Team Hansen hails 'big step' after win and double podium in Catalunya.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull/Hansen Motorsport

Reigning team champions Team Hansen has taken a big step in Barcelona having claimed their first win and first double podium of the season. 

The 2020 season has ebbed and flowed for the Swedish team, and in the early stages of the season they struggled to find traction on low grip circuits, but despite that their drivers claimed three podium finishes before heading to the World RX of Barcelona (double-header). 

With no wins to there record after a strong championship winning 2019 season, returning to winning ways was there ultimate objective, and following extensive testing prior to the final double-header of the season. The Team Hansen brought some valuable knowledge and updates with them, which provided to work on the 1.133 km track

The Hansen brothers were in the mix all weekend, and on Saturday afternoon reigning champion Timmy Hansen "beat the unbeatable" to register his first win of the season ahead of Johan Kristoffersson and Kevin Hansen. The 'brodium' was on!

Whilst some cynics might have thought it would be a one-off for the Hansen's on Saturday. They were wrong, the Hansen's were back and just as strong on Sunday for round 8 of the World RX championship, but this time with Kevin Hansen ahead of Timmy in the intermediate rankings in third and fourth respectively. 

Sunday saw Timmy claim his second piece of silverware, having finished second in round eight of the World RX season finishing behind Johan Kristoffersson this time around after beating him a day before. 

"It's been a fantastic weekend with a massive step-up in performance for both me and Kevin. We are fighting for wins now which feels great. Yesterday [Saturday] we got it, today [Sunday] not quite, but it's still been a great weekend and I'm happy that the work that we've done in the lead-up to this weekend has paid off," Timmy Hansen said.

"We had great pace today but the race didn't quite go in our favour. I wasn't lucky enough to have any pole position starts today which wasn't ideal so qualified fourth, though I was hoping to beat Bakkerud in the semi-final, even with older tyres, to get myself that all-important front row grid slot."

"The final was carnage. I came up behind Johan and it was the same battle again from Saturday but this time around I couldn't quite manage it," he adds. "The only way to win was to put in a perfect run and I didn't quite put together a string of perfect laps in the final; I wasn't quite able to find that perfect rhythm from the day before."

After a third-place finish a day before, Kevin continued his strong form edging older brother in the intermediate rankings having claimed two second-place finish in Q2 and 3. Whilst his pace was quite promising all weekend, his day would end in the semi-finals. 

The semi-finals saw a very crowded first corner which meant Kevin was shuffled back to fifth place at the start, though he quickly recovered to fourth at turn three, sneaking past Timo Scheider on the inside of the long right-hander.

An early joker to find clear air didn't quite pan out as he caught Tamás Kárai a lap later and, while a brilliant overtake exiting turn six put him into fourth place, too much time was lost to Robin Larsson who held the last spot for the final.

"Today was a very promising day. The car performance was amazing in all three qualifying sessions and I was feeling really comfortable with the adjustments the team had made overnight. My speed was much better today so I was very happy with everything in that respect," Kevin Hansen said.

"We had a bit of a bad start in the semi-final but I felt we were in a good position by jokering first. That's a good place to be, first into the joker, so it was looking promising. Unfortunately, Karai had gone for the complete opposite strategy to us so getting past him lost us the time we needed to make the final."

"Overall this was a very strong weekend, a great return to form, and I feel like I'm getting better every weekend," he adds. "For the first time this year, I was within sight of a victory, and I don't plan to let it out of my sight again for the rest of the year. I'm even more excited to be heading to Spa now with the momentum we've built here, with the team back to winning ways."

With a win and two podium finishes in two days, Team Hansen's quest to retain the teams' championship is back on track. Heading to Barcelona with a 43-point deficit to KYB Team JC, Timmy and Kevin's efforts has narrowed that gap to only 16 points, with two rounds in Belgium and Germany still to go.

Timmy has also leap-frogged Niclas Grönholm to third in the drivers' championship having been six points behind heading into Barcelona. The Swede now has a 16 point advantage over Niclas with two rounds to go, meanwhile Kevin has inched closer to Grönholm and is just 12 points behind sitting fifth in the championship standings. 

