LOS ANGELES, CA (Tanner Foust Racing; March 23, 2011) –
Racing driver and TV host Tanner Foust will vie for the win in his Rockstar
Energy Drink Ford Fiesta at the Global RallyCross Championship season-opener,
“The Revolution,” March 25-26 at Irwindale Speedway, outside of Los
Angeles.
Foust, who earned a pair of gold medals at the 2010 X Games competitions and
finished on the podium at all three US rallycross competitions late last year,
is one of the favorites to win the event.
“Rallycross is like driving in a real-life videogame,” said Foust.
“The cars and drivers are mean and aggressive, and it’s an incredible
challenge; I’m looking forward to getting back into the driver’s seat.”
The race, broadcast on ESPN2 and live on ESPN3, will see drivers from the top
ranks of action sports and rallycross in the United States and Europe battle
for the inaugural Global RallyCross Championship title. The event this Friday
and Saturday will take place on a mixed dirt and tarmac course and feature a
70′ gap jump, seen for the first time outside of X Games Rally competition.
Among Foust’s key competition are two-time World Rally Champion Marcus
Grönholm, in a similarly prepared Ford Fiesta, Hyundai-backed Rhys Millen and
five-time British rally champion Marcus Dodd. Grönholm said recently he thought
Foust was the driver to watch out for.
“Since I would rank Marcus Grönholm in the top-five drivers worldwide,
having him label me as the guy to beat is quite an honor,” said Foust.
“The problem is, I know how good his Ford Fiesta is since I have the same
one!”
Foust returns to competition in 2011 in an all-wheel drive Rockstar Energy
Rallycross Ford Fiesta prepared by champion Andreas Eriksson’s Olsbergs MSE
Ford team. The all-wheel-drive car is fast and nimble, featuring a 550
horsepower engine and two-second 0-60 mph acceleration times.
Foust is focusing his competition efforts on rallycross and X Games competition
in the United States and Europe this season. He will become the first American
to contest the European Rallycross Championship title in 2011, and will vie for
the inaugural Global RallyCross Championship in six races held over three
weekends in the United States. He also plans to return to X Games 17 this
summer in Los Angeles to defend the double gold medals he scored in 2010.
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.
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 will next travel to a rural-industrial complex outside of Seattle, WA,
for Round 2: Twin Peaks (April 15-16), and open the European Rallycross season
with a race at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit April 24-25 in Wootton, England
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 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.
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 SPEED TV’s Battle of the Supercars, and
the US version of the seminal BBC auto show, Top Gear, on HISTORY.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To arrange interviews or find out more,
contact fred@beyondmg.com.
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