Red Bull Global Rallycross season resumes in Atlantic City

After a month-long hiatus, the Red Bull Global Rallycross season resumes with a brand new event at Bader Field in Atlantic City. The largest Supercar field of the season will attempt to chase down points-leading teammates Tanner Foust and Scott Speed of Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross.

On last race, after grabbing his first victory of the season at Marine Corps Air Station New River at the beginning of July, defending Red Bull GRC champion Scott Speed ended the month on top once again in Washington DC. He held off inaugural DC event winner Patrik Sandell to do it, while Tanner Foust completed the podium in third after a late-race pass on Brian Deegan.

Driver Changes

Two new entries join the Supercar grid to produce a season-high of 13 cars. World Rally Championship veteran Chris Atkinson joins Subaru Rally Team USA in a third entry, racing alongside Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen, for his first career Red Bull GRC start. 2014 GRC Lites runner-up Kevin Eriksson makes his first Supercar start in the series at Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE, also in a third entry, joining Joni Wiman and Sebastian Eriksson.

The track

The longest course of the 2016 Red Bull GRC season, Bader Field will play host to a 10-turn, 1.102-mile course characterized by lengthy straightaways and tight corners. Click here for more information on the track.

Title battle tightens between teammates

Scott Speed’s victory in Washington DC marked two things: first, the only time all season that Tanner Foust hasn’t led a lap in a Supercar final this year, and second, the closest championship spread of the season. Speed now trails his Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross compatriot by only six points with four rounds remaining.

Factory efforts bolster supercar entry list

Subaru Rally Team USA and Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE will each run three Supercars for the first time in 2016 this weekend in Atlantic City, adding Chris Atkinson and Kevin Eriksson to the grid, respectively. The weekend will also mark the first time that each team will run three of their current-generation vehicles in the same event, with Subaru entering a brand-new WRX STI and OMSE campaigning the third Civic Coupe that has served as a spare car at previous events.

Quotes

Chris Atkinson, #55 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI: “This is pretty exciting for me. I have a lot to learn, but it’s cool being downtown here in Atlantic City. It’s going to be fun and we will have a good crowd out there. I’m just looking forward to racing—normally I’m doing rally driving and I was in China a few weeks ago doing a race in the Gobi Desert. So I’m excited about this weekend!”

Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle: “It’s pretty amazing to be here! I’ve been here zero times before, this is my first time in Atlantic City, and it’s really spectacular to be right on the shore at such an iconic place in the US. The track they’ve built for us looks like it’s going to be one of the more exciting venues we’ve got—there’s going to be a lot of passing and the Joker is huge. It’s the longest track that we’ve had so far, so I’m really excited for this weekend.”

Kevin Eriksson, #96 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe: “I’ve been on the side watching the development of the Civic this year. I had been very eager to test it, but instead of a test, I got a race! I’m really looking forward to it—the Civic is getting better and better, so hopefully we can do well this weekend.”

Red Bull Global Rallycross