2018 Japanese GP: FIA Drivers' Press Conference.

DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Stoffel VANDOORNE (McLaren), Esteban OCON (Racing Point Force India), Lance STROLL (Williams).

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Three of the four of you are without a contract for 2019, so let’s start with that topic, and perhaps you could just tell us the latest. Let’s start with Esteban.

Esteban OCON: Yeah, that is true, so far. I still don’t have any news to tell you, unfortunately. For sure I am trying to get a seat for next year but if I don’t, I will be sitting on the side, but the sure thing is I will be back for 2020 and I will push my maximum to be back in 2020 anyway.

Lance?

Lance STROLL: Right now, still have five more races to go so I’m going to take it weekend by weekend. Yeah, we’ll see what the future holds.

Stoffel?

Stoffel VANDOORNE: So far not much news from my side, to be honest. Formula One seems very unlikely, obviously, and like I said last week, there’s been a lot of talks with different series, different teams, and there are a lot of possibilities. So, I hope I can tell you a bit more in the next couple of weeks.

Q: Esteban, the car is performing very well at the moment, had a good race in Russia and you have a very good record here at Suzuka: qualified fifth last year, finished sixth. So, what are your expectations for the weekend?

EO: Yeah, definitely big expectations. We have a strong car since a couple of races now. We had a strong upgrade now and we are fighting to be the fourth fastest team each time so definitely looking forward to be racing on this track. As you said, I have great memories, so I can’t wait. It’s a track that suits my driving style quite well, and it’s one I’ve been successful at, so I look forward.

Q: Lance, Russia was a tough weekend for you and the team. Can you tell us, what are the car’s shortcomings, and how difficult is it to drive at the moment?

LS: In terms of result it was a tough weekend. We didn’t pick up any points or anything but I still think we had a decent race, y’know? The position is not what we’re hoping for and not what we’re aiming for but y’know, we had some pace during the race. I was behind Fernando throughout the whole race, challenging him, trying to get by – but the nature of the track, it’s very, very difficult to overtake. Yeah, and y’know, where we stand now, I believe there’s no more upgrades for the rest of the season, but we’re still going to be doing everything we can every weekend to try to improve the balance of the car. I’m going to try to get everything I can out of the package that we have for the rest of the season.

Q: Stoffel, I believe you came down on the bullet train this morning from Tokyo, I just wanted to explore your love affair with Japan. You raced here, of course, a couple of years ago in Super Formula. Just what is it about Japan that you love so much and perhaps you could tell us a secret about Suzuka as well – because you won your last race in Super Formula here at Suzuka.

StV: Yeah, I’ve got some good memories from Japan, racing here in Super Formula. I think first of all the fans are always pretty amazing and it’s quite exciting to come back here and see what they bring for all the drivers. I think they really support everyone. So, definitely good memories from my year in Super Formula. Also, one of the greatest circuits. I think the feelings you have here in a Formula One car is probably the best you can have. Very challenging and looking forward to being back here this weekend.

Q: Sebastian, we saw quite a gap in performance between yourselves and Mercedes last weekend in Russia, particularly over one lap. How confident are you of closing that gap here at Suzuka – particularly at a track that’s been very kind to you in the past.

Sebastian VETTEL: Well, within a week you can’t do too many things differently, so we hope that the track suits us a bit better and we have a better weekend than in Russia. I think we nevertheless managed to get and squeeze everything out of the car. I think in race pace we were hopefully a bit closer – so let’s see where we start off here.

Q: One of the highlights for us, observers of the Sochi weekend, was seeing you and Lewis going wheel-to-wheel. He spoke after the race about how much he enjoys the challenge of racing against a driver of your calibre. I just wanted to get your thoughts on him. How much are you enjoying the challenge of racing Lewis Hamilton this year? And in what areas does he impress you the most?

SeV: Well, first of all I think you always enjoy when you race somebody on track and you tend to enjoy more when you come out ahead – so I’m sure he had more fun last weekend than I had. But yeah, obviously, it’s tough to have a wheel-to-wheel battle on the track but then if you do, you appreciate it a lot more, so I think… it’s been intense races and challenging races we had but not that much wheel-to-wheel racing but yeah, as I said, I enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy it probably as much as he did. I would have liked it to have lastest a little bit longer, for more laps, but that was probably the only chance that we had. Apart from that, obviously, it’s always difficult to compare. These days, I think racing is very different to maybe the way it has been many years ago. You don’t spend much time with each other even though you share the track for all the sessions, you don’t see each other very often until the race, and then even in the race it depends on how the race unfolds – but I think it’s also fine like that, in a way, that some races are more intense than others. I think if every race would be intense then they would all be normal again. Naturally, obviously you enjoy it more when you come out on top.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Sebastian, you talked about getting the most out of the car last weekend in Sochi. In the last swinging fight with Mercedes, over the last couple of weekends have you been surprised to be behind Mercedes at a couple of tracks where they struggled at in the past, especially when you seemed to have a performance advantage in Belgium and then again in Italy in qualifying?

SeV: I think I answered it many times. I think I’ve said many times that we have a strong car, but I don’t think, against the people’s opinions, that we had a dominant car at any point this year. I think the highlights that you mentioned or the races that mentioned, in qualifying we were not ahead. In the race I think it was very close and I think it has been very close all year. I think there were too many races from our side where we weren’t close enough. A race like last weekend, the way they could play with us in the race, usually means they had more pace. There were other races in the season where we didn’t have the pace they had. But I think we have always been very close, most of the races close enough to have a good fight. So we’ll hope that we have the same performance here. Hopefully we are closer in qualifying, which matters obviously to place the car well to then have a strong car and show that pace, because once you are behind, for the reasons I mentioned earlier we don’t have a lot of wheel-to-wheel racing, it’s not that easy to follow close, and then if you are racing for the same tenth, even if the cars were easier to overtake it wouldn’t be that straightforward because ultimately you go as quick as the guys around you, but hopefully we are a bit closer.

Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Sebastian, do you think that Ferrari is not pragmatic enough when it comes to team orders? We saw in Sochi that Mercedes was quite open to ask Valtteri to move aside and if we think about Germany or Italy, you guys seemed a bit more reluctant with Kimi, so do you think they have the edge in that area?

SeV: Generally, I think it is a sensitive topic or subject, obviously for the reasons that we have seen after last weekend. I don’t think we have been in the same position as they have, probably, during the race, so I think it is more a question for the team and not for me.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Sebastian, given that you have finished behind Lewis at five of the last six races, how do you, personally, as a driver, keep your confidence up and do you head into this weekend thinking it’s now or never in terms of the championship?

SeV: I don’t like the now or never approach. I don’t think there’s much sense in that. I didn’t know it was five out of six, now I know, so the secret before just now has been not to count. No, I think you attack every weekend, every weekend is different, the track is different, the circumstances are different, so I’m very happy to be here. I love this track, it’s my favourite track in the world, so I’d better enjoy it and not spoil it by starting to count the things that are against me and focus on the things that are working for me.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb, the weather forecast, it seems that it will be bad until Sunday, only Sunday there will be the dry track. In rain conditions, the last few races you were not very lucky. It is a handicap? And the second question, technically did you lose a little bit the direction in these few races after Monza?

SeV: How do you know about our technical direction? Sorry, but I don’t think it’s true; I don’t think we lost direction. We made progress with our cars, the steps that we planned, the steps have been coming. Now, you never know where you are in comparison to others, maybe they have done smaller steps or bigger steps, I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure speaking to all our engineers that we are where we would like to be or where we wanted to be. Of course you would like to be always further with more performance, but that’s the same for everyone. And the first question, I think there is nothing that speaks against us in wet conditions. I think as you said, here and there it didn't play into our hands but it won’t be like that forever, so I’m not afraid if it’s wet.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) A question for all four drivers. It’s one of the few tracks where we don’t have tow DRS zones. I know if you had DRS down the back straight, maybe 130R wouldn’t be flat or would be more of a challenge but do you think there should be a second DRS zone at that part of the circuit?

LS: I would say so. Whether 130R is flat or not is car dependent and depends on how much risk you are willing to take. I don’t think that’s really the reason why we should debate whether there is a DRS zone or not on the back straight. I think it could only help overtaking. It’s already a track where due to the nature of the track it’s very difficult to follow, with all the high-speed corners and all that, so if there is a way of helping overtaking, helping the show, it would be good.

Esteban?

EO: I think it would be quite a challenge to have DRS there, even harder than Silverstone, Turn 1 really. Let’s see what’s going to happen in the future, it could be interesting.

So you would like to see a second DRS on that straight?

EO: As Lance said, it could only help overtaking into the last chicane. In the race it would not probably flat, especially following other cars, but in qualifying it could be an interesting challenge.

Sebastian?

SeV: I’m not a big fan of DRS, so I don’t know. Now we are in Japan, I think Mario Kart, if you remember, it might be more fun to throw bananas out of the cockpit, so maybe it’s a better idea to have bananas than DRS. I don’t like it, I think it’s artificial. I think we should find a different way to make the cars follower each other closer and not rely on DRS.

Stoffel?

StV: I agree with Seb. I think the fact that we are talking about DRS probably shows how difficult it has been for cars to follow each other and to race each other, so I think in the future if we could have much closer racing and do the old school overtakes, that would be the best.

How difficult was it to overtake in Super Formula here?

StV: It wasn’t easy, because obviously the cars are all the same as well and the competition was tough as well, but there were possibilities and those cars didn’t have DRS as well.

Q: (Masahiro Owari – Formula Owari Masahiro) This is the 30th Japanese Grand Prix. Do you remember which Grand Prix, which year, did you see your first Japanese Grand Prix on TV, and do you remember who won?

StV: I don’t remember it! No, I don’t. One I remember was when Kamui was racing and got on the podium. Which was 2012? Quite late. Yeah.

SeV: I watched all of the races that Michael ran later with Ferrari but I always fell asleep in the second part because it was very early and usually he was in the lead. It was sort of clear after half the race or after the first couple of laps. But I remember the one where… when did Ayrton win here? ’88? Yeah, this I don’t remember. I was one. Later, did he win again? 1991? Yeah. 1993? Maybe that one. ’88, for sure not, because that would be unrealistic, I was one year old. But ’93, that sort of makes sense. That was the first memories anyway and I remember how he lifted the cup, and I think the cup here is beautiful as well, the trophy. It was the same back then as it is now. Yeah, I remember that. Not so much the race but I remember the moment on the podium.

Q: Do you get a kick that the track is pretty similar to how it was back then when Ayrton was racing on it?

SeV: Yeah, I do. I think it’s one of the… it’s my favourite track and I think it’s one of the original tracks that haven’t been messed with. I think it’s… like Stoffel described earlier, I think the feeling you get inside here, in the car, is probably the best all season, when you throw the car from one side to the other up the hill and then you’ve got some really characteristic… how you say?...

EO: Iconic.

SeV: Iconic, thank you French, iconic corners like Spoon, 130R nowadays maybe not as tough as it was back then but overall it’s a great track.

EO: Yeah, I don’t remember the first time I’ve watched this track or this Formula One Grand Prix but the first thing that comes into my mind is always the fight Alain against Ayrton Senna, obviously, in the last chicane and also the first corner the following year, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind, like for sure, historic stories.

