Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson set the fastest time in Q2 at the World RX of Belgium, round four of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, to be Top Qualifier at the end of day one. 

Kristoffersson finished side-by-side with Q1 winner Petter Solberg in the final World RX race of the day at Mettet to take TQ from his Volkswagen RX Sweden team mate, the duo on equal points ahead of Q3 tomorrow morning. “We have to try to do this properly,” said Solberg, who’s team is looking for its first win of the season. “We have been good in all of the qualifying’s this year but we have never finished the job properly and now we try to do it. We’re going for a victory that’s for sure. We’re just fed up with Ekstrom winning the races, we can’t let him pull away any more. The car is working well, we’re fine turning all the time and we are working together to find the small steps. It’s good fun, really good.” 

France’s Sebastien Loeb was third in Q2 and is third in the Intermediate Classification with Sweden’s Kevin Eriksson fourth at the end of the opening day. Norway’s Andreas Bakkerud had been fourth, fighting back from missing the semi-finals in Hockenheim but got a five-second penalty for contact with Sweden’s Timmy Hansen in the first corner. Hansen is sixth heading into day two, behind America’s Ken Block and in front of reigning Champion Mattias Ekstrom. 

Sweden’s Simon Olofsson was is Top Qualifier in RX2 after Q2 by setting the fastest time twice. Euro RX TouringCar and Super1600 completed Q4 at Mettet this afternoon. Norway’s Ben-Philip Gundersen is Top Qualifier in TouringCar Latvia’s Artis Baumanis is top in Super1600. 

The World RX of Hockenheim will take place at the Hockenheimring in west Germany this weekend (5-7 May) as World RX joins the highly-acclaimed German Touring Car Masters [DTM] for the third year in a row. The World RX entry list features 22 drivers, including the 18 permanent entrants made up of six two-car teams battling for the Teams’ Championship and six further individual entries.

Reigning World RX Champion and current championship leader Mattias Ekstrom will once again race in both the DTM and World RX on the same weekend as he did in 2016, where he secured victory in the World RX final ahead of EKS team-mate Toomas Heikkinen. After the World RX podium ceremony on Sunday, Ekstrom has just 20 minutes before qualifying for the second DTM race starts.

“The weekend last year was an incredible experience,” explained Ekstrom, who is 14 points ahead of PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver Johan Kristoffersson. “Thinking about the full grandstands and atmosphere still gives me goose bumps but the competition is even fiercer this year and victory means having to give your all, plus a perfect team performance. Now we have done two out of 12 races, round three in Hockenheim is like my second home race – it will be a tough battle against the clock in more ways than one.”

Joining the permeant competitors at Hockenheim will be former World RX of Argentina winner Robin Larsson.  He will compete in his Audi A1 Supercar – the same car that he uses to compete in this year’s FIA European Rallycross Championship. Germany’s Rene Muennich and Poland’s Martin Kaczmarski will also add to their Euro RX programmes by competing in Hockenheim, racing their Seat Ibiza and Ford Fiesta Supercars respectively. 

France’s Guerlain Chicherit, who is using the 2017 season to prepare for a full-time assault on the FIA World Rallycross Championship with a brand new Renault Megane Supercar next season. Chicherit – who won the opening round of the French Rallycross Championship last weekend – will drive a Renault Clio Supercar at the Hockenheimring.

Paul Bellamy, World RX Managing Director for IMG, concluded: “It’s always exciting to return to Hockenheim where we can showcase rallycross to a new motorsport enthused audience. There is always a fantastic reaction from the tribune when the rallycross is out on track and the sound of the 600bhp Supercars in the Sachs Arena is an incredible spectacle.  Once again Mattias Ekstrom will race again in DTM and World RX and it will be interesting to see whether he can repeat his incredible feat from last year when he won a race in both DTM and the World RX final.”

Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom has extended his lead in the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship after taking a lights-to-flag victory at this weekend’s Cooper Tires World RX of Hockenheim.  It is the EKS driver’s third win in a row – and made even more impressive as Ekstrom also raced in DTM during the same weekend.  Twenty minutes after stepping off the World RX podium, Ekstrom was back in his DTM car to take part in race two qualifying.

