Albatec Racing embarks on three back-to-back rallycross events starting with its bid for FIA European Rallycross Championship honours in the NAF World RX of Norway this weekend. Round three takes place at the Lånkebanan, close to the town of Hell, where series leader Jérôme Grosset-Janin will look to increase his slender championship lead aboard his Poujoulat-backed Peugeot 208 RX Supercar.
Completing the line-up will be regular Euro RX teammate James Grint, the Briton switching from rallying to concentrate on rallycross. Now with support from Australian breakfast drink Up&Go adorning his two-litre 16v Peugeot 208, the 25 year-old will hope to put his stage experience to good use on a track which traditionally suits rally drivers.
The Norwegian track has not previously been kind to former French champion Jérôme. After proving his pace in practice and the opening heat last year, an engine failure in heat two ended his bid for victory. With first and second places under his belt in the opening two rounds this year, he now heads to Norway full of confidence after a successful test at Chateauroux.
The venue is another brand new track for James, but in the two previous rounds the Hertfordshire man proved his ability to learn new circuits, and was able to set competitive times in only his first season. The RX newcomer has been busy examining the track during the two-month lay-off, and with an equally successful test in France, is determined to reach the semi finals in Norway amid a record 47-car entry.
Track action kicks off with open practice at 10.30am on Saturday 20 June, with the opening two heats starting from 13.00. Warm-up at 08.30 on Sunday morning starts track proceedings with the third heats from 10.00, and the fourth at 11.00. The Euro RX semi-finals, in which the fastest 12 from all the heats, get underway at 13.45, with the fastest three from both semi finals progressing to the Finals at 15.00. Live timing, live streaming in certain territories, and additional information can be found on the official website at www.rallycrossrx.com.
Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal:
“We’re looking forward to getting back to racing on the European stage after a lengthy gap since Germany. The entry this weekend is incredibly strong, across both World and Euro RX, and as always I expect tough competition. The decision to split the World and Euro runners at the semi final stage this year makes things a little easier, but I don’t expect it to be an easy weekend.
“As always the team and both Jérôme and James will give it everything we’ve got in our bid to reach the finals, and hopefully we can come away still holding onto our championship lead.”
Jérôme Grosset-Janin, Albatec Racing driver #74:
“I’m feeling pretty confident ahead of Norway, the car always feels great and offers me exactly what I need to allow me to feel relaxed and at home. After a good test in France, where we made some improvements to the chassis set-up, I’m really looking forward to it.
“I didn’t have the best weekend here last year with an engine failure in heat two, but before that I was fast, and I believe I had the pace to go all the way. Now after a long break, and a few days away exploring the team’s country in Scotland, I feel relaxed and ready to get back racing.”
James Grint, Albatec Racing driver #27:
“It was really good to get back in the car in testing after such a long time away, and although I wasn’t feeling well, it was overall a successful test. We found a few new tricks, but I’m confident that we actually already have a pretty good base set-up, as we only needed very small changes. The new Exe-TC dampers are fantastic, so I’m looking forward to seeing how those work in Norway.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back racing, the track looks like it will suit a rally driver, and it’s a real driver’s circuit.”
