Rally team roll out supercar

Frenchman Phillipe Maloigne from Dumfries rally group Albatec Racing is heading to Essay in France where he will take the wheel of the team’s #21 Peugeot 208 RX Supercar for the first time in competition. The Frenchman joined the team for two days testing in Faleyras, France recently, where he completed a number of successful runs ahead of his Albatec debut. No stranger to the top level of rallycross, having reached the semi-finals twice in his two FIA European Rallycross Championship outings last season, Philippe joins the Albatec team at a track he knows — where a strong qualifying position is key to securing a good result. Philippe said: “Of course I’m very excited about racing with Albatec this weekend, I know we have one of the highest performing cars, operated by the best technical team. "The only issue will be to avoid any additional pressure for the driver." He added: “The test in Faleyras was very helpful and I learned so many things during the two days with the Euro RX champion and vice champion; what more could I expect from a learning session. "The engineer’s performance level is amazing, the mechanics are cool and professional, and Andy and Audrey were as always completely involved and I really appreciated that." Team Principal Andy Scott said: “I’m delighted to be a part of the prestigious French Rallycross Championship this season. "Having contested selected events before with Julien Fébreau and Kristian Sohlberg, it’s proved to be a very competitive, and incredibly professional series, and I’m sure the weekend will be equally exciting." He added: “Philippe has proved to be a very competent, fast and professional driver and I’m delighted to welcome him into the team and excited to see how he performs this weekend. "We had a very successful test recently and he acclimatised well, so I’m certain he’ll be competing for a place on the podium.”