COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (June 19, 2011) – Rockstar Energy Drink
Driver Tanner Foust had a spectacular weekend in Colorado at the Global
RallyCross Championship: Last Chance.
Foust won the first of two races of the weekend, progressing through a series
of knock-out elimination heats in the head-to-head SuperRally competition, to
face down and beat two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm.
“It was an amazing feeling to beat Grönholm to the finish,” said
Foust. “I consider him one of the very best drivers in the world and it
was almost unbelievable to find myself standing in the middle of the
podium.”
The experience Foust has gained in the European RallyCross Championship so far
this season appeared to give him the edge on Grönholm. Although the pair drove
virtually identical Ford Fiesta rallycross cars, it was Foust who had the
advantage on the starts.
Ford Teammate Brian Deegan finished third in the race, making for an all-Ford
Fiesta podium. “Seeing the cars lined up together really reinforced how
wicked the Fiesta is,” said Foust.
The stage was set for another battle between the best in the field for the Day
2 RallyCross competition, with Foust advancing handily to the eight-car final
race to start on the front row. Although Grönholm had a strong start, Foust
kept the pressure on, moving up through the pack past veteran rallycrosser
Michael Jernberg.
As Foust gunned for the 2nd place finish, Jernberg struck him in the final
corner. Foust careened through the finish cones backwards before pirouetting
over a concrete barrier.
“It’s not an ideal way to get on the podium but I’ll take it!” Foust
said in post race interviews. Race officials initially declared Foust the
second-place finisher. However, more than 24 hours later the GRC event
organizers announced they had moved the finish prior to the race and Foust
would be given a DNF.
“In 16 years of racing I have never been so opposed to a race
organization’s decision, and I used to drift for judges,” said Foust.
Despite the late ruling, Foust maintains his lead in the Global RallyCross
Championship heading into the grand finale at X Games 17 July 30 and 31. Foust
has taken two outright wins and finished five of the last six events on the
podium, the sixth, and the exception, was at Last Chance.
Foust is favored for a strong result at X Games. He won Gold medals in both
rally car races at the 2010 X Games contest and, a month ago, became the first
American ever to win a round of the intensely competitive European RallyCross
Championship in Portugal.
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 eight 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. In
addition to rallycross competition in Europe and the United States, Foust’s
2011 competition schedule also includes a return to X Games Rally Car Racing
events this July. He returns to Europe for the next two weekends for the
Norwegian and Swedish rounds of the European Rallycross Championship.
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 the first American ever to win a round of the European
Rallycross Championship, a three-time X Games gold medalist (2007, 2010), and
two-time Formula Drift champion (2007, 2008). 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. He returned to the event in 2010 as teammate to
Mick Doohan on the All Star Team. His varied race experience also includes
multiple years of open wheel competition, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, rally
racing, various types of sports car racing and the SCORE Baja.
When he isn’t racing, the professional driver also performs in films and on
television. He is an on-air host for the US version of the seminal BBC auto show,
Top Gear, on HISTORY. His stunt driving includes performing as 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. He recently set the world distance record for a
four-wheeled vehicle jump with a daring stunt sponsored by Hot Wheels and at
the Indy 500.
Foust’s 2011 racing program is supported by Rockstar Energy Drink, Ford, etnies
and Motegi.
FOR MORE INFORMATION To arrange interviews or find out more, contact Fred Chang
at Fred@BeyondMG.com
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