Mads Østberg took to the race track last weekend in a bid to polish his asphalt driving skills before next month's mixed surface RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de España (5 – 8 October).

The Norwegian made his track-racing debut at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3, as a guest driver in the final double-header round of the Scandinavian Porsche Carrera Cup at Mantorp Park in Sweden.



More used to the Ford Fiesta World Rally Car he campaigns in the WRC, Østberg got the chance to familiarise himself with the rear-wheel-drive Porsche at a soaking wet pre-race test on Thursday.



And after onboard camera footage showed Mads reaching for a non-existent handbrake, [see below] his Mtech Competition squad added a false lever to make him feel more at home.

Driving car number 911 on Saturday's race day, Østberg finished ninth in Race 1 and seventh in Race 2.



Having missed the last WRC round in Germany, Østberg said he was happy to get the opportunity to practice before his return in Spain.



"This type of training helps both my technique and awareness on driving style and will help me perform better on Tarmac," he said.



"I improved my driving through the weekend and happy with my progress. The goal was top five but because of a bad qualifying I only managed 7th climbing from 11th. It's an acceptable result for the first time.

"Now it's time to focus on rally and I'm really looking forward to get my hands on the wheel of a WRC car again!"

VIDEO: Mads' WRC handbrake moment...

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