KOUVOLA, Finland (September 24, 2012) – Rockstar Energy Drink driver Tanner Foust showed top speed and competitive driving in his final European Rallycross Championship appearance of the season to guarantee a strong result in the title chase.
The weekend’s race leaves Foust in second place in the championship. He will miss the final European round this coming weekend to compete in Las Vegas in the Global Rallycross Championship, but he has already secured enough points to maintain a strong finish in the series. It will be his second season result among the top drivers of the ERC. He finished the championship in the runner-up position in 2011.
“The Rockstar Energy Drink Ford Fiesta performed incredibly well this season in what is known as one of the world’s most brutal motorsports,” said Foust. “To finish in the top ranks two years in a row is a testament to the strength of the car, and the hard work of the entire team.”
The American started the weekend by setting the fastest laps in the official timed practice session, and won the first heat. The track was well suited to Foust, featuring banked turns and the biggest jumps of the European championship.
But wet weather overnight meant a challenging second day of competition. In muddy conditions, Foust suffered a tire puncture on the first corner of his first heat on Sunday. He held on to finish the heat, but a windshield wiper failure during his next race saw him running totally blind as mud accumulated on the windscreen and wiped out his visibility. He landed in the B-Final, in which he had to place first or second to advance to the weekend’s main event.
“It’s a dreaded battle of desperation to be in the B-Final,” said Foust. “It isn’t a position anybody wants to be in.”
He fought through the race to finish second and earn a spot at the back of the grid for the A-Final main race but the muddy conditions put him at a massive disadvantage from the drop of the green flag. The cars in front of the pack shot mud and rocks onto his windscreen, a wiper blade took a hit, and Foust again struggled to see. He gamely raced to the end, to finish the weekend in sixth-place.
“I raced as effectively as I could, but I had so little visibility that I bounced off the guardrails a few times, thinking they were other cars,” said Foust.
Foust and the Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta have been strong performers this season. The American has earned four podium results in seven European Rallycross Championship starts in 2012 and hasn’t finished out of the points at any round. He made his debut in rallycross competition only two years ago, with a calendar of select European events, and rapidly became a contender.
A fan favorite, Foust’s Hollywood experience as a stunt driver and TV host draw considerable interest in Europe, where fans line up for photos and autographs at every race. He returns to the United States this week where he resumes filming for the third season of Top Gear, airing now. He will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the September 29 round of the Global Rallycross Championship. With two rounds remaining in the Global Rallycross Championship, he currently leads the standings.
His new YouTube series, Life in the Foust Lane, gives fans a glimpse of this packed schedule. Weekly episodes are released each Thursday.
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 and changing track and surface conditions that can include dirt, gravel, and wet and dry tarmac.
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.
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, produced by BBC Worldwide Productions and airing on the HISTORY channel.
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 he also handles stunt driving in numerous popular TV shows and commercials.
TANNER FOUST’S RALLYCROSS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:
Rockstar Energy Drink (www.rockstar69.com); Ford Racing (www.ford.com); Etnies (www.etnies.com) and Motegi (www.motegiracing.com).
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit . To arrange interviews or find out more, contact Fred Chang from Tanner Foust’s management team.
E-mail: fred@beyondmg.com
Office: 949.660.7972 x. 29
EFAX: 949.480.0638
Mobile: 714.623.1995
http://www.BeyondMG.com