"What was most impressive on Sunday was Kevin's level of performance increasing further," Kenneth Hansen, team boss said. "In past years he was slightly behind Timmy's pace but now he's at exactly the same level; sometimes even quicker. So we have two really quick drivers and cars. Today he found the level he's normally capable of delivering."

"Our win yesterday seems to have made Johan even hungrier to make sure he didn't get beaten to victory! He was clearly very determined to make sure Timmy didn't win in the final again today. But having one race like yesterday's final, where Timmy put in an absolutely perfect drive, is still a fantastic performance. My voice is almost gone from pushing Timmy so much on the radio!"

After a challenging start to the season, Kenneth Hansen says his team is back in the game to defend their teams' title, and they will continue to push with an aim to leap-frog KYB Team JC in the standings.

"We're back in the game for the teams' world championship now and we'll be doing everything we can to catch the Audis in the title race," Kenneth warns. "I believe with the direction we're going in and what we've learned this weekend will also help us in Spa. Now we've made a big step for this weekend, finding the next bit of pace will be even harder, as the rate of return on testing gets smaller and we're also quite late into the season now. Plus we need good weather! But we'll do some more testing and see what we find. We never stop pushing!"

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Bakkerud "really, really happy" with results in Barcelona despite first corner exit.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

The 2020 World Rallycross Championship was always going to be an uphill challenge for Andreas Bakkerud (the 2019 vice-champion) having switched from EKS run Audi's to GC Kompetition. 

Having tested the Renault Megane R.S. RX in Cape Town in 2018, he might have had an idea of its performance, but it always takes time to learn the new machinery. But straight off the bat, Bakkerud claimed some good results and even progressed to the finals on two occasions but never truly had the ability to challenge for a win or even a podium due to a lack of performance and mechanical issues with the Megane.

But things would soon take a turn for the better following a test after a Latvian double-header in France, which saw Bakkerud return for form in Barcelona. Whilst Saturday (round 7) wasn't the easiest for the Norwegian, he did however make the final, but was hampered by power steering issues and ended the day in sixth overall. 

On Sunday morning, Andreas registered the ninth-fastest time in the morning warm-up session ahead of Q1, where he would finish behind Mattias Ekstrom and conclude the session in fifth overall. 

And, as the day progressed the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel driver just got faster and faster. Q2 saw the Norwegian hold off Johan Kristoffersson to win the heat and claim a third-place finish overall.

That's not all folks, Andreas went on to beat the likes of Mattias Ekstrom, Johan Kristoffersson, and the Hansen brothers in Q3, which saw him leap-frog Timmy Hansen and seal pole position in the semi-final. Guess what? He won semi-final 2 by 0.478 seconds ahead of Timmy Hansen. 

Whilst Johan Kristoffersson won the other semi-final from the second row of the grid, he would line-up alongside Andreas for the final. 

Both Andreas and Johan started the final with two new front tyres and as the lights went out Johan appeared to have a better start. While Andreas inched closer heading into turn one. Thinking he was clear, Kristoffersson cut in front of Bakkerud sending him into the tyre barrier, he spun around and was hit quite hard by Robin Larsson who had nowhere to go, his race was over from there. 

It's a question of what could have been? But Andreas is quite pleased with his results in Barcelona despite the first corner exit in the final. 

"Generally, I’m really, really happy about the result this weekend," he said. "Who would’ve thought after the difficulties we faced at the start of the season that we would be here today, on pole position in the final ahead of Johan Kristofferson."

"We even had Johan on reaction time at the start of the final! The squeeze came really suddenly and Robin had nowhere to go but that’s the way it goes sometimes."

Yet to win a race this season, Andreas admits that he really wanted to win in Barcelona, but won't give up on his pursuit of glory in the GCK prepared Renault Megane R.S. RX. 

"I wanted this win really badly and I’m not giving up now," Bakkerud adds. "We did everything we could this weekend and I’m really proud of the entire team and everyone involved both here and back at home. Thank you!"

Written By - Junaid Samodien.

