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Canadian Patrick Carpentier will come out of retirement August 7 and 8 as he will contest the Trois-Rivieres round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship.
The former IndyCar and NASCAR racer will be behind the wheel of a Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo Supercar.
This will be Carpentier's first experience in a 600-bhp, four-wheel driver rallycross car on a mixed tarmac/dirt road course.
“As a TV commentator, I feel I've learnt a whole bunch about the series, especially how much more competitive it is than I first thought. It's fast, adrenaline pumping, high energy and what I like the most is that the short races are unpredictable,” said Carpentier to the official FIA Rallycross web site.
“I have also been training very hard physically because of the lack of testing. However, nothing comes even come close to sitting in the car and driving”, Carpentier added.
The former ChampCar race winner said he thinks rallycross represents the future of car racing.
“Sinply because it has everything a young modern sports fan wants. The attention span for watching a sport has shortened quite a lot in the last few years. Long races, a lack of action and knowing what the result will be midway through the race will not attract the up and coming crowds anymore. The rallycross show is about two hours, including many bursts of energy, action and drama - it's what will thrive in racing,” he explained.
Carpentier set himself realistic targets at Trois-Rivieres.
“If I make it to the semi-final, everything else is a bonus. My intentions are to do so but we'll find out once we are on the track,” he declared.
A few years ago, Carpentier did some ice racing and also drove a buggy.
“I've raced at the Supercross Stadium in all-wheel drive buggy and it went quite well. We were running third in the final, until the car broke but I had a blast, jumping, pushing and all!” he laughed.
Does Carpentier plan to do more rallycross races this season?
“I would certainly love to. We'll see how this one goes but this is truly the kind of racing I would love to pursue. In today's sports, rallycross is for me,” he concluded.
The former IndyCar and NASCAR racer will be behind the wheel of a Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo Supercar.
This will be Carpentier's first experience in a 600-bhp, four-wheel driver rallycross car on a mixed tarmac/dirt road course.
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| Carpentier's VW Polo Supercar. (Photo: Facebook) |
“As a TV commentator, I feel I've learnt a whole bunch about the series, especially how much more competitive it is than I first thought. It's fast, adrenaline pumping, high energy and what I like the most is that the short races are unpredictable,” said Carpentier to the official FIA Rallycross web site.
“I have also been training very hard physically because of the lack of testing. However, nothing comes even come close to sitting in the car and driving”, Carpentier added.
The former ChampCar race winner said he thinks rallycross represents the future of car racing.
“Sinply because it has everything a young modern sports fan wants. The attention span for watching a sport has shortened quite a lot in the last few years. Long races, a lack of action and knowing what the result will be midway through the race will not attract the up and coming crowds anymore. The rallycross show is about two hours, including many bursts of energy, action and drama - it's what will thrive in racing,” he explained.
Carpentier set himself realistic targets at Trois-Rivieres.
“If I make it to the semi-final, everything else is a bonus. My intentions are to do so but we'll find out once we are on the track,” he declared.
A few years ago, Carpentier did some ice racing and also drove a buggy.
“I've raced at the Supercross Stadium in all-wheel drive buggy and it went quite well. We were running third in the final, until the car broke but I had a blast, jumping, pushing and all!” he laughed.
Does Carpentier plan to do more rallycross races this season?
“I would certainly love to. We'll see how this one goes but this is truly the kind of racing I would love to pursue. In today's sports, rallycross is for me,” he concluded.