Sébastien Loeb Racing made an encouraging start to its 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championszhip campaign, with driver Grégoire Demoustier scoring a point at the World RX of Spain.
Running the French squad’s all-new Peugeot 208, Demoustier narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals, as adverse weather affected proceedings at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The former Sébastien Loeb Racing World Touring Car Championship driver began the weekend acclimatising himself with the new car jointly designed and developed by Onroak Automotive (Richard Tur) and Oreca, which had just been completed at the workshop, though track time was hindered by poor weather.
Saturday’s first race was held in treacherous conditions, but Demoustier put his previous World RX experience to good use, driving four clean laps in order to rack-up mileage.
In the second qualifying, the 27-year-old increased his pace and improved his time, as the slippery track surface continued to catch out a number of his rivals.
Day two saw improved conditions for the final two qualifying sessions, with Demoustier completing the Q3 in 15th place on a drying circuit.
In the final qualifying, the Belgian set his fastest time of the weekend, earning himself a point thanks to his and the team’s strong performances throughout the weekend. He also went up against the “boss”, Sébastien Loeb, who ran in the same Q4 session.
Next for the Sébastien Loeb Racing team will be the World RX of Portugal from Montalegre, for round two of the World Rallycross Championship (28-29 April).