Tanner Foust To Debut European Rally Cross
Thursday, April 29, 2010
 Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust will head to Portugal this weekend to debut in his new racing discipline, European-style Rally Cross. He becomes the first American to compete in the FIA European Rally Cross Championship.
Foust will pilot a 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive Rockstar Energy Rally Cross Ford Fiesta prepared by champion Andreas Eriksson's Olsbergs MSE Ford team. Foust got his first feel for the vehicle at X Games in 2009 when he drove one of the team cars to a bronze medal.
Foust said this contest at the Pista Automóvel de Montalegre in Montalegre, Portugal, (May 1-2) is a great opportunity to get a handle on this exciting discipline.
"These are some of the best rally cross drivers in the world and I'm looking forward to going head-to-head with them and learning from them," said Foust.
Foust is a two-time Formula Drift champion and X Games Rally gold medalist who has twice represented Team USA at the international Race of Champions.
The multi-talented racer and TV host is expected to be a threat at the Portugal competition. He took part in a contest at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit in the UK earlier this month, qualifying with the fastest time of the day.
 He will take on four events overseas before European-style Rally Cross events start up in America. The sport will dominate the second-half of the traditional U.S. rally season.
"European-style rally cross is an exciting new discipline for me and I think American fans are going to really enjoy it," said Foust.
The sport 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's 2010 competition schedule also includes a return to the Formula Drift series in his Rockstar Energy Drink Scion TC, ESPN's Summer X Games and select rally events.
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