Chanoine and Speed win as Albatec takes rallycross to Glasgow

The sixth round of the French Rallycross Championship took place at Kerlabo, and it was Fabien Chanoine (Renault Clio) who claimed victory in a mixed up event where four different drivers set fastest time in each of the four qualifying races. Chanoine took his joker early in the final, while Andrea Dubourg (Citroen DS3) led, chased by points leader Firmin Cadeddu (Citroen C4). Driving his ex-Davy Jeanney car, Cadeddu remained second after the jokers played out but it was Chanoine who won with Dubourg third. Florent Beduneau (Peugeot 208) and Philippe Maloigne (Peugeot 208) completed the top five. Alexander Theuil (Citroen DS3) dropped two places in the championship by failing to make it into the final, while British visitor Andy Scott (Peugeot 208) had a torrid event and crashed out in Q1.

Maximillien Eveno (Citroen C2) won the Super1600 category ahead of Jimmy Terpereau (Citroen C2) and championship leader Samuel Peu (Citroen Saxo), who scored his sixth consecutive podium in third. Volkswagen Scirocco driver Mathieu Trevian won the Division Three final ahead of Marc Morize (Citroen DS3), while Sebastien Le Farrand (Peugeot 306) won in Division Four for the third time this season to extend his series lead. Stephane Hameau (Peugeot 306) finished second in a similar car. Julien Hardonniere claimed victory in the single-make Twingo R1 Cup final.

Volkswagen Andretti Autosport driver Scott Speed (Volkswagen Polo) won the latest round of the Global Rallycross Championship at New River, Washington DC to creep closer to series leader Tanner Foust in the points table. Speed started the final from pole position and seized the lead at the first corner, followed by Patrik Sandell (Ford Fiesta). Driving a similar M-Sport built car, Brian Deegan (Ford Fiesta) ran third for most of the race, chased by Tanner Foust (Volkswagen Beetle) but lost the place to the championship leader on the last lap. Deegan was fourth with Joni Wiman (Honda Civic) fifth and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Steve Arpin (Ford Fiesta) sixth. Former event-winner Nelson Piquet Jr (Ford Fiesta) returned to the series with SH Rallycross but could only finish seventh. In the GRC Lites category, Cabot Bigham claimed his first victory of the season, ahead of OlsbergsMSE pairing Oliver Eriksson and Miki Weckstrom.

The inaugural IGNITION Festival will take place this weekend on the streets of Glasgow in Scotland, where Albatec Racing will promote rallycross by fielding Peugeot 208 Supercars for Andy Scott and 2015 European Rallycross Champion Tommy Rustad. Also running in the live street demos will be 13-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner David Coulthard in a Red Bull F1 car, while World Endurance Champion Mark Webber and Scottish British Touring Car Championship driver Gordon Shedden will also attend.

The Rallycross Challenge Europe series has cancelled its intended sixth round of the championship at Jastrzab in Poland after event organisers felt the circuit would be unable to meet required standards alongside financial insecurity surrounding the event. The RCE will now run over six rounds instead of seven.

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