has worked together to overcome those problems that we’ve been able to deliver a car for Jerome to win the Final. James too has had a great weekend, he’s kept his nose clean, he probably would have reach the semis apart from the puncture he suffered in heat two, and I think it’s a great start to what I hope will be a long career for James.”
Jérôme Grosset-Janin, Albatec Racing driver #74:
“The final was crazy. I had a really good start I felt, and then was hit very hard from behind. The car has been good all weekend, we’ve had good pace all day, and I’m very happy for the team. They gave me a lot of confidence and all the work we did over the winter months with their technical team has given me the best start to the season.
“Now for the team to be leading both the British and European Championships is a good indication of all the hard work they have done during the winter months and the start of the season, so I look forward to continuing that during the year.”
James Grint, Albatec Racing driver #27:
“I think we’ve got some positive things to take away from the weekend, the heats didn’t go quite to plan, but the overall times weren’t too bad. It’s all been a learning curve but I think we’re going in the right direction.
“It’s a great result for Albatec to be leading the British and European championships I think it’s amazing, I’m definitely in the right place, with all the right people behind me to push it forward. My set-up is developing, and I’m sure that there’s more to come, I’m really happy to be a part of it.”
