Albatec Racing and Philippe Maloigne cemented their reputation as a formidable combination in the penultimate round of Rallycross France at Dreux on Sunday 9 October. The Frenchman, at the wheel of the #21 Albatec Peugeot 208 RX Supercar secured overall victory in Q4 and was consistently fast across the weekend’s qualifying races.
Starting from pole for his semi-final on Sunday afternoon, Philippe was denied the chance to convert it to a third outright French RX victory, after contact on the last lap ended his charge, and with it his hopes of progressing to the Final. His results over the weekend moves him up to fourth in the standings.
The weekend started well for Philippe, a steady stream of quick laps in free practice on Saturday morning earnt the SamShield-backed racer the second fastest time of the 20-strong Supercar entry. Lining up in the third race of Q1, Philippe reaffirmed his rapid pace against the quality field, posting the second fastest lap overall and finishing second in his race, to place sixth overall. For Q2 Philippe started from pole, and again finished second in his race, fourth overall, to maintain sixth in the intermediate standings.
Sunday morning warm-up showed the potential once again of the 600bhp two-litre 16v powerhouse, which allowed the former motocross racer the opportunity to cement his burgeoning reputation as a serious championship contender. Heading into Q3, Philippe quickly showed his hand with a strong drive into second place in his race, and with it posted the third fastest overall race time.
A superb lights-to-flag victory in Q4 resulted in his promotion to second overall in the intermediate standings, and earnt him pole position for his semi-final. In that Philippe didn’t get the best start and went into turn two in third place. A spin at turn three saw the Peugeot 208 drop to sixth, however a spirited drive allowed him to get back on terms and challenge for the final qualifying position. Entering the last lap he was fourth, but contact with another car just before the finish line damaged the front of his 208, and ended his challenge for victory.
Philippe is now placed fourth in the championship, with one round remaining. He returns to race action in the final round of Rallycross France, at Lessay, over the weekend of 22&23 October.
Andy Scott, Team Principal and driver Albatec Racing #26 :
“What a disappointing result for Philippe. He was quick in practice, across all his qualifying heats, and was in a good position to maintain his 100% qualifying record. It’s not easy to win an outright heat in Rallycross France, but his result in Q4 is testament to his growing stature as a serious championship contender. It’s a tough championship, but he’s proved once again he has the speed and ability, and the Peugeot 208 has the reliability. So it all bodes well for the final round and for next season.”
Philippe Maloigne, driver Albatec Racing #21 :
“After free practice I knew we had the speed to be a contender for race victory and over the course of the qualifying races I was consistently among the fastest on track. So it’s disappointing to come away without reaching the Final when it’s clear we had the pace to do so. We will put the events of the weekend behind us though and head to the next race at Lessay with renewed optimism and determination for another good result.”