Hockenheim RX runner-up Johan Kristoffersson had another strong weekend after winning his semi-final which allowed the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver to line up alongside Ekstrom on the front row of today’s final.  Ekstrom was quickest to turn one and Kristoffersson remained second for the duration of the race. Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timmy Hansen finished third in his Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar – two spots ahead of his team-mate Sebastien Loeb who won two qualifying races and was placed top qualifier at the end of Q4.

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s Petter Solberg finished fourth, slowed by a bad getaway in the final.  EKS driver Topi Heikkinen finished sixth and also won the Monster Energy Super Charge Award – a prize given to the driver who had the quickest reaction off the lights during the final. EKS has won all three Monster Energy Super Charge Awards so far this season with Ekstrom winning the first two in Barcelona and Portugal.

“I am super happy for Audi and for the whole team – thanks to the guys for the all their hard work which has really paid off,” said Hockenheim RX winner, Ekstrom before jumping into his DTM car for his next race. 

Ekstrom’s team-mate Heikkinen added: “Friday was really hard for us so overnight we made some changes to the car that were hugely important.  As a team, we are working really hard and getting very little sleep over race weekends which is obviously paying off as Mattias has now won three events in a row.  He is always wanting to make changes to the car until everything is perfect.  EKS has won Belgium for the last three years in a row [Heikkinen 2014 and 2015, Ekstrom in 2016] so it is a obviously a good event for us – hopefully we can take some more silverware home for the team.”

Runner-up Kristoffersson commended Ekstrom’s efforts in today’s event. He explained: “Mattias had a very good start in the final, and I tried to follow and put the pressure on him but he did not make a single mistake for six whole laps – he was driving so well.  For that, he deserves this win and I wish him all the best in the DTM race this afternoon too.

Reflecting on his own performance, Kristoffersson added: “Overall it was a good weekend for us – we struggled with the balance in the car during Q1 and Q2 but the launches were very good so that left me in a good position.  Everything felt better for Q3 and in Q4, it was almost perfect and I was able to push the guys out front.  I had a good battle with Sebastien [Loeb] in the semi-final and it was good to show we had really picked up the pace. Both myself and Petter have been in the final for the last three events and we continue to leads the teams’ standings which we are really happy with.”

Sweden’s Timmy Hansen was pleased to have secured his first podium of the year and complimented the performance of the car.  “The car was so good today,” explained the 24-year-old.  “Obviously I didn’t want any rain before today’s races but it was about trying to adapt to the situation as best as I could and the start line was very slippery. I was leading for most of my semi-final but I pushed a bit too hard and I went off at the Sachs Curve which was when Mattias got in front. The final was a big challenge, Mattias and Johan were tough competitors but I’m pleased to get my first top three of the year which is an important result for the team.”

Elsewhere, STARD driver Timur Timerzyanov finished seventh – the Russian driver was held back in the semi-final due to race traffic.  Kevin Hansen – younger brother of Timmy – was eighth, the 18-year-old having suffered a setback earlier in the day when he damaged the rear of his car after an impact during the sighting laps.  Kevin Hansen, Kevin Eriksson and Reinis Nitiss were then caught in a collision in turn two of their semi-final. Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block spun in his semi-final, collecting MJP Team Austria’s Timo Scheider in the process. 

After the first three rounds of the 2017 season, Ekstrom leads the overall standings with a total of 85 points – 16 points ahead of Kristoffersson in second.  Solberg remains third with 62 points, while Loeb has moved up to fourth with 48 points – one point ahead of his team-mate Hansen.  In the teams’ standings, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden lead the way with 131 points – 17 points ahead of EKS.

World RX Managing Director for IMG, Paul Bellamy, concluded: “We’ve had 79,500 fans attend the Hockenheim RX/DTM double header and once again the rallycross Supercars have put on a fantastic display. Congratulations to Mattias, Audi and EKS for another flawless performance this weekend.  The fact that Mattias is able to swap from a rallycross Supercar to a DTM car in a matter of minutes and deliver so well in both championships is testament to his sheer talent behind the wheel.  Well done to Johan and Timmy also – both drivers thoroughly deserve a spot on the podium.  Now the teams have very little rest as it’s straight to Mettet in Belgium for round four of the season.”

