Kristoffersson Denied As Hansen Takes First Win

It may have taken until round 8 of the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship, but 2019 world champion Timmy Hansen finally has a win under his belt in the all-new RX1e class. Johan Kristoffersson will have to wait until Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to claim his fifth world title, having been ruled out of contention at turn 1 by Hansen’s brother and teammate Kevin Hansen.

Timmy had a great launch off the line, leading the pack into turn 1. From the spectacular drone footage we have been enjoying all season, it looked like there was not much room at all in turn 1 as the two Hansen World RX Team drivers rotated their cars in. Kristoffersson was holding the inside line and unfortunately he and Kevin touched, possibly nudging Kristoffersson into the wall. As Kristoffersson tried to turn his car in, he took both himself and Kevin deep into the gravel trap, from which they both emerged well out of contention. From then on for Timmy, it was a simple enough case of defending from a very rapid Niclas Grönholm, who along with the rest of the CE Dealer Team should be very proud of the pace they demonstrated today, and who pushed hard all the way to the checkered flag. For the second event in a row, third place went to the Swedish teen superstar Gustav Bergström, who continues to go from strength to strength in his KMS Volkswagen Polo RX1e.

Speaking after the race, Hansen said “I’ve wanted nothing more than to win…I’ve come so close so many times and today was the day!…We didn’t beat him [Kristoffersson] in SuperPole and he is still the fastest, I would say. But we have definitely come closer, and it’s nice just to be in that fighting range.” Addressing the contact between his brother and Kristoffersson, he explained “I don’t know what happened in the race overall; I just knew I was fighting Niclas and he was very fast so I needed to put in some good laps.”

A delighted Timmy Hansen takes the number 1 spot in Barcelona. Credit: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool

Kristoffersson will be naturally disappointed with the final result, having looked so strong all day. He took the SuperPole and Heat 1 victories with ease, finishing the latter some 2.5 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Times were more inconsistent across the board in Heat 2 as the event organisers had watered some of the track to try and improve visibility in the very dusty sections, playing into Kristoffersson’s hands as he went out in the last race of the heat. He was 2 seconds slower than in Heat 1 but still over 3 seconds ahead of Kevin Hansen.

The Progression Race showed the first signs of what was to come, with some truly spectacular racing. Timmy Hansen pulled off a stunning move on Kristoffersson, sticking to the inside line at turn 1 and getting a better drive out of the corner. Later, at the Joker Merge, Hansen and Kristoffersson were absolutely alongside each other, their electric machines screaming down the back straight before attacking the long sweeping downhill left hand turn side by side. They made contact, again because two cars into one simply does not go, spinning Kristoffersson and allowing Hansen to head to a race win.

All of this means that Timmy has retaken second place in the championship with a four point lead over Grönholm, and that Kristoffersson is not yet a five-time WorldRX Champion. However, as KMS team boss Tommy Kristoffersson said in the morning, “if we have to wait ’til tomorrow [Sunday], then we will”. Overall, it must be said that the likelihood of the report on round 9 of the season on The Checkered Flag will also be announcing the coronation of Kristoffersson as the sport’s first all-electric champion.

Round 9 of the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship takes place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday 30 October.