DA Racing will return to the FIA World
Rallycross Championship for the first time in seven years in 2024, running the
sustainably-fuelled combustion Peugeot 208 that Anthony Pelfrene is aiming to pilot
to podiums during his maiden campaign in the top-flight.
Back in 2017, DA became the first independent
French team to enter a full season of World RX competition, fielding entries
for Jean Baptiste ‘JB’ Dubourg, Grégoire Demoustier, Davy Jeanney and François
Duval.
The Gironde-based outfit will this season run a
car for Pelfrene – who announced his participation last month – with the ex-Laurent Bouliou
machine currently being re-prepped by DA’s highly-skilled engineers in the team’s
workshop near Bordeaux.
“It’s a real pleasure for us to be able to
rejoin the world championship,” enthused team founder, Dominique Dubourg. “We
have great memories from a fantastic year in 2017, when we were privileged
enough to visit some amazing countries and circuits.
“It goes without saying that a programme in
World RX requires significant planning and preparation. This isn’t necessarily
something we foresaw at the end of last season, but the change to the technical
regulations authorising the return of combustion cars convinced Anthony to
throw his hat into the ring.
“The level in the world championship the last
time we competed was obviously very high, and it will arguably be even tougher
in 2024 with the ‘Battle of Technologies’ – but it’s a challenge we’re
relishing!”
As to Pelfrene, who has fast found his feet in
the sport following a comparatively late start, Dubourg agrees with the
assessment of Yann Ehrlacher and Julien Fébreau that the 37-year-old Pontoise
native has the potential to surprise at the international pinnacle of the discipline.
“Anthony might not have as much motorsport
experience under his belt as most of his rivals, but what he does have is a lot
of natural talent,” the 1992 European Autocross Champion opined. “He is very
quick and has been a front-runner on the domestic scene for the past couple of
years – and we know how competitive French rallycross is.
“Even if he is going up against the world’s
best, we’re confident in his ability to secure some very strong results. He is
well aware that it will not be easy – we were completely open
with him about the calibre of the competition that he can expect to face in
World RX – but he is extremely motivated to take on this new challenge. He has
a two-year plan, with the goal of gaining as much experience as possible in
2024 before putting that all to good use in 2025.”
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