The stars of the FIA World Rallycross Championship treated fans to some epic entertainment at Montalegre in Portugal on Sunday 8 September, as Kevin Hansen got the better of reigning champion Johan Kristoffersson to claim his first victory of the season.
Montalegre never fails to produce sensational racing, and in front of an enthusiastic crowd, the ‘Battle of Technologies’ delivered in style, truly showcasing the respective strengths of World RX’s electric and sustainably-fuelled internal combustion cars with spectacular sends and awe-inspiring overtakes.
It was the elder rather than the younger of the Hansen siblings who set the pace during the heats, as 2019 world champion Timmy Hansen won both of his races behind the wheel of his electric Peugeot 208 RX1e to top the intermediate Ranking, but Kevin Hansen then got the jump on his brother at the start of the pair’s semi-final and remained in front throughout to secure pole position for the final.
Timmy Hansen subsequently repaid the favour by sweeping around the outside into the lead from the second row of the grid, as his Hansen World RX Team stablemate darted immediately into the joker, followed by championship leader Kristoffersson, who had exited Turn One down in sixth place. Their tactics would prove to be inspired.
While Timmy Hansen and Ole Christian Veiby went at it hammer-and-tongs at the front of the field – trading places on multiple occasions – their spirited duel cost them time to the early jokers, who were inexorably hunting them down. The top two dived into the joker themselves on the last lap, but by then, the damage was done, as Kevin Hansen and Kristoffersson blasted past.
All that then remained was for the Peugeot driver to fend off his Volkswagen rival to the chequered flag, which he did with razor-sharp precision to cement his fourth career victory and first of the 2024 campaign.
“The team has done a great job this weekend. This is my first win in the electric Peugeot – it’s taken a while! The car was flying and I had so much confidence, and we had a great strategy in the final.
Hansen enthused
“I had to try to defend against Johan [Kristoffersson], but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t afford to defend too much as then we wouldn’t have caught the guys ahead. We’ve received amazing support from the fans here at Montalegre, which has been wonderful to see. I think a lot of them remember my father’s successes in Portugal in the past. They’ve brought so much energy all weekend, and that has really fuelled us.”
After his hard-fought victory 24 hours earlier, Kristoffersson had to settle for the runner-up spoils on Sunday – the Swede’s 61st podium finish from 95 appearances in rallycross’ top-flight. Piloting his sustainably-fuelled Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX, the KMS – HORSE Powertrain ace missed out on glory by less than three tenths-of-a-second, meaning he must wait a little longer in his quest to clinch an extraordinary seventh world championship crown.
Timmy Hansen rounded out the rostrum in third as he prevailed in his crowd-pleasing scrap with Veiby, with the Norwegian briefly nosing ahead again on the last lap before contact between the pair sent him into the wall. That elevated Klara Andersson to fourth – the CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction Equipment ace a late addition to the final following a track limits penalty for JDM Raptor Racing’s Anthony Pelfrene – with the delayed Veiby fifth and Niclas Grönholm failing to finish after picking up a puncture.
FINAL RESULT: WORLD RX
1. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV) 5 laps
2. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) KMS – Horse Powertrain (ICE) + 0.271s
3. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV) + 2.045s
4. Klara ANDERSSON (SWE) CE Dealer Team (EV) + 7.447s
5. Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) KMS – Horse Powertrain (ICE) + 26.272s
DNF Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team (EV) + 1 lap
Full results for all categories can be found at www.fiaworldrallycross.com
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