Dumfries and Galloway race ace Andy Scott once again demonstrated his class against a quality Euro RX field in Sweden this weekend in his Motis/Rock Oil/Teng Tools supported Peugeot 208RX Supercar. The Albatec Team Principal won two of his qualifying races and set the seventh and ninth fastest heat times on his way to tenth overall in the intermediate standings. His results allowed him to comfortably qualify for the semi-finals, where he finished fourth.
The high-speed Höljes circuit is a firm favourite of the Albatec boss, but his opening qualifying race didn’t go according to plan. Lining up fourth, Andy didn’t get the best start and was subsequently stuck behind slower cars resulting in compromised lap and overall race times. Starting race two from pole position, Andy got a good start and slotted into second at turn one behind Jere Kalliokoski. Andy was held up by the the leader for three laps before passing him at the joker and subsequently pulled out an advantage and took the win. His result netted the seventh fastest time and put him ninth overall in the intermediate standings.
Heading into Sunday’s final two qualifying races, the mood was confident, however contact at the first corner in Q3 caused a left rear puncture which cost him more than two seconds a lap and dropped him down to P14. The final qualifier however saw a return to form, with a second comfortable race win earning him the ninth fastest heat time and putting him tenth overall to easily qualify for the semi-finals.
Lining up fifth for the second of the two six lap races, an early joker lap allowed him to focus on the battle for a top three finish to secure a slot in the Final. A spirited drive saw him up to fourth at the flag, narrowly missing the qualifying positions.
Andy Scott, Team Principal and driver #26 Albatec Racing :
“I’m really pleased with the result, particularly considering the lack of seat time in the car. It’s always great to race at Höljes, the atmosphere as always was fantastic, with a record 51,000 spectators and it was great to demonstrate our potential once again alongside a quality field of Euro RX drivers. I think we’ve shown we have the pace to run consistently at the front, we just had a couple of issues, namely a mistake in Q1 which cost me time, and the contact in Q3 which compromised our times.
“Despite that, we had great pace in the other two races which allowed us to easily qualify. In the Final, starting from fifth on the grid, it was always going to be a tough challenge to get into the top three and the vital qualifying positions, but you just never know in rallycross, sometimes it’s possible so you have to keep pushing.”
