Albatec Racing duo Tommy Rustad and Jere Kalliokoski headed to Bretagne World RX of France for round four of the FIA European Rallycross Championship. The Dumfries team fielded a pair of 600bhp Peugeot 208 RX Supercars among a 35-strong Euro RX entry and Tommy came away with sixth in a thrilling finale at the legendary French track. Challenging track conditions hampered the team’s aim to get both Peugeot 208 RX Supercars into the final after Jere was eliminated before the semi-final stage.
The event kicked off with the traditional parade into the village on Friday afternoon, with two practice sessions held across Friday evening and Saturday morning. The combined results put Tommy fourth and Jere 12th ahead of the first of three qualifying races later that day.
The duo was drawn together in race six, where a good start for Jere put him straight into the lead after the first corner, with Tommy moving into second at turn two. A three-car incident on lap two slowed the field across the remaining laps, but the former Euro RX champion made his experience count, passing Jere for the win on the Finn’s last lap joker putting Tommy third overall and Jere P15.
The day’s second race had Jere up in race five, where despite a good start he was forced to back off and take an early joker. Stuck behind a slower car, he held on to take third, and place 14th overall. Tommy’s Q2 race saw him start from the middle lane, and a good start put him second. A frantic battle with championship leader Anton Marklund and Thomas Bryntesson ensued, and he eventually finished third overall.
Jere overcame a poor start in Q3 to take the race win, and with it the 12th fastest overall time to keep his hopes of reaching the Final very much on track. Third after the first two corners, he jokered on lap three, rejoining in fourth, and a superb pass at the last corner earnt him his first race win of the weekend. Tommy used his experience to good effect in his third qualifying race, starting from the middle lane, a clever start meant Marklund ran wide, and allowed Tommy to take the lead into turn two. Another fierce battle with Marklund however cost time, and allowed two cars to pass Tommy at the joker, and dropped him to third, but elevated him to second in the Intermediate standings.
Sunday morning brought with it torrential rain and a very slippery track, making conditions difficult for the warm-up and subsequent qualifying races. Despite that, the pair were happy with their pace in the session, Tommy fourth fastest with Jere sixth.
In the final qualifying race Jere didn’t get the best start, and elected to joker on lap one, then had to defend his position when Joachim Hvaal came out of his joker. This resulted in a slower lap time, in third place, which dropped him out of the semi-final qualifying positions. The conditions were difficult for Tommy too, who was not able to get off the pole spot and ran third into the first corner. The grip levels were poor, and he ran wide at turn two on the second lap, losing a place, however a good recovery put him second in his race, but 12th overall. His previous results however put him fourth overall after the four qualifying races, and secured a front row start for the second semi-final.
After a decent start, Tommy was second into turn one but ran wide in the second corner dropping to fourth. Contact with Alexander Hvaal in turn one of the penultimate lap meant both retired in the gravel, but due to other collisions Tommy was classified third.
Heading into the Final, Tommy was immediately on the back foot, starting from the back row he made a decent start but in torrential rain was unable to capitalise on the 600bhp of the two litre, 16v Peugeot and dropped to fifth. Despite a determined effort from the Norwegian, a front left puncture sustained to the HTB Racing-backed 208 meant he could not get on terms with the leaders, and he finished sixth.
The series resumes with the final round at Riga, Latvia over the weekend of 16 & 17 September.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“I’m disappointed at the overall results for both Tommy and Jere, especially as we demonstrated early on with both cars and drivers that we had the overall pace. The third heats were comprised for Tommy with driving standards, and Jere had technical problems, which hampered his progress.
“In warm up in wet conditions we were P4 and P6 so it looked really good for us, but unfortunately, we didn’t seem to get the start procedure right for the conditions and neither Tommy or Jere could maximise their race pace. Jere was basically denied a semi final position because of technical issues and Tommy made a small mistake in the semi which probably cost him second. In the final from the back row our starts weren’t as good as they should have been in the wet and of course we collected a puncture which ruined any chance of a strong result. Across the weekend the cars and drivers both proved again they have the potential and we look forward to Latvia and the last chance to come away with a win.”
Tommy Rustad, Driver Albatec Racing:
“In the first heat, I got a good start and followed Jere for one lap and then went for the joker. Through the joker I overtook him but there was a wheel on the track so it cost me some time, although I managed to win and do the third fastest time. In Q2 and Q3 I had a big battle with Marklund, which compromised our speed. In Q4 on Sunday it was raining, I didn’t get the best start from P3 and in very difficult conditions, I wasn’t too happy with the balance of the car, it was a bit too stiff for the conditions so I could only manage 13th and I was a bit disappointed with that.
“In the semi-final I had a big battle with Alexander Hvaal, which ended up with a crash between us but as I was third we went through. In the final, I came out number five, fighting with Marklund, but after the joker I got a left front puncture and couldn’t do anything but get to the flag very slowly. It wasn’t the best weekend, but as I always say there’s a short space between heaven and hell. We’re third in the championship, and I’m very happy with the team, they’re doing a good job and everything is working right mechanically. Looking ahead to Riga, Anton is too far away so we need now to fight for silver or bronze in the championship battle.”
Jere Kalliokoski, Driver Albatec Racing:
“Practice went well before the first qualifying race, and I had a good feeling with the car and set up. In Q1 I made a good start but the driveshaft broke on the last lap and I nearly spun but luckily, I finished the race. In the other races on Saturday the outside start positions meant the races were challenging. On this track, you have to get a really good start, and even if you do there’s always traffic and it’s a case of managing the car. In order to win you need to be first into the first corner.
“Today it started to rain early morning, and in the final qualifying race I was a little bit late off the line and suffered with wheel spin. Due to that I was stuck behind another car and unfortunately was unable to qualify. After being 12th last night, and after Q4 dropping to P15, I’m disappointed as my aim was to reach the semi-finals. So now, looking forward to Latvia, my aim firstly is to qualify and then to reach the Final.”
