Kerlabo, Cohiniac (France) — 1 August 2016; Albatec Racing continued its French Rallycross Championship campaign in round six at Kerlabo this weekend, with Philippe Maloigne consistently among the fastest on track on his way to fifth overall. The Frenchman powered his SamShield-backed two-litre, 16v Peugeot 208 RX Supercar to the second fastest overall time in the seven lap Final, underlining his rapid pace among a quality field.
Philippe went into the weekend with a victory already under his belt, and determined to add another to an already impressive debut season tally. Finishing eighth in his opening qualifying race, he headed into the second looking to make amends, and came away with the third fastest race lap, but a lowly 14th overall race time. He bounced back in Sunday’s Q3, winning his race and setting the second fastest overall time to keep his semi-final hopes on track.
In Q4, another solid run to fourth place, sixth overall and another third fastest lap ensured he would easily qualify for the semi-finals. Lining up in the first of the two races he made a good start to place second on the opening lap, and only briefly dropped to third during the joker lap, retaking second and the fastest overall race lap.
While Philippe was enjoying a successful weekend in Kerlabo, there was disappointment for Team Principal Andy Scott, after a promising start to the weekend. The opening qualifying race saw the Dumfries racer claim the sixth fastest overall time amid the 22-car entry.
In the second on Saturday afternoon however, disaster struck with substantial damage caused to his Motis/Rock Oil-backed motor that would ultimately end his weekend. Starting from pole, a great start allowed him to get the jump on the others into turn one.
Such is the high level of competition in French RX, five cars ran side-by-side through the first corner, with Andy being squeezed out and into the path of Jean-Philippe Dayraut, ending the Frenchman’s race on the spot. Andy drove the stricken Peugeot, suffering with damage to the dampers, front and rear suspension to the flag, but with the rapid turnaround required to return to the UK for next weekend’s appearance in Glasgow, there were simply insufficient spares available to repair the car for Sunday’s track action.
Leaving Kerlabo buoyed by his performance Philippe will return to French Rallycross Championship action at Mayenne on 24&25 September, while Andy joins Euro RX Champion Tommy Rustad in the inaugural IGNITION Festival of Motoring at the SECC Glasgow over the weekend of 5-7 August.
Andy Scott, Team Principal and driver Albatec Racing :
“I was very disappointed not to be able to continue the weekend after the damage sustained on Saturday. In the opening heat I was pretty happy with the sixth fastest overall time and feeling confident of a good result in the second. In Q2 I started from pole and got a good start, but going into the first turn I got squeezed from the outside, which pitched me into Jean-Philippe Dayraut, causing substantial damage to my car. With our participation at Ignition next weekend, we just didn’t have the spares available here to repair the dampers, rear and front suspension, so we had to retire from the event.
“I really enjoyed the experience of racing in the French Rallycross Championship though, it’s incredibly strong; very competitive and very professional and I look forward to returning to race here in the future. Philippe drove a fantastic weekend, once again consistently fast, twice setting the third fastest race lap in his heats, and a superb second fastest in the Final. That all bodes well for the remaining races.”
Philippe Maloigne, driver Albatec Racing :
“It’s been a weekend of mixed feelings. We’ve shown once again that we have incredible speed in the Peugeot 208, and it’s been fantastic to drive across the weekend. We had a disappointing Q2 with much confusion at the first corner, which ultimately cost me a good finish overall.
“But to be among the top three fastest on track in three of the four qualifying heats, as well as second fastest in the Final means we go to the next round feeling confident of a strong result to keep our championship hopes on track.”
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