PREVIEW - Rivals ready to launch fight back in France after consecutive Hansen wins.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool

Following a two-year absence, the FIA World Rallycross Championship returns to one of the most iconic venues for the World RX of Lohéac this weekend – with thrilling door-to-door duels in prospect.

The opening two rounds of the season have each resulted in a Hansen World RX Team one-two – with Kevin Hansen triumphing in the Catalunya curtain-raiser, and older brother Timmy returning the favour on home soil at Höljes just over a week ago.

That means the 2019 World Champion arrives at Lohéac with a six-point championship lead over his younger sibling. 

Timmy Hansen has already won the event twice, while Kevin has reached the podium there two years ago, and both are firmly focussed on maintaining their current momentum.

Their closest rival on pace so far this season has been Johan Kristoffersson, but the Swede was out of luck in Spain and Sweden, being disqualified from Q1 (in Spain) after his data-logger was found not to have been connected and falling victim to a double puncture in the semi-finals in Höljes.

This means he is playing catch-up with KYB EKS JC, but the three-time World Champion went unbeaten at Lohéac from 2016 to 2018, so if anybody can overturn the deficit this weekend, it is him.

Another driver that truly took the fight to the Hansen brothers last time out in Sweden is Kevin Abbring, who unleashed race-winning pace. Only traffic prevented the Dutchman from launching a bid for victory, leaving him fired up to fulfill his potential on his team’s home turf.

Niclas Grönholm and Krisztián Szabó (GRX-SET) have encountered contrasting fortunes over the first two rounds. The Finn has been fast but has rarely had luck on his side, while his Hungarian team-mate bagged back-to-back fourth-place finishes to get his season off to a solid start.

Timo Scheider returns with ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and will be looking to convert the strong form he displayed in Barcelona last month into a good result in France.

Enzo Ide, in the second KYB EKS JC Audi S1 Quattro looks to make more progress this time out, whilst there are two new entrants. Ollie O’Donovan (2007 British Rallycross Champion) in a Ford Fiesta and Hervé Knapick in his Citroën DS3.

THE TRACK:

Along with the previous round at Höljes, Lohéac is widely considered one of the two ‘crown jewel’ events of World Rallycross. Unlike Höljes though, it’s less technical and less undulating.

That doesn’t mean the 1.07-kilometer track lacks a punch – rather the track is not forgiving for those who stray even slightly off-line or brake a little too late. And if it rains, all bets are off – the second half of the lap will become highly unpredictable.

Track Length: 1.070km

2020 Winners: Timmy Hansen (Team Hansen MJP)

Fastest lap: Timmy Hansen 35.843s

Asphalt/Dirt: 33%/67%

Joker Lap Loss: 1.3 seconds (approximately)

2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship standings (drivers):

Timmy Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 57 pts

Kevin Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 51 points

Krizstian Szabo (GRX-SET) 40 pts

Kevin Abbring (UNKORRUPTED) 37 pts

Johan Kristoffersson (KYB EKS JC) 37 pts

Niclas Gronholm (GRX-SET) 28 pts

Enzo Ide (KYB EKS JC) 25 pts

Juha Rytkonen 25 pts

Rene Munnich (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 16 pts

Timo Scheider (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 15 pts

Attila Mozer 13 pts

Peter Hedstrom 11pts

Tamas Karai 9 pts

Oliver Bennett (Xite Racing Team) 8 pts

Mandie August (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 4 pts

Patrick Guillerme 2 pts

Dan Oberg 1 pt

Round 3 World RX of France Schedule (CET Times)

SATURDAY:

PRACTICE: 09:00

Q1: 14:00

Q2: 17:00

SUNDAY:

WARM-UP: 08:30

Q3: 10:30

Q4: 14:30

Semi-Finals and Final: (from) 17:00 

Grid Wrap Up Show: 18:00 [RX+ only]

FREE LIVESTREAM

Red Bull TV (FINALS) at 17:00 (subject to change) - https://www.redbull.com/int-en/events/fia-world-rallycross-championship-france