Kristoffersson extends championship lead despite fourth-place finish in Kouvola.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX. 

Double World Champion Johan Kristoffersson extended his lead in the FIA World Rallycross Championship despite a fourth-place finish in Kouvola, Finland on Sunday. 

The Kristoffersson Motorsport driver has dominated the sport since his return taking the TQ (top qualifier) spot at all four rounds, winning his respective semi-final, but only converted two pole position starts to wins. 

"I have lost only nine points from four races. That's really satisfying!" Kristoffersson said.

"We feel more into it now than in Höljes. The speed is better and the overall feeling as well."

Despite a dominant run on Sunday, the Swede survived a brief scare in Q2 after his Volkswagen Polo was sluggish off the line and suffered from what sounded like a misfire. He ended the session in 14th overall. However, he returned for Q3 and despite being wary of the issue he had in Q2. The Swede won the session to take the overall TQ. 

"They solved the problem quickly. It feels safe to have such a good staff," the double World Champion said.

The Swede cruised through to the semi-final after yet another good launch winning the session by 2.4 seconds from Mattias Ekström, which meant he would start from pole position for the final.

Johan had another good start with Niclas Grönholm right on his bumper, but he ran a touch wide allowing Grönholm to sneak up the inside to take the lead and hang on to win the final. 

"I didn't get through the first corner as I would have hoped for," he said. 

With a last lap joker for Niclas Grönholm and Mattias Ekström in the final. Ekström emerged alongside Kristoffersson, while Niclas shut the door on the apex of the final corner. Johan attempted to leapfrog Mattias, but opened the door for Timur Timerzyanov to claim the final spot on the podium. He would finish the final in fourth-place. 

"It's 55 points from 60 this weekend and I'm still expanding my lead in the championship," Kristoffersson said. 

Johan Kristoffersson will take a 17-point lead in the drivers' standings to Riga (the next doubleheader), where he without a doubt go in search of the perfect weekend. 

Written By - Junaid Samodien