Dave Newsham will return to racing action at Croft as the Inverness based driver makes his Rallycross debut with Xtreme Motorsport in a Citroën Saxo, competing in the Rallycross Grand Prix.
Newsham brought his fourth campaign in the British Touring Car Championship to an end on a high last weekend as he secured the 2014 Jack Sears Trophy, to top off a campaign where he took the AmD Tuning.com team to their first overall podium at his local circuit, Knockhill.
With his campaign in the Ford Focus completed, the 47 year old now switches his attentions to the Rallycross Grand Prix, his first appearance in a Rallycross event. Newsham is following in the footsteps of his AmD Tuning.com team boss, Shaun Hollamby in making his Rallycross debut at the event, as Hollamby piloted a Mini Cooper in the same event in 2013.
Looking ahead to the switch to Rallycross and the Rallycross Grand Prix, Newsham joked: “Being a touring car driver, I can’t say that all my driving is on tarmac! We always try to make the circuit as short as possible, and sometimes that means going off track a little!”
Xtreme Motorsport have enjoyed success in 2014 in the Hot Hatch class with Craig Lomax securing the title with a round to spare and Newsham is looking forward to making his debut with the team.
“I’ve always been a fan of Rallycross and used to watch it on Grandstand when I was younger,” added Newsham. “I’ve always been keen to try as many different disciplines as I can in my career, so thanks to the team for giving me the chance to give it a go. They contacted me earlier in the year and asked if I would be interested, and it didn’t take me long to accept the offer.
“I cut my teeth in schoolboy grass track on bikes and progressed to speedway, so I have a good feel for loose surfaces, and I have always been good in the wet in cars too. I would think I should go well in Rallycross but I have never done it before, and with no experience, it is a big challenge for me to just turn up and race against seasoned campaigners.
“As with any driver however, I’ll be going all out to win…” the Inverness-based racer concluded.