The event in Höljes, Sweden, is a season highlight for the European Rallycross Championship, with more than 30,000 to pack into stands to take in the action.

“Rallycross is an exciting and ridiculously aggressive sport, which makes it ideal for spectators,” said Foust. “This round of the championship in Sweden is incredibly popular with fans – it’s really a cultural event with racing at its center — and I’m really glad we were able to make Sweden part of this year’s season.”

The driver, who is running his rookie season in the series, took on a tough field at the hotly contested Lydden Hill round last month to emerge with his first top-five result. In what was only his second event, he battled through a tough field to advance to the final heat before a driveshaft failure took him out of podium contention.

“Imagine strapping yourself into an angry little 600 hp car in a real-life video game and you’ll get an idea of what European rallycross is like.” said Foust, who will be among more than 40 drivers set to contest the top Division 1 category at the event.

Foust is scheduled to contest five European Rallycross events this season in a 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive Rockstar Energy Rallycross Ford Fiesta prepared by champion Andreas Eriksson’s Olsbergs MSE Ford team. The versatile driver is the first American to compete in the FIA European Rallycross Championship.

He got his first feel for the vehicle at X Games in 2009 when he drove one of the team cars to a bronze medal. This summer’s X Games contest in Los Angeles will feature an American version of the rallycross discipline, known as SuperRally. Foust will compete both in the traditional rally event, as well as the SuperRally contest, where it is hoped his European Rallycross experience will give him the edge on the competition.

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 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.
ABOUT TANNER FOUST

Tanner Foust is a versatile and multi-talented driver known for his supreme car control and a proven track record of podium placements and national championships. He is a two-time Formula Drift champion (2007, 2008), and one of just four drivers to have been invited to every X Games Rally competition, with the Rockstar driver scoring gold in 2007, silver in 2008 and bronze in 2009. He has twice represented Team USA in the annual Race of Champions, teaming with NASCAR star Carl Edwards in 2008 and Travis Pastrana in 2009.

His varied race experience also includes multiple seasons of open wheel competition, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, five Ice Racing championships, a Production Rally Championship title and the SCORE Baja. He also holds class lap records at numerous US road courses in Time Attack.

Even if you haven’t seen Foust on the track you’ve likely witnessed his precision car control on TV or the big screen. He was a lead driver in the Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Bourne Ultimatum, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron Man 2, movies, and also handles stunt driving in numerous popular TV shows and commercials.

Foust is currently an on-air host for Supercars Exposed, and was also picked as co-presenter for the US version of the seminal BBC auto show, Top Gear.

TANNER FOUST’S RALLYCROSS 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); Motegi (www.motegiracing.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 .

I finished 8th overall at my debut European Rally Cross Championship event this weekend in Portugal.

Learning a new discipline is a process and I’m happy with the result – especially considering the level of competition here and how tricky this track is. Of course I made mistakes this weekend, but I tried to learn the associated lessons and build on this experience for next time. I’m somewhat familiar with the track in England, so I’m looking forward to battling it out there — while realizing I’m still on the steep side of the learning curve.

The team is quickly working things out with the cars and I am starting to come to grips with how to get them around the track. It’s hard to describe just how fast the Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta is. All the cars in the top class have twice the horsepower of a World Rally Car! And the aggressiveness of the other drivers is also something I may not be able to do justice in words. Even so, I got caught behind some wild guys in an early heat and almost got black-flagged myself for being too aggressive.

Like a rally, there are so many variables that are out of our control, like short rainstorms that can affect your results, but unlike rally the most important thing is: every single corner!

My next round is ERC Great Britain at the end of the month (May 29-31). Hope to see you out there.

April 30, 2010

We’ve arrived in Portugal for the first round of the European Rally Cross Championship. The new Rockstar Energy Fiesta Rallycross car looks awesome! With a new turbo design from Garret it should be pushing more than 50lbs of boost.

The competition will be good here with some of the best rally cross drivers in the world taking on this contest. There will be more than 30 top-level cars and dozens of competitors in other classes this weekend.

Today is scrutineering and we’ll get out on the Montalegre rally cross track to compete tomorrow. The track is extreme. Most of the track consists of tight gravel turns, but we’ll see 115 mph on the front straight.

Look for the coverage of this event and others from the European Championship on ESPN2 later this summer.

By Lorne Tresize: frozenmotionphotos.com

Pics by Lorne Tresize/www.frozenmotionphotos.com