Dealer
Higgins returns to British RX this Saturday
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Mark Higgins will be one of the big stars racing at Silverstone this Saturday at the opening round of the 2018 Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship, with the triple British Rally Champion driving a 600bhp turbocharged Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 RX Supercar.
The Wales-based Manxman will wear a Stilo ST5 GT Composite helmet, supplied by Nicky Grist Motorsports and painted by PDP in Tenbury Wells.
The car will be run by Albatec Racing and in partnership with the National Centre for Motorsport Engineering (NCME), providing invaluable on-event and classroom experience for students studying Motorsport and Automotive Performance Engineering at the University of Bolton.
Mark, who is now just as famous for his stunt driving roles in James Bond films as he is for his rallying successes, is no stranger to rallycross either, having taken an RX150 buggy to the B Final victory at Pembrey back in 2009.
There is a star-studded entry for this Saturday’s rallycross meeting. In addition to the very best British Rallycross Championship drivers, FIA World Rallycross stars Sébastien Loeb, Timmy Hansen, Andreas Bakkerud, Guerlain Chichent, Oliver Bennett and Andy Scott will also be racing.
“This is a really great opportunity and one that I’m very excited about,” says Mark. “I’d been talking to Andy [Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing] and Albatec for a while about having a test but our diaries kept clashing. They’re a great team, probably the premier team in the UK with a proven, successful car and at this stage in my life I’ve learnt there’s only one way to do something, and that’s properly. The personnel involved with the project, like Andy Scott and Mark Busfield, means we start from a strong position but I’m also excited about helping to develop the car not just for the British series but European and World Championships too.
“Having the NCME at University of Bolton on board is great, the entire project just seemed to tick all the right boxes. It’s a very exciting programme from every aspect and one that we can really get our teeth into. I’ve spent a lot of time testing cars for manufacturers, and working with the students to develop the Peugeot is one of the elements I’m looking forward to the most. The car is already at a very good level, so working with the students will be really exciting to see if we can get the march on the other teams. I’ve really missed rallying in Britain, so I’m very pleased to be competing in the UK again in an environment where hopefully a lot of people can support us. The competition is fierce in British RX, they go in pretty hard, and I’m not going into it too confidently, but I’m certainly not going there just to make up the numbers.”