LS: Yeah, same. I don’t remember a race in particular. We saw Schumacher take off and win the race round here but that’s probably when I started watching Formula One but I’ve watched the replays of Senna and Prost fighting around here and making contact in the last chicane. Those are historic moments.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) You may have seen that the Strategy Group has discussed changing qualifying into four Qs so it will be four out, then four, then four and then finally leaving eight for the final Q1 shoot-out. What do you think about that? Will it make any difference? Will it help you? How do you feel about it?

LS: That’s the first time I’ve heard of that format. There’s more entertainment for the fans and gives the drivers a bigger chance, maybe can mix up the top three teams a bit more and increase the risk of getting into the last qualifying session. Could spice things up.

EO: Could be a good challenge for the midfield teams, you know, so you could have two drivers in Q4 so it could be fun but then I don’t know how it would change things for the top teams. It would probably be the same.

SeV: Just wondering what we will discuss in ten years’ time, whether we will be talking about Q9 and Q10, if that makes sense. I don’t know. Probably not but I don’t know, maybe we should go less. Without going too deep, my personal opinion is that nowadays I think we need too much entertainment to be happy. I think it would be nice to settle for something less as well. My preferred qualifying was back in the days when they had one hour and you could do what you want. Obviously qualifying for some people will never be as exciting as the race but for other people it’s more exciting than the race so it depends on your tastes, but I think it’s about getting the perfect lap and I don’t think it matters how many qualifying sessions you have. Now we have three and the one that most people look out for is the last one, so if you have Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7 what’s going to change?

Q: Do you think the current format needs changing?

SeV: No but that’s my opinion, so I might be wrong.

StV: Yeah, not much to say to that, really. I don’t think this is the biggest problem so far. As Seb says, I think we don’t really need to have an extra session. We’re out in Q1 anyway so… It doesn’t change for me.

Unstoppable Kristoffersson secures the World RX title in style.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Super Swede Johan Kristoffersson claimed his second title in the FIA World Rallycross Championship at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The defending champion claimed victory at the tenth round of the season, ahead of teammate Petter Solberg and Andreas Bakkerud [EKS Audi Sport].

The Swede has been in incredible form this season, claiming a record nine wins, six top qualifier positions, and it has not come easy. He has had some struggles on a Saturday, but worked hard and got back up on the top step. 

With two rounds to go, Johan Kristoffersson has enough reasons to celebrate and even sing..... 

"I am invincible, unbreakable

Unstoppable, unshakeable

They knock me down, I get up again

I am the champion"

[Lyrics from: Carrie Underwood ft. Ludacris - The Champion]

Kristoffersson went to the land of opportunity with 17 reasons to remain focused, and all 17 were found it at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The race weekend, did not get off to the smoothest of starts, with Johan slotting into fifth and last place in Q1, but he worked his way up the standings.

Second place in the semi-final was enough for Johan to be crowned World RX champion. 
Despite how happy he was with clinching the title, the Swede was already looking to put the icing on the cake with a win in the final. And he did it. A ninth win from 10 races was the perfect way to sign-off on a second world title.

“What an incredible feeling. The title is what I came here for and it’s so nice to have it," said Kristoffersson. "Obviously, there was some pressure in practice and qualifying and the championship was in my mind – even if I kept trying to push it to the back."  

The Swede felt that Q2 and Q4 was an improvement, but he got stuck in traffic. He was happy with his Volkswagen Polo R Supercar. “The team had put such a good car beneath me, I knew it was possible to do this speed and, like it always does, gave me such good confidence."

The 2018 FIA World Rallycross Champion
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Johan needed two points to secure a successful title defense which he had achieved, but he remained focused on the job at hand, and his desire to win. 

“The semi was weird! I came through the last corner and I was a world champion, but still there was this race to come. I was so focused on the racing, there was no time to think to anything else," the Swede explains. "I made a good pass on [Mattias] Ekström in the semi and that was really important for the final."

Starting from the second row of the grid. Johan opted for an alternative strategy and jokered on the first lap. He was able to lead out of the joker lap ahead of Ekstrom. Solberg, his teammate took the joker on the second lap, and he emerged ahead of Johan. Johan then sneaked through for the lead when Solberg ran deep on the brakes.

“The final was going well and we were looking really good for the one-two when Petter slid a little bit wide in one corner," says Kristoffersson. "I took the gap and won. Of course, this is so special to win. To take the title like this is really special."

“You know I am so proud of what I’ve achieved this season. Winning last year was a massive thing for me, but to defend the title in the way that I have been able to is something very special. I have a lot of people to thank for this, including the whole PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team. We work so well together, everything works."

Kristoffersson has often turned his weekend around after receiving advice from  teammate, Petter Solberg. Solberg is recovering from an illness that he was diagnosed with last year, but this weekend. The Norwegian has been a strong contender for the race win.

“And, of course, I have to thank my teammate Petter. This hasn’t been the easiest year for him, but this weekend he showed he is right at the top of his driving again and it’s so good to have him back to his best. I’ll be honest, I think Petter deserved the win this time.”

The Swede just cannot stop winning at the moment. Just eight days prior to claiming the World Rallycross Championship, he clinched the 2018 TCR Scandinavia Touring Car Championship title. 

“I won the 2018 TCR Scandinavia title last week and now this. Incredible.”  

Congratulations to the double FIA World Rallycross and 2018 TRC Scandinavian champion, Johan Kristoffersson!