In the FIA European Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy (Euro RX), where Barcelona marked the first of five rounds it was Sweden’s Anton Marklund who took the victory in the Marklund Motorsport run Volkswagen Polo.  Hungary’s Tamas Pal Kiss and Ireland’s Ollie O’Donovan finished second and third respectively.

“Yesterday was probably the most challenging of my RX career,” admitted Barcelona RX winner Ekstrom.  “But today we turned it around – to have a good, clean Q3 and Q4 race and to be in pole for the semi-final was key.  I have to say I am super impressed with Timo – to come from a privately-run team and to be leading after Q4 is very impressive.  I think we will see the most evenly matched year in World RX so far and I’m really excited to see so many cars in the series and with such little time difference between them – it’s going to be a fantastic season ahead.”

As well as winning the event, Mattias Ekstrom also takes home the coveted Monster Energy Super Charge Award – a trophy awarded to the driver who has the quickest reaction time off the lights during the event’s final race.

Runner-up Scheider became only the 11^th person ever in World RX history to finish as Top Qualifier [TQ] at the end of the event’s four qualifying sessions.  The two-time DTM Champion took up the story: “I was very surprised to be TQ after barely any testing before we got to Barcelona.  It is awesome and I have to thank the team for all their efforts – we came to Spain with no expectations and to have been in the final was amazing.  This is one of the most special moments in my racing life.  I have to say I am very impressed with the car but I still have a lot to learn so we are testing tomorrow and also later in the week.  I have spent 16 years in DTM but right now I am loving life in rallycross.”

Third-placed Bakkerud had a troubled opening day after he crashed in turn one and was unable to complete the rest of Q2. Bakkerud explained: “Yesterday was difficult and my heart sank after what happened but today has been a totally different experience.  After the whole team has worked so hard over the winter with the car, it is great to be able to reward them with a step on the podium.  It is great to have been up there fighting with the DTM drivers – in rallycross, we have drivers from track racing, drifting, rallycross and all forms of circuit racing so it is great to be on the podium with two DTM stars and at a Formula One venue.  There is so much competition now in rallycross with five different manufacturers - I love this sport and it’s awesome so see so many new drivers this season. It’s also great to see private drivers enter and do so well so a big well done to Timo.”

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s Petter Solberg and Johan Kristoffersson now lead the teams’ standings after both drivers reached the final and scooped the most points collectively. After winning semi-final one, Kristoffersson started on the front row of the final but his Volkswagen Polo stalled on the start line which meant the Swede was unable to catch the rest of the pack for the remainder of the race, eventually finishing sixth. Solberg was running third until Bakkerud overtook the two-time World RX Champion on the first corner of the fourth lap.  Solberg ended the race in fourth place with Team Peugeot-Hansen’s Timmy Hansen fifth in the Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar. 

Elsewhere, nine-time WRC Champion Sebastien Loeb did not reach the semi-finals after a spin in Q3 due to a broken driveshaft.  America’s Ken Block made today’s semi-final but was denied a spot in the final after finishing fourth in semi-final one after taking his Joker Lap on lap five and losing a position.

In round one of the FIA European Rallycross Championship for TouringCars, it was Sweden’s Philip Gehrman who took the win in his Ford Fiesta.  Anders Braten and Per Magne Royras finished second and third respectively to make it a Norwegian one-two-three.

Paul Bellamy, World RX Managing Director for IMG, commented: “We’ve got an ultra-competitive grid in 2017 and today we saw four different manufacturers represented in the final which is fantastic for our sport.  Congratulations to Mattias for winning the first round of the season, which was thoroughly deserved after a strong performance from EKS throughout the weekend.  We had a crowd of 25,000 over the weekend which is an excellent start to our season.  With the amount of talent in World RX this year, it’s fair to say that a number of drivers could lift the drivers’ trophy at our season-closer in Cape Town from 11-12 November.”