Records, Wins and a little clag….

Looks like a race broke out at a Swedish drinking contest. Next year, who wants to road trip to Höljes with us?

HÖLJES, Sweden (Tanner Foust Racing) – Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust put up a great fight in Sweden at Round 5 of the European Rallycross Championship this weekend to cross the finish line in third-place overall.

But the driver emerged from the contest with sixth-place in the standings after he drew a black flag during the fiercely competitive main event. Officials declared a knock into teammate Andreas Eriksson too aggressive and, even though Eriksson insisted the incident wasn’t Foust’s fault, the rallycross newcomer wound up with a penalty.

“The sport is wild and race contact is part of the game,” said Foust. “But there’s a fine line between aggression and being deemed too aggressive and that’s part of my learning curve.”

The event in Höljes, Sweden, was the rookie Foust’s third round of the European Rallycross Championship. He has qualified for the A-Final main event twice this season, and is rapidly becoming a threat in the series. The versatile driver is the first American to compete in the FIA European Rallycross Championship.

The rallycross in Höljes, about 300 miles northwest of Stockholm, is a season highlight, with a course featuring massive jumps and blind corners. The event draws more than 30,000 enthusiastic fans to take in the action.

“This is an incredible event,” said Foust. “These hoards of people camp in the woods for the entire week and overrun a town that normally only has a population of 100. The enthusiasm for the racing is absolutely fierce!”

Foust took on a tough field at the hotly contested Lydden Hill round last month to emerge with his first top-five result. In what was only his second event, he battled through a tough field to advance to the final heat before a driveshaft failure took him out of podium contention.

Foust is scheduled to contest five European Rallycross events this season in a 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive Rockstar Energy Rallycross Ford Fiesta prepared by champion Eriksson’s Olsbergs MSE Ford team.

“Mechanically, the Fiestas were perfect. We made small changes to set-up for weather but otherwise had no issues,” said Foust. “It was really a great weekend for the team getting their two cars into one of the most difficult A-Finals in the series.”

He got his first feel for the vehicle at X Games in 2009 when he drove one of the team cars to a bronze medal. This summer’s X Games contest in Los Angeles will feature an American version of the rallycross discipline, known as SuperRally. Foust will compete both in the traditional rally event, as well as the SuperRally contest, where it is hoped his European Rallycross experience will give him the edge on the competition.

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.

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. 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.
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 two-time Formula Drift champion (2007, 2008), and one of just four drivers to have been invited to every X Games Rally competition, with the Rockstar driver scoring gold in 2007, silver in 2008 and bronze in 2009. 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.

His varied race experience also includes multiple seasons of open wheel competition, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, five Ice Racing championships, a Production Rally Championship title and the SCORE Baja. He also holds class lap records at numerous US road courses in Time Attack.

Even if you haven’t seen Foust on the track you’ve likely witnessed his precision car control on TV or the big screen. He was a lead driver in the Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Bourne Ultimatum, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron Man 2, movies, and also handles stunt driving in numerous popular TV shows and commercials.

Foust is currently an on-air host for Supercars Exposed, and was also picked as co-presenter for the US version of the seminal BBC auto show, Top Gear.

TANNER FOUST’S RALLYCROSS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:

Rockstar Energy Drink (www.rockstar69.com); Ford Racing (www.ford.com); Etnies (www.etnies.com); Memphis Car Audio (www.memphiscaraudio.com); Fulmer Helmets (www.fulmerhelmets.com); Motegi (www.motegiracing.com); Alpinestars (www.alpinestars.com); Lucas Oil (ww.lucasoil.com); Olsbergs/MSE (www.olsbergs.se); AEM (www.aempower.com); Öhlins (www.ohlins.com; Teknines (www. teknines.com)

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit www.tannerfoust.com. To arrange interviews or find out more, contact pr@galeandco.com . Photos by Jan Tore Brustad.