[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dumfries, Scotland (UK) — Wednesday 2 September 2015; Albatec Racing embarks on its most important event of the year, round nine of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy at Lohéac this weekend. Fielding its Peugeot 208 RX Supercars for four-time World Touring Car Champion and ten-time Andros Trophy winner Yvan Muller, alongside former French rallycross champion and Euro RX title contender Jérôme Grosset-Janin, Lohéac marks something of a ‘home’ event.
Having previously reached the semi finals at the legendary track, located near the tiny village of Loheác, Brittany, Albatec heads into the weekend with a point to prove and arguably one of the strongest driver pairings in the 37-car field. In 2013 Andy Scott and Citroën World Rally Championship ace Kris Meeke narrowly missed out on progressing to the finals, but last year the Albatec Team Principal made the grade amongst a quality field.
The long-awaited appearance of Yvan in World RX follows two test sessions for the former British Touring Car Champion, most recently last month where he joined Jérôme, Kristian Sohlberg and James Grint for two days at Chateauroux. The Citroën WTCC star was consistently quick as he got to grips with the 600bhp two litre 16v motor, and showed all the flair that netted a record 10 ice racing titles.
For 2013 French Rallycross Champion Jérôme, Lohéac marks a one-off outing in World RX this year, the Frenchman contesting the five rounds of Euro RX in which victory in Belgium, second in Germany and fourth in Norway, place him second in the overall standings. The experienced racer will start among the favourites on his home track, and will doubtless be keen to impress in front of the enthusiastic supporters.
Track action starts with open practice at 10.30am on Saturday 5 September, with the opening two heats starting from 14.00. Warm-up at 08.30 on Sunday morning (6 September) starts track proceedings with the third heats from 10.00, and the fourth at 11.30. The semi-finals and Final start at 15.00. Live timing, live streaming in certain territories, and additional information can be found on the official website at www.rallycrossrx.com.
For a recap of Yvan’s first taste of Albatec’s Peugeot 208 RX Supercar,
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Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal :
“This event is probably the biggest event of the year for Albatec as a team; a French car, on a French track, with two French drivers and some of our key personnel are French, so it’s like a home event for us. Personally I love the track, the atmosphere, the crowd, the organisers do a great job and of course IMG as always will put on a great show.
“In Yvan and Jérôme we have two very strong drivers, with a lot of experience between them, however the field is exceptionally strong and the competition fierce, so we’re under no illusions that it will be a tough challenge.”
Yvan Muller #168 :
“I’m very excited about racing in Lohéac, particularly the very first start and the first corner. I spent some time learning the track on a simulator, but of course you can’t compare that to racing there. The cars are great and very fast, and have been designed to be good on both tarmac and gravel, so I’m sure there will be some compromise required. I think the biggest challenge will be to learn how much to attack on the gravel, and indeed the tarmac, to make sure I look after the tyres across the weekend.
“I don’t have any specific plans, just to explore and to learn, so I have not set myself any goals for the weekend. Rallycross has grown so much, and has a great future ahead of it, and at world championship level I expect the battle to be very intense.”
Jerome Grosset-Janin #74 :
“I’m feeling good about my home event, it is good to feel the atmosphere to come, it’s exciting. Loheác is a very special event on the RX calendar, with all its history, it’s the place where rallycross arrived in France nearly 50 years ago and the crowd is also very impressive. It’s a typical French gravel track, so thankfully there’s no dust! I made the podium there when it was a French championship round and the semi final last year, so I have hopes of a great result this year.”
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