The Andros Trophy is a racing series for powerful rear-wheel drive cars run entirely on ice and snow. Some of motorsport’s top stars have taken up the challenge previously; such as four-time Formula One world champion Alain Prost and four-time World Touring Car champion Yvan Muller. Now, a Global Rallycross Champion joins their ranks, as Topi gets his first taste of ice racing in the Andros Trophy in a week’s time.
”It’s an exciting new challenge for me so obviously something I’m looking forward to a lot,” said the flying Finn, who underwent his final operation in early December to repair the injuries caused by an accident in practice for the 2012 X Games. ”My leg is feeling better and better, and this will be a very good way to prepare for the rallycross season that lies ahead. I don’t know much about the Andros Trophy at all, but it seems that there are a lot of things in common with rallycross, so I’m hoping that we can adapt quite quickly. Most of all, I think it will be a lot of fun.”
Topi will drive a Ford Fiesta run by the French Sainteloc team, which is a frontrunner on the European Rally Championship. Sainteloc is also currently leading the Andros Trophy. All the cars taking part in the championship are based on a spaceframe chassis matched to a three-litre V6 engine, putting out around 340 horsepower.
Topi’s Andros Ford Fiesta
Just like rallycross, there are heats and a final across two days, with 12 cars racing together over eight laps of a short track. But the track is covered in ice, which means that to gain traction the drivers use tyres that are equipped with approximately 250 studs.
Sainteloc’s Sebastien Chetail commented: ”It’s a big pleasure for us to have Topi in our team and we hope he will enjoy the experience. All we expect from him is that he has a clean run and of course brings the car back in one piece! But his talents are such that I really would not be surprised to see him on the podium at some point, even though this discipline is new to him.”
Heikkinen will test the car for one day next week prior to taking part in the Isola 2000 round, located in the southern French Alps around 90 kilometres from Nice. ”It’s going to be interesting for me to find out how the car works,” he added. ”On the driving side I think I understand but I will need to learn about how we use the tyres for example and what the circuit is like. So I can’t wait to get started!”
More information about the Andros Trophy is available at: www.tropheeandros.com