Solberg is back to his absolute best.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Petter Solberg is back! Solberg has struggled throughout the 2018 World RX season, after being diagnosed with an illness only discovered after his accident in Latvia last year. He has had trouble with his vision and a lack of energy, but this weekend, Petter has felt better and stronger. 
The Norwegian led overnight after a storming run to fastest times in Q1 and Q2 on Saturday. “I was really happy with the start to the weekend. Qualifying on Saturday was fantastic, I was very happy to be leading after Q2," said Solberg. "It’s been a tough year and to come out and win both of those Saturday qualifying races gave me an unbelievable feeling again.

On Sunday, Solberg won his semi-final and was in the position to take his first win of the 2018 season, but it was not to be for the Norwegian when he slid wide and dropped to second behind Johan. 

“Sunday was really good as well, we came through the semi in a good way and the final was looking perfect. I braked a little bit too late and couldn’t get the car turned to the left-hander before the jump," the Norwegian explained. "I took the handbrake and slid a little bit wide."

“That one I gave to Johan, my mistake. I wanted that win so badly. It has been a tough season, but I really feel like I’m back."

After a physically demanding weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, Solberg admitted he was not in the best shape, and believes that with more training, he can get back to his best. 

“I am tired now, but it’s been a physically hard weekend with the heat in the car and I’ll be honest, with the illness I haven’t been able to train so much as I wanted to. But now I’m going to be in the gym and fighting like hell for those last two races."

GRX Taneco retain unbroken semi-final qualification at COTA

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

The GRX Taneco team continued an unbroken run of qualifying for the semi-finals at the World RX of USA. Despite not securing a place in the final, the team remained upbeat.

The short, narrow Circuit of the Americas World RX circuit proved difficult to master, even for the leaders. 

Day one got off off to a slow start with the GRX Taneco drivers only clocking the ninth and tenth-best times. 

On Day two conditions were abit tricky due to overnight right. Niclas Grönholm clocked the second-best time in the warm-up and took eighth place with some superb driving in Q3. Seventh overall, he just needed to play safe in the last qualifying session. He took tenth place, enough to secure a slot for the semi-final. 

Timur Timerzyanov met his match on the initially slippery track, which dried quickly. Caught out by the change in grip, he finished 13th in both qualifiers and fell short of the semis. 

"It was really difficult today.We were eleventh after Q2 and we lost a lot of ground on the Sunday. We played the wrong tactics in Q3 and were unlucky in Q4," said Timerzyanov. "Together, that cost us our ticket to the semi-finals. But, looking on the bright side, it was our first time on the circuit, which proved a tricky one, so we learned a lot.” 

Having made a promising start from the second row in the second semi-final, Grönholm wound his way through the pack to third place. Challenged by Andreas Bakkerud, he conceded defeat and fell to fourth in the final laps. Despite losing his place in the final, he came away from the first World RX of USA feeling upbeat. 

“It was a satisfactory weekend.Obviously, there were ups and downs, so we weren’t ideally placed in the semis. All the same, we pulled off a good start and were in a position to challenge. It just wasn’t to be this time,” said Grönholm. “It was a tough round, very close, but it was practically impossible to overtake so I didn’t get the chance to get past again."

The Finn is looking forward to the penultimate round of the World RX championship, and targets a good result in Germany. "The car is perfect for the circuit and having banked two good results, I hope we can make it to the podium this time."

Abu Dhabi to host the opening round of the 2019 World RX championship.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

The 2019 FIA World Rallycross Championship will begin in Abu Dhabi on 5/6 April, following the agreement of a long-term deal with Yas Marina Circuit announced today (2 October).

Next year, Abu Dhabi it will break new ground as it plays host to the first competitive rallycross event ever to be held in the Middle East. The rallycross track will utilise part of the legendary Formula 1 circuit, integrated into a challenging new purpose-built layout.

In line with recent additions to the World RX calendar – most notably Speedmachine at Silverstone and Circuit of The Americas – the Abu Dhabi season curtain-raiser will also be a festival of entertainment, incorporating live music.

“We are delighted to announce this new partnership with Yas Marina Circuit, which enables us to bring rallycross to a part of the world the discipline has never visited before," said Paul Bellamy, SVP & Managing Director, Motorsports, IMG. "The Middle East is renowned for its enthusiasm for motorsport, and there is no championship more exciting and action-packed than World RX.

“With so much planned both on and off-track, the Abu Dhabi weekend will be a high-octane weekend of fast drivers, even faster cars and major music acts – the perfect way to kick-start another thrilling season of World RX competition.”

Al Tareq Al Ameri, CEO of Yas Marina Circuit, said: “Yas Marina Circuit is proud of its long track record of hosting thrilling internationally acclaimed motorsport races that attract fans from across the globe to Abu Dhabi and we are delighted to welcome the FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP to the ‘Meeting Place of Champions’.

EKS Audi Sport claims seventh podium finish of the season in Texas.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

EKS Audi Sport claimed a podium finish at the inaugural FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX) outing in Austin, Texas (USA).

The team claimed its seventh top 3 result of the 2018 World RX season.

Andreas Bakkerud took third overall at the World RX of USA, while team mate Mattias Ekström finished the final in fifth place after contact with Timmy Hansen (who was handed a time penalty for the contact).
Both EKS Audi Sport drivers made their way into the final with strong performances in the preliminary races: Mattias Ekström held second in the intermediate standings after the first day, and won third qualifying as well as the semi-final on Sunday. With consistently good times in the qualifying sessions and a third place in the semi-final, Andreas Bakkerud also made the final. In the final, Bakkerud drove a strategically smart race and he went on to finish third behind the two VW drivers - Kristoffersson and Solberg.

“I’m delighted about the podium because the weekend was really hard. I started in the difficult outside lane in all the qualifyings and we did our best together with EKS Audi Sport,” said Bakkerud. “Unfortunately here we were unable to beat Volkswagen. But it’s great to compete against the world’s best drivers."