Kristoffersson extends championship despite second place finish in Barcelona.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jakub Nitka

Johan Kristoffersson extended his championship lead despite a second-place finish at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona. 

The double World Champion arrived in Barcelona with a mission to keep the distance to Mattias Ekström, without taking big risks. His competitors had other things in mind, and gave him a tough Saturday. 

"I picked up 27 points today. You don't lose the title because of days like that," Kristoffersson said. 

Q1 saw Niclas Grönholm squeeze Kristoffersson into the wall at the first corner, but his Volkswagen Polo was only left with minor scars and from there he was untouchable crossing the line 3.137 seconds ahead of Gronholm, Bennett, and Scheider.  

In Q2 an aggressive first corner saw Robin Larsson squeeze the Marklund and Kristoffersson. The latter hit the tyre barrier seeing him launch up on two-wheels and coming out behind Larsson and Timmy Hansen while Marklund hit the rear bumper of Kristoffersson. 

Comfortably in the lead, Larsson's right suspension broke seeing him hit the tyre barrier, and while Timmy Hansen took the lead, but he was quickly hunted down by Kristoffersson with a damaged Polo R Supercar and ultimately be overtaken based on joker strategy. 

"Yes, the car is really well built. That could have ended much worse," he said.

Kristoffersson rounded off by winning Q3, finishing top qualifier for the fifth time this season, and picking up 16 points.

In the semi-finals, he got another knock on the rear end from Ekstrom and stuck on to lead and comfortably win the semi-final securing pole position for the final. 

The final got off to a bang, on the front row the Swede had four used tyres while Timmy Hansen on the outside had four new tyres. Whilst Johan got off to a good start, Timmy Hansen hugged the inside line and Johan hit the barrier at the first corner looking front bumper and bodywork but still led the race. 

"When I lost the front the car it became somewhat understeery," he said

Despite lacking some front end performance, he took the fight with Timmy all the way to the finish line, in what was a real rallycross battle from both of them. Both Johan and Timmy were reprimanded by the stewards for two separate collisions in the final.   

"The Hansen team were strong today. Timmy and the whole Hansen team have done a fantastic job between the races, I’ve seen they’ve been testing and pushing on and that’s what keeps us on our toes as well," Kristoffersson said

Tommy Kristoffersson, the Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS boss explains the team's tactics today.

"We could have been more aggressive with tyre and joker strategy, but today we wanted to secure qualifying points and a starting position up front for the semis and final. Collecting points was more important than securing the victory," he said.

The strategy/tactics worked out well, as Ekström was not having one of his best days, and Johan extended his championship lead from 17 to 25 points.

Written by - Junaid Samodien

Icecool Kristoffersson is World RX top qualifier again at Barcelona

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX 

Johan Kristoffersson survived an incident in Q2 to continue his strong run of form and claim the top qualifiers spot in the seventh round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Barcelona. 

After dominating in Q1 by 3.137 seconds over Timmy Hansen, and topping Q3, the Swede fought back in Q2 after being pitched onto two wheels at turn one in an incident deemed to be caused by Robin Larsson who squeezed across the front of Marklund and Kristoffersson. 

For the incident, 10-points were deducted from Larsson's Q2 classification, which saw him drop to the tail end of the field. The Swede felt that the penalty was quite harsh: "It was a rough Q2. Got a 10 point penalty after turning into the first corner. I don't know how we are supposed to race. Then something broke after the jump."

Larsson currently misses out on a spot in the semi-finals by a single point but could make the cut should JC Raceteknik withdraw Enzo Ide. 

Reigning champion Timmy Hansen finished second in the intermediate classification showing that Team Hansen's recent tests and upgrades have assisted in solving their traction issues. Whilst his 2019 rival, Andreas Bakkerud finds himself in third-place overall. 

While Bakkerud's GCK Renault Megane R.S. RX was being rebuilt following his crash in Latvia, the Norweigan got behind the wheel of Marklund's supercar to test some tweaks and improvements which has proven to work this weekend.

"Very, very happy that we scored my first qualifying heat win with the Renault Megane. So, absolutely very happy with the boys and the girl's work from the team. I think we did a great development since Riga and we are looking better now," Bakkerud said. 

