Against a stunning backdrop of the magnificent Table Mountain, Dumfries and Galloway based Albatec Racing and South African Mark Cronjé received massive support from his multitude of fans at the Gumtree World RX of South Africa. The final round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship took place at the brand-new Killarney International Raceway, and marked the World RX debut of the multiple national race and rally champion aboard the team’s Peugeot 208 RX.
Facing a quality entry of the best rallycross drivers in the world, Mark faced stiff opposition on only his second ever rallycross appearance. A solid start to the weekend saw him adapt to racing against similar 600bhp Supercars, however a technical issue in Saturday’s second qualifying race, coupled with damage sustained in race four, hampered his hopes of progressing to the semi-finals.
Despite the results, the team and Mark left Cape Town pleased with the experience of racing on the world stage, where an estimated 27,000 enthusiastic spectators across the weekend willed on the man from Pretoria. The event marked a successful working relationship for both Albatec and Mark, with both keen to continue discussions for the future.
In the meantime, the Dumfries team will continue to build on its season strengths as it firms up its 2018 rallycross programmes, which it plans to announce shortly.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“We were all blown away by the support we received at Killarney in what was probably the most enjoyable weekend we’ve had in rallycross. Despite not getting the results the team and Mark are capable of the event was fantastic. The enthusiastic crowd was so passionate about rallycross, very supportive of Mark, and it was great to be a part of that. It’s really fired us up to consider being a part of the world championship again!
“I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Mark Cronje in an Albatec car. He delivered everything we could have hoped for in terms of his professionalism, support, and dedication to the job required. In the meantime, we’ve got some incredibly exciting plans we’ve been working on coming to fruition very shortly, which will see Albatec remain at the top level of rallycross for the foreseeable future.”
Mark Cronjé, Driver Albatec Racing:
“It was such an incredible experience competing in the event, and I am ecstatic to have won my last qualifying run and now have a taste for more. It was naturally disappointing not to come away with the results we deserved, and after all the efforts that Albatec put in over the weekend. We suffered a broken propshaft in the second qualifying race, which had a big effect on the outcome of the weekend, and ended our hopes of progressing to the semis.
“We received tremendous support from the fans both at the track and across social media, and the weekend has shown me just how great World RX is, and that I’d love to be there again next season. You can rest assured that I will continue this journey and now it’s time to start making it happen for 2018. Thank you to Albatec Racing for providing me with the best possible World RX Supercar for the weekend.”
