A weekend of thrills and spills for Team Peugeot Total.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross. 

The World RX of Germany served up plenty of drama, with both senior Team Peugeot Total drivers unable to progress beyond the semi-finals, but the teams junior driver Kevin Hansen secured a spot in the finals with his impressive pace. 

Kevin Hansen, progressed through to the Final in Germany, but the young Swede’s race came to an abrupt end when he crashed heavily on lap 3, bringing out a red flag. Conscious and moving, he was then taken to hospital for medical checks. Up to that point, he had put in a brilliant performance to go through to the final.

“Obviously you don’t aim to finish the weekend in hospital, so today [Sunday] didn’t really go according to plan," said Kevin Hansen. "Up to then, things had actually been going really well."

The young Swede showed impress pace in his Peugeot 208 RX, and at times slightly faster then his teammates who were driving the improved 208 RX Evo.

"We were generally fast throughout the weekend, and although we got caught up in traffic a few times, especially at the first corner, our progress was pretty good," says Hansen. "I think we made some good starts; I’m proud of that."

"In the Final, we started on the back of the grid and got up to 3rd. So definitely a case of what might have been today [Sunday].”
                        
Kevin's team mates were unlucky in Germany. After Timmy Hansen won the final qualifying heat (Q4) on Sunday in style, securing a solid top 3 position overall.. Unfortunately, he got caught up in a turn 1 incident and was forced to nurse his car slowly to the finish line.

"I guess you could call it another weekend of highs and lows, except there were more lows than highs," says Timmy Hansen. "But starting on the front row of the Semi-Final, we obviously had the potential to go all the way today, yet it wasn’t to be."

Hansen draws from his experience in the sport. He knows that some times things do not go your way. "When we have disappointing weekends like this – while still being so close to our ultimate goal – it only makes us all the more determined to succeed," said Hansen.

Damage on Timmy Hansen's Peugeot, after all World RX is a contact sport.
PHOTO CREDIT: Peugeot Sport 

Underlining the reputation of rallycross as an unforgiving contact sport, Sébastien Loeb was unable to complete Semi-Final 2, after hitting a barrier trying to overtake a competitor and breaking his front right suspension. 

“The track is quite complicated, because it does not have many overtaking opportunities, which means that it's hard to get out of the traffic," explains Loeb. "We had the potential, but if you’re stuck in the middle of the pack you can’t use it and anything can happen." 

The Peugeot Total 208 RX Evo cars showed impressive straight line speed and traction off the slow corners, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time meant they weren't able to exploit the full potential of their cars.

"The car actually felt good this weekend, but the circumstances worked against us again," the Frenchman says. "But I’m still very motivated to keep working hard with Team Peugeot Total, and I really look forward to what’s coming in the future.”