Kevin Hansen, a bit under the radar this weekend with fourth-place overall. While championship contender Mattias Ekström in fifth overall after battling with clutch issues throughout the three qualifying sessions.

"Again we are struggling with the clutch. We haven't found the issue yet," the Swede said having won his Q3 heat race. 

A dejected Niclas Grönholm leads the GRX Taneco duo in sixth with Timur Timerzyanov in seventh. 

"It's been quite difficult. It's not getting any better. It's quite disappointing not to have the speed and also the car is not easy to drive," Niclas said.

Anton Marklund, Timo Scheider, and Liam Doran complete the top 10 with Oliver Bennett, and Enzo Ide also advancing to the semi-finals. 

Doran was reprimanded by the FIA Stewards for not respecting a car on the left-hand side in Q3. 

As mentioned earlier, Larsson might not advance to the semi-finals should JC Raceteknik allow Enzo Ide to take his spot on the grid. 

Tamas Karai, Patrick Guillerme, and Mandie August have also failed to progress semi-finals and will return for more tomorrow morning 

Written By - Junaid Samodien

PREVIEW - Can anyone stop Kristoffersson in Barcelona double-header?

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX.

The heat is on! SIX DOWN... with four to go. The fourth and final double-header of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship will take place at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona this weekend.

Barcelona will play host the final double-header of the season, and with this, we'll see minor naming changes. Instead of a standard name across the full weekend. The event organizers have opted for two names for each round.

Round seven on Saturday is named to support the local bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics, Logitech G FIA World RX of Pirineus-Barcelona 2030 while round eight on Sunday is named the Logitech G FIA World RX of Catalunya.

This year's round at Circuit de Catalunya will be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And, all competing teams and event organizers and officials will be operating on reduced staffing levels to comply with the FIA safety regulations with 295 accredited personnel, a reduction of 55 personnel compared to Latvia. All personnel are required to provide a negative PCR test before they are allowed to enter the circuit. 

FIA World Rallycross Championship

The unprecedented 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship will continue this weekend after a 26-day break. Three different drivers have taken event wins this season, while Johan Kristoffersson leads the way having won rounds one, three, and five. 

The double World Champion has established a 17 point lead at the head of the championship, with closest rival Mattias Ekström aiming to stop his Swedish compatriot in his tracks. Ekström returned to the championship this season in place of Janis Baumanis with KYB Team JC and has won rounds two and six. 

The 2016 World RX champion has a clear plan of what he needs to do this weekend. "If I want to be world champion I think it’s pretty fair and square, I need to beat Johan at least twice and I have two chances this weekend on Saturday and Sunday to bring the lead down to single numbers. That means from 17 down to nine, beating him by eight points," he said. "That is the hope and the target."

Ekström's teammate, Robin Larsson, is currently fifth in the championship having claimed his first podium with a third-place in round six of the championship in Latvia. During the break between the Latvian and Spanish rounds of the championship, Larsson has been helping Enzo Ide get up to speed. 

Ide was sidelined for much of last season following an accident at home that left him in an induced coma for several months. The Belgian will return to World RX this weekend at the wheel of a third JC Raceteknik Audi S1 Quattro. 

GRX Taneco's Niclas Grönholm was one of the favorites heading into the season but has not had the start to the season that he had expected despite picking up a win at round four of the championship in Kouvola. And, while it hasn't been the easiest of seasons for the Finn, he currently holds third place in the championship. His teammate at GRX Taneco, Timur Timerzyanov has had the pace but has ultimately fallen foul to ontrack incidents and mechanical issues, he is currently in ninth-place in the championship standings.

Reigning world champion Timmy Hansen is still in the championship hunt just 55 points behind championship leader Johan Kristoffersson. While younger brother and teammate Kevin Hansen is sixth in the championship. 

The Hansen brothers have had a good record at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona having claimed a one-two finish last season, and will aim to replicate that result this weekend. 

Whilst the updated Peugeot 208 WRX hasn't been as strong as the team expected. Both Kevin and Timmy spent their downtime testing their supercars and found some much-needed improvements. 

