ABT CUPRA is back: At the Island X Prix in Sardinia the squad was the most successful team with a total of 35 points and celebrated on the podium both on Saturday and Sunday. The trophies for second and third place were the first of the current season for Klara Andersson and Sébastien Loeb and are already whetting the appetite for the season finale of the championship for electric off-road racing cars in Chile in early December.
“Congratulations to Klara, Seb and the entire team – everyone has done a great job and has finally been rewarded with trophies and champagne for their hard work,” says ABT CEO and Team Principal Thomas Biermaier. The newly formed duo was already among the fastest pairings on the track at previous events, but were repeatedly set back by a lot of bad luck. This weekend, the team also showed its potential with two wins and two second places in the qualifying races.
“We had a good car, the team and Klara did a mega job,” says Sébastien Loeb after his first two trophies for ABT CUPRA. “Two podiums and the most points of all teams – of course we’re happy about that, even if we would have liked to win.” Especially on Sunday, victory seemed to be within reach when Loeb attacked the leader already on the first lap. But because a defect meant that no wiper water was pumped onto the windscreen, the final turned into a blind flight for the Frenchman and later also for Klara Andersson, which ended smoothly with third place.
The day before, the duo had shown an impressive catch-up from the intermediate last to second place. “It was pure chaos,” says Klara Andersson with a laugh. After a spirited overtaking manoeuvre, the Swede caught a flat tire, but still steered the wounded CUPRA Tavascan XE to the finish line ahead of the competition. “We had to give everything for the two trophies and together with the whole team we are proud of it. We have fought our way back to success from difficult times – after finishing second and third, the goal for the two races in Chile should be clear ...”
The season finale will be held on the first weekend of December (2 and 3 December) in the Atacama Desert. Chile is the fourth and final location on this year’s calendar after Saudi Arabia, Scotland and twice Sardinia.
