The Ducs circuit in Essay hosts the penultimate round of the French rallycross championship, Saturday October 5 and Sunday October 6, 2024. Julien Fébreau, journalist and Formula 1 commentator on Canal + is entered in the premier category, Supercar, with Team DA Racing. The driver returns to this track after securing a fourth place in 2021. Interview.
“My goal: to measure myself against the best drivers”
How many years have you been doing rallycross?
Rallycross is a passion passed down from my father who did it in the 1990s. I started in 2008 in division 4 with a 160 horsepower C2. I have been racing in Supercar, the premier category, since 2014. With my job as a journalist in Formula 1, I had little time to devote to rallycross. I make occasional appearances by participating in a few races each year. In 2024, I participated in the first round of the French championship in Lessay (Manche) and a round of the European championship in Portugal, at the beginning of September. Essay is my last race of the season.
Read also: “We worked hard to come back”: Essay expects 8,000 people for his return to rallycross
With what objective do you approach a rallycross race?
I’m riding without pressure for the championship. My goal is to play the leading roles and measure myself against the best drivers. The main difficulty is not being able to stay in a rhythm over an entire season against other drivers who know their car inside out.
We have to try to find the same level of commitment and this is at stake from the first practice session on Saturday to perform in qualifying. Supercar cars are monsters of power. Some cars go from zero to 100 km/h in 1.9 seconds on a dry track.
Julien Fébreau participates with Team DA Racing in a few rallycross races. Team DA Racing
Read also: PORTRAIT. “He eats, sleeps, lives through motorsport”: Julien Fébreau, Formula 1 in his skin
“I’m glad Essay is back on the calendar”
You participated in Essay in 2021. What do you think of this circuit?
It’s a track that I really enjoy. I am very happy that Essay is returning to the rallycross calendar. We must salute the people who modernized this circuit. This route is atypical. It’s a sort of large oval, with a lot of elevation. We can reach 180 km/h at the end of the straight.
In 2021, I took fourth place. The final was very close. It was a bumper to bumper battle!
How many people are with you during a race weekend?
With Team DA Racing, I have three people who form the hard core around me: a performance manager, an engine engineer and a strategist who is my interlocutor on the radio. A car manager and two other mechanics manage the car and the tires.
Saturday October 5 and Sunday October 6, 2024at the Ducs circuit in Essay. Prices: €25 on Saturday, €32 on Sunday, €42 on weekends, free for under 16s. Motorhome pitch: €10.
