Pelfrene not planning to change his approach as he joins rallycross elite

While acknowledging that he has ‘an awful lot to learn’, Anthony Pelfrene has vowed to maintain the same approach that has served him so well over his career so far when he joins the FIA World Rallycross Championship grid this season.

It was confirmed last week that the Frenchman will enter the fray behind the wheel of a sustainably-fuelled, latest-generation Peugeot 208 WRX in 2024 – only his fourth campaign in the dual-surface discipline.

In evidence of his rapid progression to-date, last year, Pelfrene finished an excellent third overall in the French Rallycross Championship’s headlining Supercar division – a result that he subsequently replicated on ice in the Elite category of the famous Trophée Andros.

Having additionally made a brace of appearances on the European stage in Euro RX1, the 37-year-old Pontoise native is now eager to see how he measures up against the world’s best, and is evaluating a number of pre-season outings to bring himself up-to-speed before the main action begins.

“It’s an incredible and magical feeling to think that I’m going to contest a full programme in an FIA world championship,” Pelfrene enthused in an interview with French website, Pure Rallycross. “The return of combustion cars to World RX is what persuaded me to take this step, and I’m confident my Peugeot has the potential to be in the mix. It certainly won’t be the best car in the field, but it should be capable of battling for the podium.

“I’ll obviously need to discover a number of new circuits, but the switch of tyre manufacturer means I probably won’t be at quite so much of a disadvantage as I would have been on Coopers, because everybody will need to get used to the Hoosiers and the way they behave.

“I’m preparing myself mentally and I clearly have an awful lot to learn, but that won’t really change my approach as I have faced new challenges in my career every year to-date – and so far, things seem to have gone pretty well!

“Honestly, I think this is the right time to take on this challenge. I’m treating 2024 as a learning year, with the objective of then stepping it up a gear in 2025. I can’t wait to get going!”