"I've conducted many rallycross tests over the years and the results we got out of our test last week were some of the best we've ever had. I'm very excited to be coming to Barcelona with this fresh approach we've got and the multiple updates we've brought with us," Timmy Hansen said

Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel's Andreas Bakkerud returns after a 120km/h crash in Latvia. He confirmed that his Renault Megane R.S.RX has been rebuilt and is ready for this weekend's action, while Liam Doran is hoping that his run of bad luck has ended. 

Timo Scheider has shown his potential at the wheel of the AllInkl-Muennich Motorsport Seat Ibiza, but last time out, it was a weekend to forget for the double DTM champion who was disqualified for the incident with Andreas Bakkerud. 

This weekend Scheider will be partnered by Mandie August who replaces Rene Muennich and becomes only the second female driver to start a World RX event.

GCK Bilstein's Anton Marklund will hope for better luck this weekend after suffering with a number of technical issues this season. 

After a tough start to the season, UNKORRUPTED announced their withdrawal from the Spanish round of the championship citing: "We have found significant issues that can not be addressed in time to be race-ready."

The French squad will hope to solve their issues ahead of the final two rounds in Belgium and Germany later this year. 

Joining the Permanent Competitors in Barcelona is Tamas Karai who will return in his Audi Supercar having also competed in the World RX of Finland double-header. 

Xite Energy's Oliver Bennett is back! The Brit returns to the championship after missing the opening six rounds. He will be driving his redeveloped Mini SX1. While Frenchman Patrick Guillerme will conclude the 16-strong driver line-up in his Hyundai i20. 

The GRID for Q1 - ROUND SEVEN of the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

TRACK STATS

Situated within turns 10 to 15 of the 4.6km Formula 1 circuit, the World RX track at Barcelona is 1,135km long and consists of 60% tarmac and 40% gravel. It uses parts of the F1 track in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. A significant change as a safety improvement since last year, the inside of rallycross turn three – the long right-hander in the first gravel section – is now lined by a steel guard rail which replaces the tyre wall previously used.

What to look out for:

Turn One: Like the previous round in Latvia, Barcelona's first turn on the rallycross circuit has a funnel-like effect. It's only used on the first lap before joining the main track but as a high-radius corner a few hundred metres after the start. Expect plenty of nudging between drivers trying to get the holeshot.

Joker exit: The fastest part of the circuit is the back straight, which runs between turns 12 and 13 of the F1 track in the reverse direction. While those on the regular lap have track position and the inside line, cars exiting the joker have a huge momentum advantage with higher corner exit speed. Look out for bold around-the-outside passes here!

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

2015 - Petter Solberg 

2016 - Mattias Ekström.

2017 - Mattias Ekström.

2018 - Johan Kristoffersson.

2019 - Timmy Hansen. 

2020 - ?

BROADCAST TIMES and SCHEDULE for Rounds 7 & 8 of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona (CET):

The livestreams for the events will be carried on the official World RX Facebook page and YouTube channel:

facebook.com/fiaworldrallycross

youtube.com/RallycrossRXTV

Schedule:

Round Seven (17 October 2020)

Free Practice: Saturday 8:30 am

Q1: 10:20 am

Q2: 11:50 am

Q3: 13:40 pm

Semi-Finals and Final: 16:00 pm to 18:00 pm

Round Eight (18 October 2020)

Warm-Up: 8:30 am

Q1: 9:30 am

Q2: 10:50 am

Q3: 12:40 pm

Semi-Finals and Final: 15:00 pm to 17:00 pm

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Team Hansen hopes to "close the gap" with updates in Barcelona.

CREDIT: FIA World RX

Defending team champions Team Hansen returns to Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona where they claimed a double podium in 2019 and will hope to replicate that result once more this weekend. 

It's been a season of highs and lows for the Hansen's who hoped to start the season as strongly as they had ended it in 2019, but things didn't go their way from round one. But there was some light at the end of the tunnel with Kevin Hansen securing the teams best result of the season, a second-place finish at round two of the championship in Sweden followed by two third-place finishes for reigning champion Timmy Hansen, but the team will hope to claim there first win of the season in Barcelona, Spain. 

