Albatec Racing heads to Essay this weekend (April 30/May 1) for the opening round of the French Rallycross Championship, with Philippe Maloigne taking the wheel of the team’s #21 Peugeot 208 RX Supercar for the first time in competition. The Frenchman joined the team for two days testing in Faleyras, France recently, where he completed a number of successful runs ahead of his Albatec debut.
A strong quality line-up includes 18 Supercar drivers, including last year’s vice-champion and several World RX regulars, so the competition looks fierce. However, the former international motocross rider, and French Supercross Champion, has a great pedigree from which to start his first full season in Supercars.
No stranger to the top level of rallycross, having reached the semi-finals twice in his two FIA European Rallycross Championship outings last season, Philippe joins the team at a track he knows, where a strong qualifying position is key to securing a good result.
Free practice in Essay gets underway at 09.45 on Saturday, followed by the first and second qualifying races at 13.30. Sunday continues with warm-up at 08.00, with the third and fourth heats from 09.00. The semi-finals and finals take place from 13.45.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing :
“I’m delighted to be a part of the prestigious French Rallycross Championship this season. Having contested selected events before with Julien Fébreau and Kristian Sohlberg, it’s proved to be a very competitive, and incredibly professional series, and I’m sure the weekend will be equally exciting.
“Philippe has proved to be a very competent, fast and professional driver and I’m delighted to welcome him into the team and excited to see how he performs this weekend. We had a very successful test recently and he acclimatised well, so I’m certain he’ll be competing for a place on the podium.”
Philippe Maloigne, driver Albatec Racing :
“Of course I’m very excited about racing with Albatec this weekend, I know we have one of the highest performing cars, operated by the best technical team. The only issue will be to avoid any additional pressure for the driver!
“The test in Faleyras was very helpful and I learned so many things during the two days with the Euro RX champion and vice champion; what more could I expect from a learning session. The engineer’s performance level is amazing, the mechanics are cool and professional, and Andy and Audrey were as always completely involved and I really appreciated that.
“Essay is quite fun to drive, and I really appreciate it, but it’s very difficult to overtake so a good start will be crucial. Regardless of the outcome, as long as I have given 100% across all races I’ll be satisfied.”
