Grint to race in British RX as championship announces BT Sport deal

British driver James Grint will race an Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 in the full MSA British Rallycross Championship this season. The former rally driver competed in the FIA European Rallycross Championship last year, following a debut Supercar appearance in British RX at Pembrey in South Wales, graduating from the single-make RX150 category. “I’m really excited to be staying with Albatec in 2016. I’ve known the team for a while now and I’ve got two amazing mechanics, who I get on very well with, and I trust implicitly which I think is one of the most important things a driver needs to have in his team,” said Grint, who three times qualified for the semi-finals in Euro RX last season. “Of course behind every successful team is a great team boss, and Andy [Scott, Albatec Racing owner] is brilliant. He’s always on hand to talk strategy and all kinds of important racing stuff, but he will also pick up a spanner or a welding torch to help get the car on track if needed.”

The MSA British Rallycross Championship will be broadcast on BT Sport through 2016, with one-hour event highlight programmes being produced by Globecast, led by Gary Champion. Coverage of all British RX events will also be available through a British RX YouTube channel. “BT Sport is delighted to expand its motorsports portfolio, which already includes Moto GP, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, FIM Speedway World Championships and Formula E,” said Simon Green, head of BT Sport.

Sam Jones, son of former Hot Hatch racer Mike Jones, will contest a full season in the MSA Junior Rallycross Championship this year, and is targeting a move to Super1600 in his fathers ex-works Suzuki Swift in 2017. Jones made his rallycross debut last season at Pembrey, but was unable to complete campaign due to accident damage sustained at Lydden Hill in August.

Saint Die Des Visges hosts the final weekend of the Andros Trophy ice racing series, where FIA European Rallycross Championship front runner and FIA World Rallycross Championship podium finished Jean-Baptiste Dubourg leads the title race, as he has for the entire series. The fight for the championship will be between Dubourg and Franck Logorce this weekend, who are currently separated in the Elites Pro class by 11 points. Dubourg’s younger brother Andrea will also take part in a sister DA Racing Renault Clio, while World RX event winner Toomas Heikkinen (Mazda 3) will be hoping to score a second victory of the season.

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