Finland’s Topi Heikkinen finished fastest in Q2 at the opening round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Barcelona to conclude the day as Top Qualifier in the Intermediate Classification.
The EKS driver set the fastest time in Q2 in his Audi S1 quattro as worsening wet weather conditions hampered the drivers in the final two races, which included the fastest ten drivers from Q1 (the fastest driver from the previous qualifying race starts on pole position in the last race of the following session).
“We’re happy that we’re standing on the top. We had some bad luck in Q1 with the conditions but also it was bad luck for the other guys in Q2. We need to take it when we have the chance, but we still have some work to do,” said Heikkinen. “We’re far away from the end of the weekend but I’d like to be on the podium and I will do everything to try and do that.”
Heikkinen finished his race in front of MJP Racing Team Austria driver Timo Schieder, who is second in the Intermediate Classification and PSRX Volkwagen Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson, who had been fastest in Q1 but was slowed by heavy rain in Q2. Despite being 17th in Q2, the Sweden’s Kristoffersson remains in contention for qualifying top in the Intermediate Classification after Q3 and Q4 tomorrow morning.
The next four positions are held by Peugeot 208 drivers, with Sweden’s Kevin and Timmy fourth and fifth, and France’s Jean-Baptiste Dubourg sixth and Sebastien Loeb seventh. After racing in the worst conditions in Q2, America’s Ken Block is ninth, Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom is 11th and Norway’s Petter Solberg is 12th.
Robin Larsson and Anton Marklund each set a fastest time in the FIA European Rallycross Championship to be first and second, with Thomas Bryntesson third.