Téo Calvet returns to French championship as a king
Last weekend, the French national championship in truck racing continued at Nogaro, and it went exceptionally well for Buggyra Academy drivers. The reigning champion Téo Calvet made his return to the series at his home track, and he left with two victories and one 2nd place finish.
“Nogaro is a home for Buggyra Academy France, so it was an important race for us. That’s why even Téo Calvet came here,” explained the team manager Fabien Calvet. “Even though he’s not doing the full season, Téo Calvet has proven once again that he’s a French champion,” he added and did not even hide that he is a very proud father.
The 21-year-old Téo Calvet, who is now a full-time driver of Buggyra ZM Racing in the European Championship, started his comeback with a pole position on Saturday. And the French youngster also won the first race.
In the second one with a reverse grid order, he started from the 4th row. And he was not giving an inch to his competitors from the start. “Téo was showing us fantastic battles and he was moving forward step by step. The fans were excited about his show,” described Calvet sr. his son’s drive. However, just two laps before the end, when he was already in the lead, his truck caught fire. Luckily, the track marshals managed to quickly put it out and the French champion could continue the following day.
On Sunday, he took another pole position that he later converted into another win in the third race. And just like in the other race on Saturday, on Sunday Téo continued his great drive from 8th place at Nogaro. “This time it was a much harder fight. It was difficult to get ahead of Ivan Rodriguese and then Thomas Robineau was quite blocking me,” said Téo Calvet about his challenges in the French championship.
He finished his successful run with 2nd place, as the winning Lionel Montagne managed to build a gap, while Téo was fighting his way through the field. And the reigning champion was even 2 seconds per lap faster than him. “The most important thing for us is that Téo has won Nogaro on the overall points across the whole weekend,” added Fabien Calvet.
But the Buggyra Academy France rookie Raphaël Sousa was also visible. The Portuguese driver finished on a podium in all four races in the Junior category. “He was fighting well, and had four great runs at Nogaro,” praised him Calvet sr.
The Buggyra Academy France members have remained at Nogaro for two more days until Tuesday, as they were testing more talented youngsters on a circuit in southwest France.
