Oxford United were in pole position today when players and staff were guests of the RX2 Team at Silverstone.
This weekend sees the RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires headed for the home of racing in England with the eagerly-anticipated Speedmachine festival.
Not only will there be high speed racing but there is also music, with healdiners Razorlight and Dizzee Rascal entertaining the big crowds expected.
United were invited along to meet the drivers, including Nathan Heathcote, one of the home grown racers hoping to win on home soil
“It’s always a pleasure to drive in front of your home crowd, but Speedmachine is going to make World RX of Great Britain even bigger and better,” the 21-year-old enthused. “Rallycross events are never anything less than an exciting experience so to add music, exhibitions, demonstrations and test-drives into the mix will create such a buzz.”
Nathan and his fellow drivers were joined by Karl Robinson, Derek Fazackerley, Chris Allen, Curtis Nelson, Owen James and Peter Rhoades-Brown plus other members of staff for a football session that ended with the U’s winning a penalty shoot-out, before the drivers got their revenge by showing how it was done on a race simulator in the paddock area of the track.
“It was a really good day “ Curtis Nelson told us. “It’s always fascinating to meet people from other sports and talk about preparation, the training regime and things like that. The competitions we did were not all that serious but it was all about coming along to see how they do things and the amount of sacrifice and commitment that those guys have to go through to get to the top of their sport. I hope their weekend is a massive success and we thank them for their hospitality today”
The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy is head-to-head, short, sharp racing on mixed surfaces (dirt and asphalt) contained within amphitheatre venues. High profile drivers are equipped with RX Supercars with over 600bhp and the ability to accelerate from 0-60mph in less than two seconds.
The next round takes place at Silverstone this weekend. Find out more RIGHT HERE