The opening round of Rallycross France didn’t go as planned for Dumfries and Galloway based Albatec Racing and Philippe Maloigne, with a crash in the Final bringing the weekend to a dramatic close. The Circuit Des Ducs in Essay played host to round one and started well for the Dumfries team and French ace, but ended with substantial damage sustained to the SamShield-backed Peugeot 208 RX Supercar.
The weekend got off to a great start with a competitive pace across the morning practice putting the former motocross racer consistently at the top of the times. Electing to miss the last run, he consequently dropped to sixth quickest, but headed into the first qualifying race in confident mood. A strong performance netted a race win, the fifth fastest overall time and a best lap just six tenths off the fastest lap.
Starting Q2 from the outside position, Philippe took second, with the fourth fastest overall time and the second fastest race lap. Sunday got underway with morning warm-up where his strong performance continued with the second fastest time. After a great start in Q3 he was third going into turn three when he bumped into the car in front, and inadvertently passed him. Although he crossed the line second, after the race he was subsequently disqualified, dropping him down the order.
The final race was equally challenging, after rain interrupted proceedings just before the start. From the back row he missed the start, the rare error dropping him to ninth overall at the finish, but still good enough for a place in the semi-finals. Fourth in his semi allowed him to progress to the all-important Final, where he lined up on the back row.
Heading into turn three, an unsighted heavy crash in front left Philippe nowhere to go and he hit the damaged car of Christophe Jouet. Moments later Philippe’s 208 itself took a substantial hit from a following car. The race was red flagged to allow Jouet to be recovered from his stricken motor, but at the restart Philippe’s car was too badly damaged to continue.
Philippe and Albatec will return to race action in round two of Rallycross France at Faleyras on June 3-4.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“It was a challenging event, but taking the positives Philippe once again showed incredible speed across the entire weekend. He was consistently fast in practice and the opening two races, but circumstances across the second two put him on the back foot. Despite those issues, he recovered well to qualify for the semis and could certainly have been on the podium in the Final. We join the Rallycross France community in wishing Christophe all the best for a good, fast recovery.”
Philippe Maloigne, Driver Albatec Racing:
“The weekend was a combination of good and bad. We had strong pace in practice and the first two races, and on Saturday night we were all in a very positive mood. The speed was there all weekend but the disqualification from Q3 compromised the rest of the day. In terms of results it wasn’t a good way to start the season as I was feeling very confident going into the weekend. But on a positive note we were on the pace right from the start, so I will put the weekend behind me, focus on the next test, and mentally prepare myself for the next race in Faleyras when I will fight again for the win. Before that, I wish Christophe a speedy recovery, it was a big crash and I hope to see him back racing with us soon.”
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