Dumfries and Galloway based Albatec Racing will have a pair of Peugeot 208 RX Supercars in action for the third round of the Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship at Croft, North Yorkshire on Sunday 6 May.
Albatec Team Principal Andy Scott take the wheel of his Motis/Rock Oil/Teng Tools-supported 208 for the first time this season, after missing the opening two rounds. Last month, the Dumfries racer finished ninth on a rare rally outing in Barbados, but now resumes driving duties at the wheel of the #126 600bhp, 4WD Peugeot as he bids for victory.
Croft has been a happy hunting ground for the double British RX vice-champion; he won the final round there in 2011 and 2013, and has finished second three times, including twice in the end-of-season British Rallycross Grand Prix, most recently on his last outing in 2015.
Lining up in the Eddie Stobart partnering NCME-backed #34 machine is 2018 BRX round two winner, triple British Rally Champion Mark Higgins. At Lydden Hill last time out, Mark was on dominant form, recovering from a rare error in Q1 to bounce back with Q3 heat victory, a win in his semi-final, and his maiden triumph in the wet Final.
Croft signals a new experience for the Manxman, but two strong performances from the opening two rounds, puts him just three points adrift of five-time British champion Julian Godfrey going into this event.
What the entry lacks in quantity next weekend, it more than makes up for in quality, with the entire Supercar entry comprising previous race winners. Practice gets underway at Croft at 09.30 on Sunday, followed by three qualifying heats and the Final.
Mark Higgins, Albatec Racing driver #34:
“I’m looking forward to Croft, obviously it’s another new circuit for me, but with no joker lap the starts are going to be even more critical than they have been so far. I know the car a lot more though, and I’m looking forward to moving that momentum forward. We have a good base set-up and we’re improving the car all the time. The biggest thing is to try and be as consistent as you can and get a clean run. I made a few mistakes in the opening rounds, hopefully we don’t have any at Croft this weekend.”
Andy Scott, Team Principal and driver Albatec Racing #126:
“I’m really looking forward to getting back into the championship after the disappointment of having to withdraw from the first two rounds and will be supporting Mark in our bid to bring home a 1-2. Having no joker can make it a bit of a lottery and with the random first heat draw, where you start in that first race can put you on the back foot all day. It’s a very difficult circuit to pass on, with the gravel section offering the only real overtaking opportunity. But for the team it will be good to have two cars out for the first time this year, we’ll arrive at a good set-up quicker, but my role is very much to support Mark.”
Dr Mark Busfield, Director, National Centre for Motorsport Engineering:
“I think it’s fair to say we’re all looking forward to continuing our championship battle after the great result we had at Lydden Hill. It’s another new circuit for Mark, but it’s great to be running two cars at Croft, with the welcome return of Andy into the driving seat. Andy has pledged to help Mark in his championship bid and it will be an additional experience for Mark to have collaboration from a team-mate.”
