LOS ANGELES (April 27, 2010) – Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust will head to Portugal this weekend to debut in his new racing discipline, European-style Rally Cross. He becomes the first American to compete in the FIA European Rally Cross Championship.
Foust will pilot a 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive Rockstar Energy Rally Cross Ford Fiesta prepared by champion Andreas Eriksson’s Olsbergs MSE Ford team. Foust got his first feel for the vehicle at X Games in 2009 when he drove one of the team cars to a bronze medal.
Foust said this contest at the Pista Automóvel de Montalegre in Montalegre, Portugal, (May 1-2) is a great opportunity to get a handle on this exciting discipline.
“These are some of the best rally cross drivers in the world and I’m looking forward to going head-to-head with them and learning from them,” said Foust.
Foust is a two-time Formula Drift champion and X Games Rally gold medalist who has twice represented Team USA at the international Race of Champions.
The multi-talented racer and TV host is expected to be a threat at the Portugal competition. He took part in a contest at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit in the UK earlier this month, qualifying with the fastest time of the day.
He will take on four events overseas before European-style Rally Cross events start up in America. The sport will dominate the second-half of the traditional U.S. rally season.
” European-style rally cross is an exciting new discipline for me and I think American fans are going to really enjoy it,” said Foust.
The sport is a blend of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition. It promises intense crowd-pleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment. Six drivers line up to start at once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, hills and transitions between pavement and gravel.
Foust’s 2010 competition schedule also includes a return to the Formula Drift series in his Rockstar Energy Drink Scion TC, ESPN’s Summer X Games and select rally events.
TANNER FOUST’S RALLY CROSS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:
Rockstar Energy Drink (www.rockstar69.com); Ford Racing (www.ford.com); Etnies (www.etnies.com); Memphis Car Audio (www.memphiscaraudio.com); Fulmer Helmets (www.fulmerhelmets.com); Alpinestars (www.alpinestars.com); Lucas Oil (ww.lucasoil.com); Olsbergs/MSE (www.olsbergs.se); AEM (www.aempower.com); Öhlins (www.ohlins.com; Teknines (www. teknines.com)
FOR MORE INFORMATION visit www.tannerfoust.com. To arrange interviews or find out more, contact pr@galeandco.com . PHOTO: Sneak peak at Tanner Foust’s Rockstar Energy Rally Cross car.