Dumfries rallycross outfit Albatec Racing and driver Philippe Maloigne conclude their French RX campaign in the final round of Rallycross France at Lessay this weekend (22&23 October). With two victories already to his credit, Philippe is placed fourth in the title standings, and bids for a third win in his SamShield-backed Peugeot 208 RX Supercar.
The Frenchman recorded his maiden Supercar victory in difficult wet conditions in round two at Chateauroux, and backed that up with a win in the dry in Mayenne last month. Last time out in Dreux, damage sustained in a last-lap collision in his semi-final ended his hopes of progressing to the Final, but the former motocross racer heads into this weekend’s final round looking for better luck.
Returning to the scene of his second ever supercar race where he finished sixth last year, Philippe once again joins a quality field in Normandy looking for maximum points to move him up the overall order. With dropped scores now coming into play, Philippe does not need to drop any from his total, having missed the fourth round due to clashing weekend commitments for the team, and is 49 points away from the top of the standings.
Free practice in Lessay gets underway at 09.45-12.15 on Saturday, followed by the first and second qualifying races at 13.30 and 18.30. Sunday continues with warm-up at 08.00, with the third and fourth races at 09.00 and 12.00. The semi-finals and finals take place from 13.45. All times CEST.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing :
“I’m looking forward to Lessay this weekend and seeing how Philippe performs against the strong Rallycross France contingent. When you consider this is only his first full season in Supercars he’s been very impressive throughout all the races he’s competed in, and has proved a valuable asset to the team, working well with us and providing useful data to help develop the Albatec Peugeot 208.
“This weekend the entry remains as strong as ever, but Philippe has proved more than a match for the opposition, and I don’t expect this weekend to be any different. His victories in both wet and dry conditions underlines his ability, and our reliability and pace have combined to allow him to be a consistent challenger for race wins.”
Philippe Maloigne, driver Albatec Racing #21 :
“I had my second ever supercar race last year on this track, qualifying for the final and finishing sixth. I really like it, it has a good combination of both slow and fast corners, and a good mixture of straights and curves. I understand this year they have added a jump, which will make it fun, so I’m very much looking forward to racing there again.
“Going into the last round of Rallycross France, I’d like to finish the championship with another strong performance ahead of the off-season, which will give me strong motivation for 2017.”