As in 2019, the team has struggled with grip issues on low abrasion track, and they often excelled on high grip tracks, but during the Latvian-Barcelona "break" the team have been flat out testing in an attempt to find some much-needed improvements. 

"We've been pushing really hard with our testing programme since Latvia. We want to be winning races this year so we're pushing the limits beyond what we'd normally do, running our equipment for much longer than usual to make sure we get it right. But I like this level of commitment we're taking, which of course carries some risk with it," Timmy Hansen said. 

"I've conducted many rallycross tests over the years and the results we got out of our test last week were some of the best we've ever had. I'm very excited to be coming to Barcelona with this fresh approach we've got and the multiple updates we've brought with us."

Barcelona represents a strong opportunity for the team to score its best result of the 2020 season to date, having been the site of a 1-2 finish for Timmy and Kevin last April. The 1-2 finish last year meant the Hansen brothers would join an exclusive club alongside the Schumacher and McRae families in having siblings score a 1-2 finish in an FIA championship event.

While Johan Kristoffersson has been the benchmark this season, Timmy hopes that the multiple updates they have will assist them in closing the gap to the double World Champion this weekend. 

"I'm feeling optimistic but the only way to know how much difference it's going to make is once we're up against the stopwatch at a race weekend. The car does feel drastically different, in a positive way, so my hope is that this is the step we've been looking for," Hansen adds.

"There are so many good things going for us at this track, considering our history of results here and the updates we're bringing, so I hope that will close the gap enough for us to win some races this year."

In the lead-up to the World RX of Catalunya this weekend, both Team Hansen drivers have been quite busy. Timmy has been hard at work testing updates to the team's Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar, and testing the Spark Odyssey 21 E-SUV for Andretti United Extreme E team, while Kevin made his rally raid debut with the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team at last week's Andalucía Rally, finishing fourth in the SSV class.

"While Timmy was testing I was taking on a great new adventure in Andalucía, racing a buggy with the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team. It's the most fun thing I've done all year and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to try it out," Kevin said.

"But now I'm switching back to the complete opposite of rally raid, with short racing on a circuit. This is my job, my passion, my life. It's been a month now since we were last in the 208 Supercar, so I can't wait to get the rallycross feeling back."

While Team Hansen has had good results in recent years at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, on the 1.135KM track. Timmy Hansen and Kevin Hansen are both seeking their first wins of the 2020 season and will hope that the new updates will bring them the desired results. 

"We had a great result here last year but of course, we can't take anything for granted, considering how strong our competition is. But we haven't been servicing the cars and sleeping since Riga. We've been doing testing and we've now got some updates on the cars that have shown positive signs," team boss Kenneth Hansen, said. "If those signs are as good as our first impressions suggest, this could be a good weekend for us."

Kenneth Hansen confirmed that the team focused on finding different set-up options, tweaks to the chassis and engine, and optimizing the set-up of the dampers in hope of finding some much-needed performance. 

"There were limits on how much we could test due to factors like the weather but we've done several test days with different set-up options, tweaks to the chassis and engine, and further optimizing the set-up of our Öhlins dampers," he said.

"The plan is simple: to be battling for wins again. Let's see what happens this weekend."

Written By - Junaid Samodien.

GRX Taneco "are ready to fight" for good results in Spanish double-header.

PHOTO CREDIT: GRX Taneco.

GRX Taneco is ready to fight for strong results at rounds seven and eight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona this weekend. 

So far, this season has seen three double-header race weekends in Sweden, Finland, and Latvia. And, although Spain was initially set to host a single round, due to the cancelation of the Portugal event, it has changed its format to the double-header.

The 2020 season has been far from ideal for GRX Taneco, but Niclas Grönholm has claimed a win for the Finnish squad on home soil in Kouvola (Finland) and will aim to take the fight to the likes of Johan Kristoffersson and Mattias Ekström on the 1135m long World RX track in Barcelona. 