Mattias Ekström was not totally satisfied: after his victory in the semi-final, and started the final race from the front row. The Swede had the best launch off the line and secured the Monster Energy Supercharge award, but lost valuable seconds after a touch from Timmy Hansen and crossed the finish line in sixth place. After Hansen was given a time penalty, Ekström moved up to fifth place. “I’m definitely disappointed that I couldn’t get on the podium, we landed in the wall in a hard fought final and didn’t score many points,” said Ekström.

Despite a mixed weekend for EKS Audi Sport in Texas, Bakkerud is raring to go at the World RX of Germany to continue his charge for the runners up spot in the World RX Championship: "I’m looking forward to the next race in Buxtehude where I’ll continue to fight with Mattias (Ekström), Petter Solberg and Sébastien Loeb for the World Championship runner-up title.”

Team Peugeot Total faced a challenging weekend in Texas.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media 

The FIA World Rallycross Championship raced into Texas for the very 1st time in its young history, with the brand-new event at the Circuit of the Americas. 

Sebastien Loeb finishes 4th and his team mate Timmy Hansen is 6th (after receiving a 5-second penalty for contact with Ekström). They were both driving the Peugeot 208 WRX EVO and both showed good progress with their starting strategy over the weekend. 

The team had to cope with the challenge of variable weather, and also an engine change in only an hour on the car #21 on Sunday morning (between Q3 & Q4). In addition to a 5-second penalty (Q2), Loeb was the victim of unfortunate racing incidents all throughout the weekend, that often found him caught in traffic on a narrow circuit where were no overtaking opportunities. 

The team’s Junior, Kevin Hansen, showed plenty of promise in his 2018-specification Peugeot 208 WRX, getting as far as the rough semi-final he was involved in – he finished just 7th overall. Peugeot Sport engineers and mechanics will continue to push hard with the development of its cars and process over the final 2 rounds of the series.

Sébastien LOEB - 4th in Austin
 “It was again a complicated weekend. We had a good speed but I had a penalty in Q2 & I paid quite a high price for it. In Q4, I was stuck in the traffic. The semi-final was a good heat for me but when you start from behind, it’s difficult to overtake, especially on this track. So I finished 2nd of the semi & 4th in the final... which was rough once more! I’ve been pushed in the 1st corner in the joker lap & went completely wide. All the cars that were in there at this moment took the opportunity to pass inside, in front of me. Then my joker lap strategy was already done so I had nothing to play with anymore. But OK, in the end we still scored some points & we’ll keep going.”

Timmy Hansen – 6th in Austin
"It was a difficult race weekend: we had to fight from the low & climb up step by step in the standings. I think it was already a good achievement to come to the final alongside all 6 factory cars. I've been fighting my best but it was quite a boring final since there were no overtaking opportunities on this track. I ended up 5th - still one place up on the grid. I think we should be happy with the weekend after all we went through - for being in the final & finishing 5th.”

Kevin Hansen – 7th in Austin
 “It did not quite go all the way this weekend. I think I had a very good speed but it was just a too tough semi-final for me in the end. I am a bit bumped that I could not use the speed I had this weekend to properly challenge for the podium. It’s a bit a shame but still I was feeling good in the car, knowing that we struggled a bit with the set-up the previous weekends, so now we are back to very good feelings. To summarise: not super happy but I would like to continue moving forward. Estering is one my favorite tracks so I can’t wait to go there. This weekend we had a good pace & I had a good feeling, so I will take this in my luggage & bring it to Germany.”

REPORT BY: Team Peugeot Total

REPORT: Ice cool Kristoffersson claims victory and is crowned at COTA.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media.

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson was crowned the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Champion in the inaugural World RX of USA at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

Kristoffersson only needed 17 points heading into the weekend. He went on to put the World RX Drivers’ Championship out of the reach of his rivals in the semi-final stages, and later overtook team mate Petter Solberg – to win the final.

Double FIA World RX Champion Solberg – claimed Top Qualifier spot – while EKS Audi Sport’s Mattias Ekstrom lined up on the front row of the grid for the final. Solberg took the lead into the first corner as Ekstrom claimed the Monster Energy Supercharge Award for having the fastest reaction time at the start and headed straight for the joker lap.

Starting on the second row, Kristoffersson passed Ekstrom at the first cornerand set about his pursuit of leaders Solberg and EKS’ Andreas Bakkerud. Solberg took his joker on lap two and stayed ahead of Kristoffersson, then retook the lead on lap four when Bakkerud played his joker. Kristoffersson moved into the lead when Solberg locked his brakes and ran wide on lap five and won the race ahead Solberg and Bakkerud.

“The team gave me a great car this weekend and I felt really strong from first practice. Then I got a little bit stuck in traffic in Q1 so it didn’t look so good to secure the Championship here,” said Kristoffersson. “Q2 was strong, the team gave me a very good car again for Q3. I won Q4 and then in the semi-final I had a really good tyre strategy. I made the pass on Mattias in the final which was crucial to be on the podium, then Petter had a small, small mistake and that was enough to win. I have to give a big thanks to Petter and the whole team for making this possible.”

The one-two finish for the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team extended its lead in the Teams’ Championship. “It was very close, I did a mistake on the brakes and that’s it. But still I’m really pleased with the performance this weekend,” said Solberg. “Congratulations to Johan, I’m very happy for him to be World Champion in my team. For me it means a lot that he has been so consistent with no technical failures which is good from Volkswagen’s side. I think we have done a pretty good job and now I hope I will be even stronger for the next race.”

