Red Bull GRC Media Alert // Race Previews: Atlantic City

Red Bull GRC Race Preview: Atlantic City
FOR PRESS IMAGES: http://win.gs/RedBullGRCMedia
IN BRIEF: 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.
TUNE IN INFORMATION:
Sunday, August 28, 3PM ET on NBC
Sunday, August 28, 3:30PM ET on Red Bull TV<http://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1KNHTGSM91W11/red-bull-global-rallycross>
TICKETS: Click here<http://bit.ly/grctickets>
EVENT SPOTTER GUIDE: Click here<http://redbullglobalrallycross.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/AC-Spotter-Final.pdf>
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<http://redbullglobalrallycross.com/news/features/track-facts/track-facts-red-bull-global-rallycross-atlantic-city/> 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.
FAN FAVORITE DRIVER OF THE YEAR VOTING OPENS: Red Bull GRC is pleased to announce the start of its fourth annual Fan Favorite Driver of the Year vote. Once per day through the end of the season, fans are able to vote for their favorite Supercar drivers. The winner will be crowned at the season-ending awards banquet. Click here<http://bit.ly/grcfanfave> for more information.
QUOTES: A selection of quotes in advance of this weekend’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Atlantic City:
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.”
————
GRC Lites Race Preview: Atlantic City
IN BRIEF: The final stretch of the 2016 GRC Lites season kicks off with an inaugural event in Atlantic City at Bader Field. Points leader Cabot Bigham shoots for his second win in a row after coming off his first career triumph in Washington DC last month.
TUNE IN INFORMATION:
Thursday, September 1, 5:30PM ET on NBC
Sunday, August 28, 3:30PM ET on Red Bull TV<http://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1KNHTGSM91W11/red-bull-global-rallycross>
TICKETS: Click here<http://bit.ly/grctickets>
EVENT SPOTTER GUIDE: Click here<http://redbullglobalrallycross.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/AC-Spotter-Final.pdf>
LAST RACE: Rookie points leader Cabot Bigham finally took his first victory of the 2016 season at RFK Stadium in Washington DC in front of numerous friends and family. Bigham held off defending Lites champion Oliver Eriksson and his teammate, Miki Weckstrom of Olsbergs MSE X Forces; the three drivers had previously entered the event 1-2-3 in the championship.
DRIVER CHANGES: This weekend’s entry list remains the same as the one in Washington DC last month, with 12 Lites cars on the grid. Sandra Hultgren remains in a fourth Olsbergs MSE X Forces entry, while Alex Keyes will be looking to make the most of his final start of the year for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing before Tanner Whitten closes out the season.
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<http://redbullglobalrallycross.com/news/features/track-facts/track-facts-red-bull-global-rallycross-atlantic-city/> for more information on the track.
TOP THREE DRIVERS BREAK AWAY FROM PACK IN POINTS: Cabot Bigham, Oliver Eriksson, and Miki Weckstrom have set themselves apart from the rest of this year’s Lites field with four races remaining. The American, Swede, and Finn sit in the top three spots in points, separated by only 27 points. But Weckstrom is 46 points clear of fourth place Conner Martell, and 89 points ahead of fifth place Christian Brooks, establishing the leading trio as the clear championship favorites heading into the weekend.
PARITY ON PODIUM KEEPS FIELD CLOSE: Half of the drivers entered in this weekend’s event have finished on the podium at least once this season, while nine of the 20 Lites drivers to start races this year can claim a top-three finish on their resume. Likewise, five different drivers have taken victories in the seven completed rounds of the 2016 season, with only two—Olsbergs MSE X Forces teammates Oliver Eriksson and Miki Weckstrom—having found a way to repeat the feat.
FAN FAVORITE DRIVER OF THE YEAR VOTING OPENS: Red Bull GRC is pleased to announce the start of its fourth annual Fan Favorite Driver of the Year vote. Once per day through the end of the season, fans are able to vote for their favorite Supercar drivers. The winner will be crowned at the season-ending awards banquet. Click here<http://bit.ly/grcfanfave> for more information.
QUOTES: A selection of quotes in advance of this weekend’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Atlantic City:
Oliver Eriksson, #16 Olsbergs MSE X Forces GRC Lites: “There’s still a while to go this year—four more rounds and over 200 points up for grabs. Now is when it tightens up and where the action happens. We have to really be on point and not make any mistakes, but I’m feeling confident. I was in the same position last year and it ended up well, so I think I can do it again.”
Jon Bennett, #54 CORE autosport GRC Lites: “Colin and I are both enjoying this new challenge of GRC. It's been great to meet new and talented competitors. I have also enjoyed learning to adapt our cars and my driving style to a constantly changing surface. In preparing for Atlantic City, I now have some good notes from our previous events to review and better understand the feel of our GRC Lites car and how it's affected by changing conditions.”
Sandra Hultgren, #51 Olsbergs MSE X Forces GRC Lites: “For me, my goal is to learn from the other guys. We have a bit of tarmac back in Europe, but it’s not the same. It’s more grip here and there are more high speed corners. For me, it’s just to keep up and try to learn while I am racing really. I feel that I can adapt to the car quite fast, it’s just a matter of time behind the wheel and getting my self confidence back in place.”
————
If you do not wish to receive further correspondence on this email list, please contact cleone@redbullglobalrallycross.com<mailto:cleone@redbullglobalrallycross.com>.
Red Bull Global Rallycross
17383 Sunset Blvd. A210
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 USA
P: +1(213)745.2123
www.redbullglobalrallycross.com
Twitter: RedBullGRC
FB: RedBullGRC
Instagram: RedBullGRC

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!<https://www.tixr.com/groups/redbullgrc>

[cid:BF361B51-C6F6-4F8E-9D18-599298A40F38]