British team Albatec Racing has announced that 2013 FIA European Rallycross Championship runner-up Davy Jeanney will replace Jacques Villeneuve for Lydden Hill.
Frenchman Davy Jeanney will fill the second Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 SuperCar seat that is left vacant by Canadian Jacques Villeneuve for the Lydden Hill round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. With the 1997 Formula One World Champion away to contest the clashing ‘Indy 500’ the same weekend, the vice-champion of the 2013 ERC will join Albatec Racing Team Principal Andy Scott at the Englishman’s home event, the ‘World RX of Great Britain’, aboard of the team’s second almost 600bhp strong Peugeot 208.
Last year the 2010 French Rallycross Champion greatly impressed with his results, eventually being the only driver to seriously challenge Russian Timur Timerzyanov for the title. In the nine 2013 ERC rounds Jeanney made it to six Finals in which he claimed four times a 3rd place on the podium. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old has not been able to find enough backing for a full 2014 WRX programme, but will get a chance with Albatec Racing to put himself in the limelight at the British track, situated halfway between Dover and Canterbury.
Although Jeanney is the 2013 ERC vice-champion in SuperCars he has not been able to fix himself a 2014 WRX programme. © JKR/ERC24
Andy Scott, Albatec Racing team Principal and driver of car no #26: “I am delighted to have secured Davy for our home event at Lydden Hill and look forward to welcoming him into the Albatec family. We have always had a very good relationship with him, so I am extremely happy that he will be joining us and confident that he is strong enough to challenge for a podium finish, if not an outright victory. Davy’s strengths lie not only in his outright speed but also his technical knowledge and his cool-headed approach which enables him to consistently run at the front. Hopefully we can offer him the opportunity to kick-start his 2014 season in the best possible way, with a strong performance in front of our home crowd.”
Davy Jeanney, Albatec Racing driver of car no #25: “This is not something we have just decided as we always had an interest in Albatec. We see the 208 as a good compromise in terms of the length of the car. This is what I like to drive and the technology inside is impressive, thanks to the people working at Albatec. I have a really good relationship with Andy as we know each other well since we have been racing against each other for quite a while now. There was really no reason not to join Albatec.”
Jeanney and his older Citroën C4 SuperCar pictured flat out during last years ERC round in Hungary. © JKR/ERC24
The Frenchman continued: “Not being able to compete in the whole championship gives me extra motivation, it’s like a bonus for me towards next year, and it’s giving me a good opportunity to work on getting really good results, I am really going to be 200% committed. Lydden Hill is a track that I know very well, where I have always had great results. So, hopefully we can get a good result, being in the top five or even a podium is the target for now. For sure the greatest opposition will come from Petter Solberg, Timur Timerzyanov and Timmy Hansen as well of course, but I would also expect drivers like Alexander Hvaal and Toomas Heikkinen to be really strong.”
Top photo: Jeanney is going to drive the car of Villeneuve, here pictured during the Montalegre WRX round. © JKR/ERC24