For Bakkerud, COTA was the scene of his fifth podium of the season. “I felt like I had all the odds against me this weekend because I was starting fifth, fifth, fourth and then fifth again and I had to use my new tyres to recover that,” said Bakkerud. “In the semi-final against Loeb and Mattias they had new tyres and I had used (tyres) – I felt I was getting closer but the in last two laps my tyres were dead. I tried everything I could and I’m happy that I managed to get to the final and the podium. Regarding the next round at Buxtehude (Germany), I know the Audi is working very well there, we have also done a good job and for sure the fight for second in the points is going to be a lot of fun to watch.”

Team Peugeot Total’s Sebastien Loeb finished fourth and Ekstrom was classified fifth after Peugeot’s Timmy Hansen was given a five-second penalty for an incident in the final with the Audi driver.

GRX Taneco’s Niclas Gronholm and Team Peugeot Total’s Kevin Hansen finished fourth in the semi-finals and just missed a place the final. Both GC Kompetition drivers, France’s Guerlain Chicherit and Sweden’s Anton Marklund made the semis. Chicherit was slowed with a left-rear suspension problem in semi-final one and Marklund finished sixth in semi-final two, just behind Olsbergs MSE’s Kevin Eriksson. Team STARD’s Janis Baumanis also qualified for the semis and finished fifth in semi-final one.

GRX’s Timur Timerzyanov was first reserve for the semi-finals in 13th, ahead OMSE’s Robin Larsson and Sebastien Loeb Racing’s Gregoire Demoustier.

The Coundown Begins - 2018 Gumtree World Rallycross of South Africa.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Summer is here, and the temperature’s definitely rising as we count down to when the Gumtree World Rallycross of South Africa hits the Killarney International Raceway in Cape Town on the 24th and 25th of November 2018. If you thought you couldn’t handle the heat, then just wait until twenty-five of the world’s best drivers – including current World Champion Johan Kristoffersson, Sébastien Loeb, Peter Solberg and Mattias Ekström – battle it out in a blistering fight to determine who's the fastest.

And it’s not just sunny South Africa that’s on fire. At the FIA World RX of USA, Kristoffersson proved his number one status by winning his ninth event of the season, to become the first driver to ever do so. He was followed by Solberg and Bakkerud. Recognise those names? That’s because they’re in the first paragraph, and they’re also on the Championship standings, which looks like this (top 10):

Johan Kristoffersson - PSRX Volkswagen Sweden

Mattias Ekström - EKS Audi Sport 

Petter Solberg - PSRX Volkswagen Sweden

Andreas Bakkerud - EKS Audi Sport 

Sébastien Loeb - Team Peugeot Total

Timmy Hansen - Team Peugeot Total

Niclas Grönholm - GRX Taneco 

Kevin Hansen - Team Peugeot Total

Janis Baumanis - Team STARD

Timur Timerzyanov - GRX Taneco 

All this goes to show that the South African version of this event is going to be a world-class affair. It’s not only going to have the big names and the most vocal fans (of course), but it will be a crowning moment, literally, because it’s the finale, the culmination of all the global events where the World Champion is announced. Prior to getting here, the drivers will be racing their way through World RX in Germany.

‘It’s fitting that all of this culminates in Cape Town, where motor sport has a huge fan base of petrol heads. Cape Town attracts a mixed-bag of international events annually including those that get our residents revved up and outdoors. We are incredibly proud to be hosting the Gumtree World RallyCross of South Africa for the second year. We’re ready. We’re excited, and we’re amped to smell that rubber burning,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

It’s all going according to plan. The organisers are working hard and on track. The international races are setting a very high standard. The tickets are selling fast. And everyone is counting down. The drivers are counting down. The fans are counting down. Cape Town is counting down. Hey, even the website is counting down. So make sure you and your family book early and secure your places. You. Do. Not. Want. To. Miss. This.

World Rallycross SA – Gumtree World Rallycross of South Africa

Killarney International Raceway

Saturday, 24th November 2018 – Sunday 25th November 2018

Tickets: R220 – R750

Hospitality tickets from R2500

Tickets: www.ticketpros.co.za

For more information go to www.fiaworldrallycross.com

www.wrxsa.co.za

#WRXSA2018

#RXSA2018

2018 Russian GP: FIA Post-Race Press Conference.

DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

Q: Lewis, a pretty solid day at the office again for a Sunday afternoon, a 50-point lead in the championship now over Sebastian. But you can kind of feel a little bit emotional for Valtteri, obviously you switched positions, but you win and lose as a team and I guess that’s what you look at today?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it’s actually quite a difficult day. Valtteri did a fantastic job all weekend and he was a real gentleman to let me by. Obviously he’s not fighting for the championship, whereas we are. It’s just been such a great weekend for the team. The team have done such an exceptional job to have this advantage on Ferrari and to have a one-two. Usually you would be just elated, but I can understand how difficult it is for Valtteri but really he did a fantastic job today and he deserved to win. But championship-wise, as a team we are trying to win both championships and I think today it was a real team effort. Whilst it doesn’t feel spectacular, I know he is going to do great in the following races to come.

Q: Yeah, it takes a special human being to go and congratulate him first and I could see yesterday how happy you were when you got on pole position. but to turn the attention to the battle with Sebastian, obviously down into Turn 2. How did you feel it was? The stewards looked at it and said it was OK, but you got the job done very soon after that and then that’s what made your race wasn’t it?

LH: It was. Ultimately, for me, he did move over to the inside and then he moved again and nearly put me in the wall. I thought that was a double move. I guess they didn’t see that. Nevertheless, fortunately I was able to stay out of the wall and still get round the corner, and then it was a question of who was going to brake earlier in the next corner and I wanted it more at the time. We shouldn’t have even been in that position. I don’t really understand how we strategically ended up in that place but obviously the overcut or undercut or whatever it is I did… but anyway, ultimately, we’re really grateful to be here in Russia. The weather has been fantastic; the crowd has been amazing. The team here and back home, whilst it’s difficult, as I said, hopefully they’re proud of what they’ve built and the results that we have been able to achieve with their car.

