Dumfries, Scotland (UK) — 31 August 2017; Albatec Racing duo Tommy Rustad and Jere Kalliokoski resume their bid for FIA European Rallycross Championship honours at Bretagne World RX of France at Lohéac this weekend (2/3 September). The Dumfries team field a pair of 600bhp Peugeot 208 RX Supercars among a 35-strong Euro RX entry.
For Tommy, the event marks his second appearance at the track located in the tiny village of Lohéac-Bretagne, following his World RX outing there last year. The HTB Racing-backed Norwegian is currently fourth in the title standings, and knows a solid result in the final two rounds is essential to keep alive his championship hopes.
Jere heads into the unknown this weekend, making a debut appearance at a track he calls ‘legendary’, but following some solid performances in the opening three rounds, the Finn is targeting a place in the Final on Sunday.
The capacity, quality entry certainly won’t make things easy for the duo; aside from the championship regulars there’s a wealth of local talent keen to impress in front of an expected 75,000-strong partisan crowd. The event is one of the most popular on the schedule, the challenging nature of the track producing great racing, and so far, some success for the Andy Scott-led team.
Following a productive shakedown test at Dreux on Wednesday, the team heads straight to Lohéac to begin preparations for the event which starts with the traditional parade into the village at 15.00 on Friday. Practice gets underway at 17.30 that afternoon, and continues at 08.45 on Saturday morning, ahead of three qualifying races at 13.15, 15.20 and 18.00. Warm-up at 08.30 on Sunday is followed by Q4 from 09.30, the semi finals at 13.30 and the Finals from 15.00.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“I’m very excited about returning to Lohéac, it’s one of my personal favourites on the schedule, and as a team we’ve enjoyed some success there. Tommy suffered some bad luck in Sweden, he set some incredibly fast times across the qualifying races, but was unfortunate to be on the receiving end of some extensive damage to his car in his semi final.
“Jere really lifted his game and comfortably qualified for the semis and I’m certain he has the ability to reach the Final this weekend. Both have demonstrated solid pace across the opening three rounds, now we need the results to back that up.”
Tommy Rustad, Driver Albatec Racing:
“I’m very much looking forward to returning to Lohéac this weekend, after a long break away from racing it will be nice to get back in the car. It’s a nice circuit, different to the other tracks, but a real rallycross circuit that’s very fast and where the grip levels are changing all the time.
“It’s challenging at the start particularly, and generally gets better over the course of the weekend, but the biggest challenge could be the weather as the difference between wet and dry there is more noticeable. The team has a lot of experience there, but I had only my first race there last year, so I will focus on doing my job the best I can as we need to deliver better results. The car is quick, but we’ve had some bad luck, now we need everything to come together to keep our championship on track.”
Jere Kalliokoski, Driver Albatec Racing:
“It’s good to be back behind the wheel after the long summer break. It’s been two months since the last Euro RX race, although I’ve been driving in the Finnish Rallycross Championship, so I’m ready for Lohéac. I haven’t raced there before but it’s one of the most legendary circuits on the calendar and always has a fantastic crowd, so it will be a special race for everybody.
“Even though I haven’t raced there before, I have seen and heard many stories about the track. I think the local drivers will make it tougher for the permanent drivers to win there and I expect a very tight and close battle. We’ve put on some solid performances over the opening races, and my minimum target this weekend is to get to the Final.”
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