Dumfries, Scotland (UK) — 1 June 2017: Faleyras is the venue for round two of Rallycross France this weekend (3&4 June), where Albatec Racing and Philippe Maloigne bid for their first victory of the season in the super competitive domestic series. Philippe will drive the #21 SamShield-backed Albatec Peugeot 208 RX Supercar looking to improve on his sixth place finish last year.
A popular track for both the team and Philippe, Faleyras is the fastest on the schedule, and also one of the most technical and well suited to the Dumfries team’s 600bhp two-litre, 16v Supercar. There has been a lengthy break since the opening round in Essay, where Philippe was consistently among the fastest on day one. A disqualification from Q3 on Sunday morning compromised his chances and dropped the former motocross racer out of contention for a return to the podium.
This weekend the Frenchman returns to race action and joins a quality entry including Guerlain Chicherit winner of the first round, and Fabien and Jonathan Pailler. Among the drivers making their first appearance this season are Jean-Baptiste Dubourg, fitting in a French RX outing in between his World RX commitments, F1 presenter Julien Fébreau, a previous Albatec race winner, and Margot Laffite, daughter of former F1 racer Jacques Laffite.
Track action in Faleyras commences with practice at 09.45 on Saturday, with the opening two qualifying heats at 13.30 and 18.30. On Sunday warm-up starts at 08.00, followed by the third and fourth heats at 09.00 and 12.00 and the semi finals getting underway from 13.45.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“Although I won’t be in France as I’m contesting Sol Rally Barbados, I’ll be wishing Philippe and the team the very best in Faleyras. It’s a circuit on which we have a lot of experience, with a lot of test mileage, and one where we’ve previously had success.
“The French series is among the best in the world with a high level of competition, and this weekend’s race has a particularly high level of drivers. Philippe has proved time and again that he has the potential to be a regular front runner and after the disappointment of Essay, I’m sure this weekend he’ll be able to convert that pace into a strong finish.”
Philippe Maloigne, Driver Albatec Racing #21:
“It’s been a long break since the last race and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel. I like the track very much, it’s fast and technical, and suits me and the car, so I’m feeling confident going into the race weekend. The last race in Essay was disappointing in terms of results, after a great start we were feeling confident of a good result, but here I’m sure we will again have the pace and hopefully we can bring home a good result.”
Images: ©McKlein
