WOOTTON, UK (May 26, 2014) – Rockstar Energy Drink driver
Tanner Foust put on a strong performance at the Lydden Hill Circuit this
weekend to finish his first World Rallycross Championship appearance of the
year in the top five.
“It’s great having the opportunity to race at Lydden Hill, the place where
rallycross was invented and a track that gets such huge and enthusiastic
crowds,” said Foust. “I always have an amazing experience here in the
UK.”
Driving a new Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Polo, Foust was an early
favorite for the podium at the British event. An estimated 15,000 fans packed
into the venue this weekend to take in the second stop of the 2014 World RX. In
a record field of 37 drivers, the popular American driver finished all but one
of his four opening heats near the top of the rankings to earn a spot in the
main event.
The Lydden Hill Circuit is the birthplace of rallycross, where the very first
races took place more than 40 years ago. It is a challenging track that calls
for smooth and tidy driving on the technical road course portions, and
full-attack sideways slides through gravel.
Promoted to the six-car Final at the last minute when one of his rivals was
unable to come to the line, Foust lined up against championship regulars,
including Volkswagen teammate Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen. He battled off
the start, fighting a power steering issue, but ultimately had to slow when his
car began to run out of fuel and teammate Heikkinen slipped past him at the
finish. He crossed the line in fifth, ahead of former World Rally Champion
Petter Solberg.
The Volkswagen Polo R that Foust campaigned at Lydden Hill was developed
specifically for World RX competition by Marklund Motorsport and was new to the
driver this weekend. Although it is under development this season, it has
already shown winning potential.
“This new car has more than proven itself at the top of the field,”
said Foust. “To have two of the team’s cars reach the Final in such a
competitive field is an accomplishment and I look forward to returning to World
RX next month to see what we can do in Finland.”
In the United States, Foust will soon debut the all-new Rockstar Energy Drink
Volkswagen Beetle, a 560 horsepower turbocharged rallycross car built for
Global Rallycross competition.
Rallycross is a blend of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition.
It promises intense crowd-pleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment.
As many as 10 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.
The two-time Global Rallycross Champion is running a select season of four
events in the World RX series this year and will return to Europe in a month’s
time to contest the Finnish round. Before then, Foust will be back in Global
Rallycross competition with the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross squad at X Games
in Austin, Tex., on June 7.
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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, national championships
and world records. He is a three-time U.S. rallycross champion (2012, 2011,
2010) who has also won four X Games gold medals (2013, 2010, 2007), and two
Formula Drift championships (2008, 2007).
He has also held multiple world records including for the astonishing Hot
Wheels Double Loop Dare, which saw Foust drive a car through a 66-foot
loop-the-loop. He also scored the indoor speed record for TV’s Top Gear USA,
and set a distance jump record with Hot Wheels when he made a 332′ ramp-to-ramp
leap in a truck at the Indy 500.
His varied race experience includes multiple years of open wheel competition,
the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, rally racing, various types of sports car racing and
the SCORE Baja. He has represented the USA in the annual Race of Champions
three times, teaming with NASCAR star Carl Edwards in 2008, Travis Pastrana in
2009, and Mick Doohan in 2010.
A year after making his overseas debut in the European Rallycross Championship
in 2010 with a select campaign, Foust became the first American driver to win a
round of that championship and finished both 2011 and 2012 ranked in the top
three; he won two of the three rounds he entered last year. At home, Foust has
been a dominant driver in rallycross since it was first introduced to the
United States in 2010.
When he isn’t racing, the professional driver also performs in films and on
television. He is an on-air host for the U.S. version of the seminal BBC auto
show Top Gear, produced by BBC Worldwide Productions and airing on the HISTORY
channel. Episodes of his online documentary series, Life in the Foust Lane, are
available on the Rockstar Energy Drink YouTube channel.
Foust also handles stunt driving in numerous popular films, TV shows and
commercials. He is featured as a stunt driver in the upcoming Need 4 Speed
film, as well as other major releases including the Bourne Legacy, Bourne
Ultimatum, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron
Man 2 movies.