Q: Not too long to wait until you go to Japan and take the fight. Valtteri, I’m not really sure what to say to you. You qualified on pole, you were dominating the race, but from a team’s point of view a second place is still great and you can everyone is still giving you a round of applause, especially this man standing next to you as well.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, difficult day. Obviously a good result for us as a team; we got maximum points. But personally, as everyone saw, it was quite a difficult race.

Q: Is it something you discuss beforehand in the fight for the team to get on top of Sebastian? Is this something you are going to have support Lewis on going forward?

VB: For sure, we always go through all the scenarios, all the facts. Lewis is now fighting for the championship and we are fighting for the Constructors’, so we always have a plan, but yeah today is… it’s always difficult to predict what’s going to happen in the race, how it is going to go, but it is what it is.

Q: Keep your head up man. From everyone that sees from the outside you did an outstanding job. Sebastian, you didn’t have an answer to Mercedes today, but the team did a very good reaction and strategy and you managed to get in front of Lewis and he very quickly retook the position.

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, well it was tricky, obviously you saw they worked very good together and at the start I had nowhere to go, no tow. Then I think we surprised them with a very good out lap and managed to jump Lewis but at the same time Valtteri was backing off a bit, and then I was struggling in the last sector, so Lewis was close and then had a run into Turn 2. I managed to cover and then I didn’t see him through the left-hander, I wasn’t really sure where he was. I saw that he was somewhere on the outside but then I think you also need to be at some stage fair enough and give room, even if I didn't want to, but I had to, to make sure that it remains fair, tough or hard but fair, but then he obviously got past. Then, yeah, I think everybody more or less the same pace. I think we were better with the tyres but probably not better in terms of pace. I tried my best then to put pressure on Valtteri but, yeah, I couldn’t get close enough.

Q: Do you think it was the mistake down at Turn 13 that allowed Lewis to get a run on you later in the lap?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, as I said, obviously Valtteri, as soon as he saw that I was behind, he backed off and I lost like 1.5 seconds to make me run into him, which I didn’t mind initially because I thought I could sneak DRS. But I had a tiny lock-up there and then, as I said, the last two corners were in particular difficult, so Lewis was close and he was on really new tyres, mine were just a lap old but not new. Anyway, it was a good race. I think we were closer today but obviously not the result we wanted.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) To the two Mercedes drivers, the way you were able to build a small gap over Sebastian towards the end of the race, did you think you were going to be able to swap positions back or did it feel pretty set in your minds?

LH: Honestly, when I got the call that they had said that to Valtteri, I don’t know if you heard me but I said “just tell him to speed up.” They told me on the radio that they’ve… “Valtteri is going to let you go,” which is not what I wanted, and I said: “just tell him to speed up,” because I had Sebastian on my tail, getting quite close. So, yeah, naturally passing him did not feel good in that instant in Turn 13, and I didn’t know what was planned for the end. I was waiting to get some news or something like that but I knew that the team wanted it to end that way. If they had made that call, that confirmed to me they wanted it to end that way. But honestly, it’s very, very hard to find the right words. It’s very strange feeling. We’ve had a 1-2, we’ve dominated as a team this weekend, the team has done an incredible job and it’s obviously never, ever in my whole life been the way I’ve wanted to win a race. I just want to shine it on to Valtteri. There are not many team-mates who would do something like that.

Valtteri, when that call was made did you know it was like that until the end of the race, at the time?

VB: yeah, I could expect that. Because obviously, Lewis is fighting for the Drivers’ Championship, and I’m not. And the way we finished, compared to the beginning, makes no difference to the Constructors’ points. So, yeah, I was expecting that.

Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Two questions, first for the two Mercedes drivers: you had much fresher tyres than Verstappen but none of you could close the gap enough to try to pass – although Lewis had a bit of a go. Why was that? Is it the nature of the track? And also, for Valtteri, we had the unusual situation of having James Vowles going on the radio to explain to you what they had done. And Toto as well. Does this mean that the scenario that panned out was not one that was properly discussed before the race – or was it discussed and they were just trying to justify themselves?

LH: It’s a really beautiful place here in Sochi but the track honestly… on a single lap, when you’re on your own it’s cool – but it’s not very good at all for racing. You’ve got the really long straight but the characteristics of the circuit mean the first two sectors are quite fast and the last one, the last sector, the rear tyres are so hot, it’s impossible to follow another car, so you can’t even get close to have a run. I did ask Charlie if he could bring the DRS even earlier, because that maybe would encourage overtaking. You need to be 1.4s faster than the car in front of you – and when you’re racing with someone you’re not 1.4s faster than him – to overtake. I was just saying in the changing room just now, they should do it in reverse. Go backwards. Go the other way around the track, so you have the slow section first and then the fast sections, maybe… I don’t know if it’ll make a difference. But otherwise they’ve got to change the track to make it more racing-like. There are circuits that have which have a much smaller delta to overtake. Was there a lot of overtaking in this race?

The Red Bulls coming through early on did some overtaking.

LH: They had that 1.4s advantage to the others so…

Valtteri, same question to you first.

VB: Once I got close to Max, we knew he was going to go long. And we knew he had to stop. And I obviously had a long stint ahead of me. So, yeah, there was no rush. I was managing really. Then I got instruction from the team to close the gap to Max, and try and overtake, so I was getting, step-by-step, closer and then I really started to push a bit more. But yeah, then I got the call to swap places and that was it.

The second part of the question was that you’d had the radio messages from Toto and James, was the scenario not one that had been planned-out earlier?

