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

PREVIEW - The Championship battle heats up in Höljes.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool

The FIA World Rallycross Championship heats up, as homegrown heroes Kevin Hansen, Timmy Hansen, and Johan Kristoffersson arrive on home turf for round two of the season at Höljes this weekend (20-22 August). 

One of the world’s most iconic rallycross tracks, Höljes is nestled deep in the Värmland forest not far from the Norwegian border has been a popular World Championship fixture ever since the series’ inception back in 2014.

Kevin Hansen currently leads the championship heading into the Swecon World RX of Sweden, having overcome older brother Timmy and Johan Kristoffersson in the final at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last month to claim a second career victory at the pinnacle of rallycross. 

The Hansen World RX Team driver is a multiple winner at Höljes at European level and has been a podium-finisher in the World Championship event held at the circuit in each of the past two seasons, taking the chequered flag second on both occasions. 

The Swede will be targeting the very highest step next weekend as he bids to extend his advantage.

"Our development over the winter was focussed more on tracks like Höljes rather than Barcelona, so we are hopeful of having made a solid improvement from last year’s event. We know we have a good car, and we have a good feeling right now," Hansen said. 

"For sure, the competition is going to be extremely tough and it’s going to be the usual suspects at the front so it will all come down to getting a good start to the weekend and then maintaining that form. It’s heading down and all about the details from this point on."

The championship leader will not have it easy, however, his two closest pursuers are both world champions – Timmy Hansen in 2019 and Kristoffersson in 2017, 2018, and 2020. His elder brother is just two points adrift, and having not reached the podium at Höljes since 2016, will be particularly fired up to turn the tables and seize the initiative in the chase for the coveted crown.

The three-time World Champion Kristoffersson, by contrast, knows just what it takes to win around the challenging Höljesbanan circuit, having done so in each of his title-winning years. 

In only his second full season, Krisztían Szabó occupies the fourth spot in the Drivers’ standings for GRX-SET World RX Team following a solid season-opener.

Team-mate Grönholm, meanwhile, needs a good result after his Spanish weekend ended in the semi-final when he was turned into the barrier at turn 2. 

Fellow countryman Juha Rytkönen will be bidding to replicate the scene-stealing performance he produced on his dazzling World RX debut at Kouvola last summer when he took the fight to Kristoffersson in the final, whilst UNKORRUPTED's Kevin Abbring showed a decent turn of form in Barcelona behind the wheel of his Renault Mégane R.S. RX.

The dark horse, however, is undoubtedly Peter Hedström, who has a GRX-SET prepared Hyundai i20 at his disposal and reckons he has the best chance of his career to-date to cause a stir, particularly if rains.

THE TRACK:

Höljesbanan is an undisputed icon of rallycross, featuring a mix of almost everything. It’s a track of two halves; the first twisty and quite technical, the second half a sprint back to the finish line.

Track Length: 1.210m

2020 Winners: Round 1 - Johan Kristoffersson

                        Round 2 - Mattias Ekstrom

Fastest lap: Kevin Abbring 42.432s

Asphalt/Dirt: 60%/40%

Joker Lap Loss: 2.8 seconds (approximately)

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media

2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship standings (drivers):

Kevin Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 29 points

Timmy Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) 27 pts

Johan Kristoffersson (KYB EKS JC) 20 pts

Krizstian Szabo (GRX-SET) 20 pts

Rene Munnich (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 16 pts

Timo Scheider (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 15 pts

Kevin Abbring (UNKORRUPTED) 14 pts

Niclas Gronholm (GRX-SET) 14 pts

Juha Rytkonen 10 pts

Enzo Ide (KYB EKS JC) 9 pts

Tamas Karai 9 pts

Oliver Bennett (Xite Racing Team) 8 pts

Mandie August (ALL-INLK Munnich Motorsport) 4 pts

Attila Mozer 3 pts

Patrick Guillerme 2 pts

Dan Oberg 1 pts

Rounds 2 World RX of Sweden Schedule (CET Times)

SATURDAY:

Q1: 14:30

Q2: 17:00

SUNDAY:

Q3: 11:00

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 18:45 UTC+2 (subject to change) - https://www.redbull.com/int-en/events/fia-world-rallycross-championship-sweden

Ide 'not completely happy with' RallyX Nordic outing.

PHOTO CREDIT: EKS JC.

Belgian racing driver Enzo Ide is not particularly happy with his RallyX Nordic outing in Denmark over the weekend. 

Ide displayed front-running pace, including setting a fastest time but unfortunately didn't start in either final. He finished fourth in the semi-finals on Saturday and was then disqualified from the semi-final on Sunday. 

"I’ve just started with rallycross, but the speed is already there and as I’ve already said, I drive in RallyX Nordic to gather experience before the World Championship," Ide said. "Even though I haven’t done so many races yet, I’ve tested a lot. We knew we would have a good pace even though it’s a completely different experience to drive against other drivers. I'm not completely happy with the weekend and there were some incidents and tough driving on the track, but I will take the positives going forward."

"My pace was good, but I also made some big mistakes. The team is very happy with my lap times and I adapted quickly, even though it was my first time at this track. EKS JC did a fantastic job all weekend, the car worked perfectly and I’m very happy with it. Unfortunately, there was no final and I know that the team is a little disappointed with my black flag in the semi-finals today, but at the same time, it was my fault and not theirs. Now I look forward to Holjes, it’s my favourite track.”

The 29-year-old currently lies sixth in the points after two rounds.