Tanner Foust snapped a 12-race winless streak in Red Bull Global Rallycross competition with a thrilling victory in Volkswagen Rallycross NY, held on Sunday at Nassau Coliseum in New York. Foust, driving the #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Polo, beat SH Racing Rallycross driver Nelson Piquet Jr. and Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block to the line in a mad dash to the finish.
“It’s been a tough year—the guys with the most finely tuned road racing skills have really dominated this year, and this was a course that road racing skill really played in,” said Foust. “Luckily, I was able to use a little bit of rallycross skill, focusing on starting, because the track was really hard to pass on in order to get the job done.”
After incidents eliminated Patrik Sandell and Sverre Isachsen and led to red flag periods, Foust took advantage of a two-car front row in the final to get a clean start and push out to the lead. Second place was hotly contested throughout the event, with Ken Block, Piquet Jr., and Scott Speed all holding the runner-up spot during the six-lap main event.
Speed crossed the line second, but was disqualified from the event for making unapproved adjustments to his vehicle during the first red flag under Article 7.7 of the series’ supplemental regulations. As a result, Speed was dropped to ninth position, elevating Piquet Jr. to second place and the points lead.
“Obviously, we want to take the points lead on the track, but regulations are regulations,” said Piquet. “Points-wise, it’s great, and it’s great for the team. I work great with my team, I love them, and we’re bonding all the time. We want to win a race, but we think about the championship and scoring as many points as we need to.”
In GRC Lites, Kevin Eriksson earned his first career victory just four days after his 18th birthday, winning over Olsbergs MSE teammate Mitchell DeJong and Pedro Piquet. Piquet, the 15-year-old brother of Nelson Piquet Jr., and fourth place finisher Oliver Eriksson were each making their GRC Lites race debuts in New York.
