Geoff Sykes was invited to participate at X Games in the Ford Rallycross Lites series, commenting: “This was my second time at X Games and it was being held at the F1 track at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which was very cool”.
Sykes set a good pace in first practice, however a wheel bearing gave out causing him to miss second practice. Once fixed, he was able to qualify well and ended up placing 2nd in his semi finals heat. “We had very limited prep with the car and were dealing with a lot of mechanical issues”, said Sykes.
In the finals, Sykes moved quickly into 3rd position but a stalled car in the tight turn 3 caused a red flag restart. Sykes describes, “I had a great start and knew I had enough pace to be in a good position for a least a silver medal. However on the restart, the CV on the same axle that had given me earlier problems must have broke. The car didn’t have the same pace and on lap 4, it completely came apart. A very disappointing way to end, just off the podium and with my first ever DNF in a Lites car”.
ABOUT RALLYCROSS AND GEOFF SYKES
Rallycross combines circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition with intense, crowd-pleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment, featuring a challenging course that includes jumps, unbanked turns and changing track and surface conditions that can include dirt, gravel and wet asphalt.
Geoff Sykes is driving his second season in Global Rallycross, having come from an autocross and road racing background with multiple records and championships in the BMW CCA racing series, and is the 2013 GT champion in the US Touring Car Championship.
Sykes’ rallycross racing includes support from SONY Team Action Cam, RallyPro at The Firm, BendPak, Midnight Oil and Stepco Insurance.
Photos: Qnigan.com
