Brit Bennett eager to try Texas challenge

British rallycross Supercar driver Oliver Bennett will compete in the second round of the Americas Rallycross Championship at the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas this weekend.

Compatriot Liam Doran finished on the podium in the inaugural event for the new series at Silverstone in May, while Bennett has been a regular in the World Rallycross Championship in 2018, his first year of international competition. He will race his Xite Racing Mini SX1 at COTA, following his best result of the season at Holjes in Sweden two weeks ago, where he set a 13th best time in the qualifying stages and finished 15th.

“It’s been an ambition of mine to race in the US, the motorsport fans there are through and through enthusiasts so it looks a great place to go with the sport,” said Bennett. “We won’t be racing at World RX in Canada which means I have a break in my calendar. It was a choice of testing or racing at COTA. A few sponsors were interested in going so it seemed a perfect idea to get some seat time and race in a new area with some new fans.

“The guys in ARX are top level drivers but looking at Silverstone if you compare our lap times, we were pretty much there. Since then I’ve got a lot more comfortable in the car too. The heat and the layout of the track will be the biggest challenges this weekend but my eyes wide open, so we’ll see.”