"Feeling good going to Barcelona, as we had a good pace at the last year’s race and we hope that we’ve found some improvements after the race in Riga, that didn’t go our way," Grönholm said. "It will be a tough weekend with two races again, but we are ready to fight and score some good results!"

The Coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic has drastically altered the World RX calendar this season, but the championship will return to Barcelona this weekend. And, Timur Timerzyanov is happy to return to one of his favourite tracks on the calendar.  

"Barcelona is amongst my favorite tracks of the calendar and for sure one of the best F1-RX tracks. I’m really happy, that we are able to go there this year," said Timerzyanov.

It has been a season of ups and downs for Timerzyanov through on-track incidents and technical issues, but through all the bad luck, he claimed a third-place finish in Kouvola and will aim to claim some good results in Barcelona. 

"In the previous weekends, I have had many runs with good pace, but also many misfortunes or setbacks," he said. "I hope that in Barcelona I will be able to keep the good pace and consistency."

"Every race weekend we start with an aim of the podium, and this will be no different. We just need to do our best and results will come."

“I think this goes without saying that 2020 season has been a very challenging one and, so far, maybe not as successful as we hoped for, but we keep our spirits high and every single one in the team is working really hard to deliver their maximum," says Jussi Pinomäki, GRX Taneco team manager. 

"Barcelona is a place where we, as GRX Taneco, had our first race back in 2018 and we are excited to go back there."

GRX Taneco are currently third in the teams' standings with 176 points and will hope to close the deficit to KYB Team JC in Barcelona. 

Written By - Junaid Samodien

Kristoffersson hopes to extend championship lead "without taking big risks" in Barcelona.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX

Two-time World Champion Johan Kristoffersson heads to Barcelona with a seventeen point lead in the FIA World Rallycross Championship and aims to take no big risks with just four rounds remaining this season. 

The championship is now at a crucial stage with just four rounds to go, two of them being a double-header at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona this weekend, and Johan aims to collect as many points as possible. 

"60 points up for grabs. My idea, as usual, is to collect as many points as possible without taking big risks," said Johan Kristoffersson.

In the hunt for a third title, Kristoffersson got off to a winning start in Sweden but has not had it all his own way. The Swede has won the opening round of each double-header, with Mattias Ekström, his championship rival often taking the win on the second day (next round). 

While Ekström is seventeen points behind the Volkswagen Dealearteam BAUHAUS driver ahead of rounds seven and eight, Niclas Grönholm isn't too far away either, only 49 points behind the championship leader.

The Swede is aware that while Mattias is his toughest opponent this season, but admits that the Hansen brothers, Niclas and Robin Larsson are just as strong. 

"Mattias is closest in the standings and will be a tough opponent, but Timmy and Kevin (Hansen) were strong in Spain last year and then there is Grönholm and Robin (Larsson) as well," he said

Johan won his last event in Barcelona, in 2018, and even though Ekström was first over the finish line, he was later penalized for an incident with Petter Solberg in the first corner. 

The launch (start) in Barcelona can be very decisive this weekend. 

"Since they moved the start forward it has become somewhat hazardous," he says.

At the last race, in Riga, there was a lot of talk about tyre strategy. Tommy Kristoffersson, the Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS team boss thinks that the tyre strategy/tactics might be less decisive this weekend.

"This track is not that demanding for the tyres, but if you are unlucky with the draw for Q1 you might have to sacrifice a set of tyres to get back into the game," he said. 

Tommy is confident ahead of Barcelona, as the team is coming into the event with a good points advantage and admits that his team has sorted a few things out on the Volkswagen Polo R Supercar.

"We don't have to chase. Since Riga, we have sorted things out on the car and found some good solutions," Tommy Kristoffersson said. 

During the break between Riga and Barcelona, while some of his rivals have been out testing other machinery or even their supercars, as they aim to close up on the championship leader. Johan made two guest appearances in the Carrera Cup Scandinavia series and picked up two podium finishes. 

While Johan Kristoffersson has been fairly dominant on the opening round of a double-header weekend, the question remains: Can secure a double win? We will surely find out this weekend!

Written By - Junaid Samodien