Scott in Super1600 move & Grosjean heads for the ice

Swift Sport Rallycross Championship front-runner Darren Scott will race a Citroen C2 in the Super1600 category of the MSA British Rallycross Championship next season, having recently acquired an ex-rally car. Swift race winner Scott has been planning to make the move for some time, and will start his British RX campaign in the car at the season’s first round at Croft next March. The Kent-based driver is also planning to race the car in Europe, either in the European or French Championship.

Benjamin Riviere (Mini Countryman) and Jean-Philippe Dayraut (BMW M2) claimed a victory each at the second round of the Andros Trophy in Andorre, while ex-Formula One driver Olivier Panis (Audi A1) finished second in the first final and his team mate Benoit Treluyer (Audi A1) claimed the same position in the second. A pair of third place finishes for Jean-Baptiste Dubourg placed him second in the championship, just one point behind leader Dayraut. In the Elite category, a third and first place finish for Nathanael Berthon (Audi A1) ensured he left the event with an eight-point lead over Eddy Benezet (BMW M2) who finished second in the first race, while Jacques Wolff (Mazda 3) claimed victory. Points leader Christophe Ferrier claimed a first and second in the two Andros Trophy Electrique category while Mattieu Vaxiviere won the second final.

Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean will race alongside Euro RX and World RX driver JB Dubourg in the DA Racing team at the third round of Andros Trophy at Alpe d’Huez this weekend. Grosjean is no stranger to the series, and has won twice since his debut in 2009. “Even with the 60 kilos of success ballast that were reserved for him as title holder, JB managed to take second place in the first race (of the winter) before winning the following one,” said Grosjean. “These results reward all the efforts made by DA Racing. There are many elements that motivate me to drive with the team, to try to race at the front and go for a podium, which would be my first in 2016.”

The MSA British Rallycross Championship will feature new timekeepers in 2017. Hungarian firm Chronomoto, which provides timekeeping and results services for the FIA World Rallycross Championship will work with British RX for the first time, and also implement a World RX style start light system to the series.

Former rally driver Adam Keeler as announced that he has bought the Peugeot 309 that British FIA European Rallycross Champion Will Gollop raced in the series in 1993 and intends to return it to its original specification. Read about the car and project here.

We apologise that there was a notable omission from Seven Days last week. Son of three time European Rallycross Champion Franz Wurz, ex-Formula One podium finisher Alexander Wurz tested a rallycross Supercar for the first time with World RX Team Austria at Greinbach in Austria recently. He drove the first of the squad’s 2017 specification Ford Fiestas, alongside team owner Max Pucher. “That car, with that power is really impressive, very cool and I understand why I could get very hooked on this sport and this driving,” he said. “For me this is so exciting because I grew up on the rallycross tracks with my dad. It was my first time stepping into a rallycross car on a rallycross track. It was sensational, it’s like going back to where I grew up.” The team plans to run a car for Wurz in selected events next season.