PREVIEW: Will Kristoffersson take the championship lead or will the Hansen's fight back in Portugal?

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool

After a 2-year absence, the picturesque Montalegre track returns... and is set to host round 7 of the 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship this weekend (16 to 17 October).

The 2021 championship has taken a swing in the direction of three-time World Champion Johan Kristoffersson who trails Timmy Hansen by 12-points at the head of the drivers' standings after a difficult start to the season. 

Having clinched a second victory of the season last time out in Spa-Francorchamps, Kristoffersson will look to surpass his Swedish rival this weekend. But, the Hansen brothers' will certainly aim to extend their advantage at the top.

"I'm looking forward to Portugal where the circuit should suit our car a bit better. And I don't have to wait long either which is great!" Timmy Hansen said. 

Just three points behind Johan, the younger Hansen brother, Kevin will aim to reclaim second in the championship, whilst the GRX-SET duo who have shown an impressive turn of performance in recent rounds will aim for the top step of the podium in Portugal. 

Krisztián Szabó finally broke his podium duck last time out in Belgium, whilst Niclas Grönholm had a weekend to forget after being muscled out in a few races. The Flying Finn is hungry for a second victory?

UNKORRUPTED's Kevin Abbring was on course to win the World RX of Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, but after being turned around by Timmy Hansen at the Raidillon hairpin. His chances were over... Can the Dutchman fight for victory? He certainly can! 

KYB EKS JC's second driver Enzo Ide achieved his goal on home soil last weekend reaching the final, and will look to do the same this time out. 

The battle is on... Can Kristoffersson take the championship lead? Or will the Hansen brothers' extend their lead at the top of the drivers' standings? Find out this weekend!   

THE TRACK:

Portugal’s picturesque and historic Montalegre track formed part of the original FIA World Rallycross Championship calendar back in 2014, and its undulating layout and unpredictable weather has produced many breathtaking battles over the years.

The 945m track is located 1,000m above sea level, requiring engines to be finely tuned to deal with the altitude. From a long start/finish straight, drivers brake hard for the first corner – a tight right-hand hairpin – before taking a little bit of kerb as they flick through the left-right chicane that follows.

A fast left-hander then leads downhill into a right as the surface turns from asphalt into the loose and sandy gravel that characterises Montalegre before a steep uphill climb precedes another left followed by a long, fast right-hander. The final section of the lap is marked by a tricky surface change and a series of chicanes – inviting drivers to brush the barriers on both sides, but without getting too close...

Track Length: 945m

2018 Winner: ROUND 2: Johan Kristoffersson (PSRX Volkswagen Sweden)

Fastest lap: Johan Kristoffersson 38.064s (in semi-finals)

Asphalt/Dirt: 60%/40%

Joker Lap Loss: 3.9s seconds (approximately)

2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship standings (drivers):

Timmy Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 151 pts

Johan Kristoffersson (KYB EKS JC) 139 pts

Kevin Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 136 points

Niclas Gronholm (GRX-SET) 123 pts

Krizstian Szabo (GRX-SET) 108 pts

Kevin Abbring (UNKORRUPTED) 97 pts

Timo Scheider (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 75 pts

Enzo Ide (KYB EKS JC) 72 pts

Juha Rytkonen 52 pts

Mattias Ekstrom 37 pts

Hervé Knapick 18 pts

Rene Munnich (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 16 pts

Oliver O'Donovan 16 pts

Anton Marklund 14 pts

Attila Mozer 13 pts

Peter Hedstrom 11 pts

Tamas Karai 9 pts

Oliver Bennett (Xite Racing Team) 8 pts

Dan Oberg 7 pts

Mandie August (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 4 pts

Patrick Guillerme 2 pts

Round 7 - Cooper Tires World RX of Montalegre (CET Times)

SATURDAY:

PRACTICE: 10:30

Q1: 13:06

Q2: 16:06

SUNDAY:

WARM-UP: 11:00

Q3: 12:06

Q4: 15:36

Semi-Finals and Final: (from) 18:00

Grid Podiums and Wrap Up Show: 19:00 [RX+ only]

FREE LIVESTREAM

Red Bull TV (FINALS) ROUND 7 [Sunday] - at 17:45 UTC+2 - https://www.redbull.com/int-en/events/fia-world-rallycross-championship-portugal

PREVIEW: The title fight intensifies at Spa-Francorchamps.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool

The battle for glory in the 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship is heating up as all roads lead to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend after the title fight was blown wide open in Latvia last time out.

The first three rounds of the championship all went the way of the Hansen brothers', but victories for Niclas Grönholm and Johan Kristoffersson in Riga mean just 23 points cover the four leading protagonists for the Benelux World RX of Spa-Francorchamps.

The Hansen World RX Team siblings are also the only two of the title-chasing quartet to have previously raced at Spa; Kristoffersson was absent in 2019, while Niclas was ruled out due appendicitis, whilst his team-mate Timur Timerzyanov clinched his first victory. 

KYB EKS JC's Kristoffersson is a three-time champion at the pinnacle of the discipline, and but for persistent ill-fortune, his current points total would be significantly greater. GRX-SET World RX Team’s Grönholm, meanwhile, was the highest scorer in Riga – form he is bidding to carry with him into the second half of the campaign.