VB: Honestly I don’t want to talk about what we spoke of before the race. Inside, it’s between us – but obviously, it was a little bit confusing, the situation but it’s our thing, what we speak inside.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, I know you said it was a team decision, the move, but did you personally think you might move out of the way towards the end of the race when you knew you would probably finish ahead of Seb. And Valtteri, do you think that the team made the right decision?

LH: Honestly, at the end of the race I didn’t feel anything. When I went past, I told you, I didn’t feel good. After that it was all about trying to bring the car home, so I wasn’t really thinking of anything else.

Valtteri, do you think the team made the right decision?

VB: Like I said before, no matter today if I would win, Lewis would win, as long as we’re one-two, we will get the maximum points as a team. So, it doesn’t make a difference. The difference is that Lewis is fighting for the Drivers’ Championship and I’m not. From the team’s point of view it was the ideal result today. Maybe not ideal for me but for the team, yes!

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Lewis, did you expect the undercut would be possible with Sebastian? And after, as you came out of the pits behind him, you were third and Valtteri was first, you had Sebastian between you. How was the manoeuvre to overtake Sebastian? It looked like you complained about something. And Sebastian, your view of the manoeuvre?

LH: Well, naturally I was trying to win the race from the start and I was quite close with Valtteri and then he pitted. Then I had a good lap once I got past. I held on to my tyres a little bit longer than Valtteri potentially, a little bit. He said he had a bit of graining, so that next lap was good and then they kept me out for another lap which I think was ultimately probably not the right decision to make in the end as the tyres dropped off. Sebastian came in the lap before, undercut massively and I lost six tenths or so, once I caught the Williams it may have been. So I lost whatever time I gained there. So it was very risky and for sure it was quite frustrating when I came out behind both of them, I actually thought I was maybe potentially fighting Valtteri but I was fighting both of them and losing position -  that’s definitely frustrating. So I had grip in the tyres and I’ve got to take the opportunity now to race with him which I did. And then I slipstreamed down to turn one and I pulled out.  From my view, Sebastian moved and then moved again and at the time, if I didn’t brake, I would have been in the wall and we would have crashed so it felt, from my cockpit view, that it was a double move which we often talk about that we shouldn’t do but anyway, luckily I got away with it and I was quite forceful in the next corner.

Q: Sebastian, your view on the racing with Lewis?

SV:  Which part? I think obviously we undercut him which was good. Then I think it was clear that Valtteri was dropping back to make life difficult, I guess, so they played well together as a team. Yeah, then I had a bit of a wobble into 13, lock up and Lewis was quite close so he got DRS down the straight. I saw him coming, it was very difficult to see with the mirrors but I thought I moved before the braking, so I wanted to make sure I covered the inside. Didn’t mean to be – how do you say? – an irritation at any point.

LH: I don’t feel anything… in the heat of the moment, it always feels one way. I’m sure if we watch afterwards you might watch it and say yes, I moved twice.

SV: Then, obviously I had a compromised run out of the second corner, defending my position. Then it was very difficult to see where he was. I couldn’t see him for a very very long time and then just saw his tyres and I knew that he was then somewhere there and I didn’t want to be a complete arse by pushing him into the dirt and potentially into the wall so I wasn’t quite sure where he was and then at some point I had to give in. I thought I could maybe get it back out of turn four but I had to give him the entrance otherwise, you know, at some stage it just becomes silly. Obviously I wasn’t happy when I lost the position but I think we did what we could today. We tried to push very hard, obviously and made the undercut but unfortunately lost the position. After that it was very very difficult. I thought I was a bit faster than Valtteri at certain stages in the race but not enough to get close and at the end of the race I had a lapped car which lost (me) 1.5s and then the gap was too big so there was not much point for two laps, I can’t close three seconds in two laps, not if you are within the same tenth so that was that.

Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Sebastian, the maths in this championship aren’t in your favour. There are only five races to go. Do you feel this championship is slipping away at all?

SV: To be honest, I go race by race. Obviously I’m clever enough – I wasn’t a genius in maths – but I was clever enough to pay attention to make it up myself but it’s not getting easier if we lose points. Well done to both of them, they played very well together as a team. In their defence, all the questions… obviously I know that you guys love controversy and therefore ask some naughty questions to them as individuals but I think in the position they were in it was a no-brainer what they did today so maybe not all the questions are justified. For us, obviously we tried our maximum. I think there was a slim chance to finish ahead of Lewis. I went through the racing bit this afternoon, so we have to be third and settle with that for today. I still believe in our chances; yes, obviously it’s not getting bigger, as I said, if you finish behind but who knows, it takes one DNF and then all of a sudden things look different – ideally two! – which I’m not wishing on Lewis but you never know what happens, so we need to stay on top of our game which maybe we haven’t been completely this weekend: make sure that from where we are now we focus on winning the last races.

Q: (Leonid Khayremdinov – Red Star) Sebastian, how could you explain the extreme tyre choice of your team for your next race in Japan? You will have ten sets of supersoft; even Mercedes will have only seven. Do you think it’s risky?

SV: We need to push. No I don’t think so. We will see when we get there whether we are right or they are right but I think the last races for us have been quite positive with the choices we made, no regrets really. You should bear in mind that when you make the choice, you are like half a year from the actual race event. I think we should be fine.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis and Valtteri, once this championship is decided one way or another, do you think if such a situation arises, Lewis, where you’re in front, Valtteri second, would you consider an act on giving Valtteri the win that you got today and Valtteri, would you accept a win in those circumstances?

LH: I have no problems with that. I don’t think he needs to do that. I think he has the possibility of winning many more races himself. At the end of last year I think he won quite a few. I don’t know.

VB: No, I think it’s more fun if we race for it.