Dumfries and Galloway based Albatec Racing and Philippe Maloigne took a commanding victory in the final round of Rallycross France at Dreux this weekend (15 October). The Frenchman started from pole position and was never headed to record another convincing win in the series, and claim third overall in the title battle.
Philippe was immediately on the pace in Saturday’s practice session, setting the fastest time of the 20-strong Supercar field. In the opening qualifying heat later that morning, he was hampered by traffic which compromised his speed and put him tenth overall. The second race saw him bounce back with second place overall to put him fourth in the intermediate standings. In the night-time Q3 race Philippe again showed the potential that has seen him consistently among the pace setters this season, until a small mistake on his joker lap resulted in a puncture which dropped him to fifth.
After early morning warm-up on Sunday, Phillipe returned to the top step of the podium, with a convincing race win and overall heat victory in Q4, to claim pole position for his semi-final that afternoon.
A dominant performance by the former motocross racer allowed him to take a commanding win, and set-up a pole spot for the seven lap Final. Leading from the start, Philippe never put a wheel wrong, and the Albatec Peugeot 208 RX Supercar ran faultlessly throughout to give the Dumfries team and Philippe outright victory, and secure third place overall in the standings.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“What an incredible weekend. It’s always great to end the season with victory, but it’s particularly special for us with the track named in honour of Philippe Chanoine, and the weather this weekend reflected that. The championship has been incredibly close this season, with some quality drivers, but Philippe was strong all weekend, and deserved to get the result he did. He was on track to win Q3 also, but for the small mistake and puncture, but other than that he was faultless, and the car was reliable all weekend.”
Philippe Maloigne, driver Albatec Racing:
“I’m very happy to end the year with victory, we’ve had a tough season at times but have always been among the fastest on track so it’s great to end with a result we all deserve. This weekend we nailed the starts and the set-up was solid, right from the beginning. Going into the semi-final and Final I was feeling confident. Winning the final race gives me a great feeling going into the winter and ahead of next year. It was great to have Andy here this weekend too, he gave me some good advice and helped me a lot, so I’m particularly pleased for him and the team.”
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