There are a number of dark horses in the field, too. Grönholm’s team-mate Krisztián Szabó has been a model of consistency as one of just three drivers to progress through to the final in every round to date in 2021, and Kevin Abbring has shown flashes of speed in the UNKORRUPTED Renault Mégane. 

Enzo Ide in the second KYB EKS JC Audi S1 Quattro will carry Belgium’s hopes, while Timo Scheider is overdue a change of fortunes after proving to be on the pace but out of luck. Whilst All-Inkl Munnich Motorsport is hoping to have solved their driveshaft "supply part" issues that led to DNF's in Latvia. 

Anton Marklund is an intriguing addition to the entrylist. The 2017 FIA European Rallycross Champion rejoined the fray in Euro RX1 at Höljes and set the pace until his shocking roll in Q4. The Swede returns this weekend in a Hedströms Motorsport run Hyundai i20 and is sure to put up a fight.

THE TRACK:

The challenging, purpose-built 913m track located at the heart of the famous Ardennes venue is characterised by significant elevation changes and incorporates one of the most iconic corners in world motorsport, not to mention the ultimate test of bravery – the daunting Eau Rouge.

The spectacular ascent of the Raidillon and its 15% gradient is followed by a tight hairpin bend, before cars hurtle back down towards Eau Rouge. There is also a stadium section that features an extra-wide, banked corner designed to allow drivers to adopt various racing lines. There are parallel jumps in the standard and Joker Laps.

The amphitheatre atmosphere around the circuit offers fans a full view of the action from wherever they are watching.

Track Length: 913m

2019 Winners: ROUND 5: Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS)

Fastest lap: Johan Kristoffersson 48.099s (in semi-finals)

Asphalt/Dirt: 60%/40%

Joker Lap Loss: 1.4s seconds (approximately)

2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship standings (drivers):

Timmy Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 130 pts

Kevin Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 113 points

Johan Kristoffersson (KYB EKS JC) 110 pts

Niclas Gronholm (GRX-SET) 107 pts

Krizstian Szabo (GRX-SET) 88 pts

Kevin Abbring (UNKORRUPTED) 79 pts

Timo Scheider (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 64 pts

Enzo Ide (KYB EKS JC) 57 pts

Juha Rytkonen 43 pts

Mattias Ekstrom 37 pts

Rene Munnich (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 16 pts

Attila Mozer 13 pts

Peter Hedstrom 11 pts

Oliver O'Donovan 10 pts

Herve Knapick 9 pts

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 6 World RX of Benelux Schedule (CET Times)

SATURDAY:

PRACTICE: 09:30

Q1: 14:06

Q2: 16:36

Grid Wrap Up Show: 17:39 [RX+ only]

SUNDAY:

WARM-UP: 09:45

Q3: 12:06

Q4: 14:36

Semi-Finals and Final: (from) 17:00

Grid Wrap Up Show: 18:00 [RX+ only]

FREE LIVESTREAM

Red Bull TV (FINALS) ROUND 6 [Sunday] - at 16:45 UTC+2 - https://www.redbull.com/int-en/events/fia-world-rallycross-championship-belgium

"No way we leave" disappointed as Abbring fights with 3 gears.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNKORRUPTED.

The 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship got underway with a bang at Barcelona in Spain, where UNKORRUPTED's Kevin Abbring claimed a sixth-place finish, leaving the curtain-raiser with 14 Championship points.  

Abbring impressed with promising pace from the offset, demonstrating the work that had gone into improving the Mégane R.S. RX. He won his first qualifier and continued in the same way in the 2nd qualifier, leading the pack until he clipped a track barrier and damaged his front right wing on the last lap, pushing him wide off the track, from where he finished that race in 4th.

Having finished day 1 in seventh overall and with the team having fixed the car overnight following the impact in Q2, the Dutchman kicked off day 2 in style, posting the 3rd fastest time in the morning warm-up.

Back in fighting form on Sunday morning, the Dutchman won his third qualifier despite some contact with Attila Mozer on the straight costing him significant time.

The last qualifier saw Kevin race into the lead for another qualifier win with the 6th fastest time of the qualifier and eighth overall in the intermediate rankings, bagging himself a spot on the 2nd row of the 2nd semi-final.

The semi-finals saw plenty of drama and following a massive fight into the first corner, where he managed to race into second despite losing two gears through the impact. He dropped into third upon re-joining the track following his joker and defended his position until he crossed the finish line for a place in the final.

With no time to get the car fixed in time for the final, Kevin lined up on the third row of the grid and carried his Mégane R.S. RX across the line in 6th place overall.

"It’s been a fantastic race weekend here in Barcelona and so good to see fans in the race stands again. We put down some great fights, showed good pace, and I’m pumped about the work we’ve put in as a team," Abbring said. 

"There’s always room for improvement but to race into the final despite having only 3 gears and having waited to race for so long, there’s no way we leave this place disappointed. We’ve shown we deserve to be amongst the top of the FIA World Rallycross Championship and I’m super excited to head to Sweden next."