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| PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool |
ROUND 5 (DAY 1) – TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK.
Arriving at Mettet, there was one target on everyone’s mind, taking the fight to KMS - Horse Powertrain, who have amassed three victories, in their newly-developed Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX Supercar, along with gaining points in the championship standings.
With the scene set, it seemed that Johan Kristoffersson was the dominant force from the get-go, however, the Hansen brothers’ were hot on his heels, so much so that in the final rankings after two heats, the KMS driver had a quick Timmy Hansen in second after a dominant display of team-work.
In the first semi-final, Kristoffersson lined up in pole with Andersson alongside in second with Kevin Hansen and OC Veiby on the second row. But, poor starts for both KMS drivers meant they were left on the line, as Hansen led Klara from Kristoffersson and Veiby into the opening corners. Fighting back, Johan and OC immediately took the joker lap, and began the push to close up to Andersson and leader Hansen. The six-time Champions pace was strong, but not strong enough for Kevin’s almighty defensive drive, while OC gained third after Andersson picked up a puncture ending her hopes of progression to the final.
Having booked a slot on the front row of the grid for the final, it was Timmy Hansen's chance to rubber stamp a front row start with a win in semi-final 2, the Swede started from pole position, but Anthony Pelfrene had other ideas, and got the jump at turn one, but unfortunately encountered mechanical issues allowing Hansen through and ultimately the heat win, whilst Rene Munnich with a smart joker strategy jumped Gronholm, and with it a place in the final, with Pelfrene going no further.
The scene was set, the Hansen World RX Team locked out the front row for the final with Kristoffersson, Munnich, Veiby, and, Gronholm, but unfortunately, due to a mechanical issue Niclas could not participate and therefore team-mate Andersson took the final spot on the grid.
The Hansen brothers exploited their electric acceleration in the final covering any attempt from Kristoffersson at the start, and then produced a masterclass in teamwork to keep their countryman behind. As Kevin Hansen deployed the ultimate defensive to fend off the six-time champion, Timmy was able to establish an advantage, going on to end his endless run by more than two seconds from the nearest pursuer.
“It has been a tricky start to the year for the team but they have been working so hard to turn it around and it feels great to be able to pay them back with a race win,” Hansen said. “Kevin did a fantastic job backing up the field in the Final to help me build enough of a lead, and I'm happy he ended the race on the podium as well. It was a huge team effort all round but now we need to focus on doing the same tomorrow.”
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| PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool |
CE Dealer Team’s Klara Andersson ended the final in a distant fifth and Rene Munnich in sixth.
ROUND 6 (DAY 2) – THE FIGHT BACK!
After a day of punctures, and mechanical trouble, it was time to take a look at the data, replace any damaged parts, and or power unit components, and refine set-ups for another day of action, Round 6.
The Circuit Jules Tacheny should favour the internal combustion-engined Supercars, but after the first day of action, it was clear that the electric powertrains held their own, especially at starts and drag off the slow-speed corners.
With another exciting battle on the cards, Johan Kristoffersson was ready to make amends after a late puncture in the final denied him of an almost certain podium, he also admitted to breaking his gear level in two pieces (in the final).
Lining up for heat one, both KMS Polo's had slow launches yet again, which allowed Kevin Hansen to lead, but as the race progressed, it was Kristoffersson who shone in the Belgium sunshine beating Timmy, Kevin, and Veiby to the checkered flag.
After one of the most challenging days just 24 hours earlier, Niclas Gronholm was on another level with his launches, rocketing off the line where he would remain to the checkered flag, with Rene Munnich in second ahead of Munnich and Anthony Pelfrene in the first heat of race two.
One final shot to make a move up the rankings, the second heat of race one, saw ice-cool Finn Gronholm once again launching off the line to lead into turn one, but as the race progressed it was evident that Klara was closing on her team-mate to the extend that she backed off across the line to let Niclas take the heat race win, which she later said: 'we are in this together'. A great display of teamwork, with a 1-2 followed by Munnich and Pelfrene.
In the second race of heat two, Kevin Hansen took the lead into turn one, with older brother Timmy trying to hold the outside line to protect his brother, but ran wide. OC Veiby also hit Kristoffersson sending him sideways, but the Swede was able to correct the car before turn two and began to hunt Kevin catching and closing in every braking zone. With an alternative joker strategy, Kristoffersson made the bid for clean air, and it paid off, he beat Kevin quite convincingly with Timmy in third and OC Veiby in fourth, who told the World RX reporter that he had issues with the ALS system or a throttle body in the race.
The battle lines were drawn, EV and ICE both have their strengths, but Gronholm and Kristoffersson were both quick, but talk is cheap, results count, and in the semi-final one, Johan finally had a good start, whilst his team-mate Veiby pulled to the inside to try and cover off Timmy, the two made heavy contact, but with an inside line. Hansen won the initial battle until an earlier joker lap strategy saw Ole Christian jump the Peugeot driver, and finish second behind his teammate, Hansen third, and Munnich in a distant fourth - he would go no further.
With very strong launches throughout the day, CE Dealer Team's Gronholm was ready for action and led from lights out to the checkered flag in the second semi-final with Kevin in second, Klara in third, and Pelfrene in fourth, unfortunately, he would also miss out on a spot for the final.
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| Kevin Hansen smoking his way to P2 with rubbing bodywork. PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool |
In fifth after the first few corners was Klara Andersson, she took an early first lap joker trying to use clean air to her advantage, but it was not to be.
As the laps ticked by, the action behind ramped up, but Kristoffersson sailed off into the distance in a dominant display.
The joker strategies played out, and Kevin opted for a lap 4 joker, which saw him come incredibly close to Veiby but fended him off.
Kristoffersson crossed the checkered flag quite comfortably ahead of the rest, which meant victory in Mettet has enabled him to extend his championship advantage to 39 points with four rounds remaining.
“I must say a big ‘thank you’ to the team,” Kristoffersson said after the final. “They gave us a great car and we were consistently quick, and today, we managed to pull everything together. I’m very happy, and it was nice to have OC [Veiby – team-mate] on the podium as well as collecting more important points towards the championship. That said, our competitors are doing a good job too and the times got increasingly tight, so we have to keep pushing.”
Kevin Hansen crossed the line in second with a smoking rear right tyre after his bumper was folded on it after Veiby's turn-one contact. And, Veiby rounded out the podium finishing barely half a second behind.
Gronholm also carried damage on course to fourth ahead of Timmy Hansen, and Klara Andersson rounding out the top six.
"We got both cars to the final, which is a positive. Unfortunately, I took a big hit, and that ruined the final for me today. But even though it wasn't our best weekend, I'm really happy and grateful for the support from all our partners and fans who were here, supporting us through the good and the bad. I'm looking forward to Portugal and returning to a track where we have great memories," Klara Andersson said.
World RX returns next month to Montalegre in Portugal, a venue, that should suit the electric-powered cars over their internal combustion counterparts, with the high elevation nature.
"It will be tough, we will not give up but will do our best to hold off," Kristoffersson says looking ahead to Portugal next month.
As it stands, in the 'Battle of Technologies', ICE leads with four victories to two for EV!
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