A victory each for EV and sustainably-fuelled ICE cars at the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Mettet
Timmy Hansen scores first World RX win for almost two years with victory in Round 5
Johan Kristoffersson extends his World RX lead by winning Round 6, having missed the podium the day before
Kobe Pauwels, Patrick O’Donovan and João Ribeiro celebrate RX2e, Euro RX1 and Euro RX3 wins respectively
It was honours shared between electric and sustainably-fuelled internal combustion engined cars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship’s ‘Battle of Technologies’ at the double-header World RX of Benelux, with Timmy Hansen (EV) winning Round 5 (17 August) and Johan Kristoffersson (ICE) taking victory in Round 6 the following day (18 August).
Wins in their semi-final made it a front row lock out on Saturday for the Hansen World RX Team, while a perfect team start by the Peugeot 208 RX1e pair in the final saw Timmy lead brother Kevin Hansen into the first corner as they kept Kristoffersson (KMS – HORSE Powertrain-run Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX) behind.
It was clever driving as much as speed around the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Mettet that brought the team its first podium finish of the season, as Timmy drove an inch perfect race to win, while Kevin snatched third (behind Ole Christian Veiby’s Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX) by 0.029 seconds after Kristoffersson punctured.
“This feels fantastic,” said Timmy Hansen.
“We knew it wasn’t possible to win here on pure pace against KMS, but we’ve been working so hard and the car feels the best it has done all year. Today’s result was 100 per cent down to an incredible team effort. We knew what we needed to do, and Kevin sacrificed his own race by backing the field up. I love my brother, and I’m so proud of this team and my family.”
In Sunday’s Round 6 final, Kristoffersson made a great start from pole to lead from start to finish. The Swede crossed the finish line almost five seconds ahead of his closest pursuer, with his fourth win from six rounds in 2024 increases his advantage at the top of the drivers’ standings to 39 points
“I must say a big ‘thank you’ to the team,” said Kristoffersson.
“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 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.”
A first corner squabble behind helped the six-time world champion establish an early advantage, as Veiby and Kevin Hansen both rode high on two wheels as the pack funnelled into Turn 1. Somehow all cars emerged from the first corner incident, albeit some with damage.
Kevin had to manage bodywork rubbing on an overheating rear right tyre as he raced to his second podium finish of the weekend, while Veiby finished third in what was his fifth podium finish in six races. The Norwegian driver also set the fastest lap of the race in both Saturday and Sunday finals.
Technical issues had severely hampered Niclas Grönholm’s progress on Saturday, but his CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction Equipment PWR RX1e was one of the quickest cars off the line on Sunday. Unfortunately, damage sustained at Turn 1 saw him finish fourth in Round 6, just ahead of Timmy Hansen – with the second to fifth positions separated by just 0.739 seconds in an exciting sprint to the chequered flag.
It proved to be a difficult weekend for Klara Andersson, with just a fifth and sixth place finish to show for her valiant efforts in the CE Dealer Team PWR RX1e.
René Münnich once again qualified for a final, finishing sixth in his ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport SEAT Ibiza on Saturday, although he was eliminated at the semi-final stage on Sunday. Yet with good results in the heats and semi-finals, a 26 points score was the German driver’s biggest double header race weekend points gain of the season.
Anthony Pelfrene enjoyed his best World RX race weekend to date, with only an engine problem in the semi-final stage on Saturday denying the Frenchman a place in the final. Despite showing great speed in his JDM Raptor Racing Peugeot 208 the following day, he just failed to reach the final on Sunday.
Mettet also hosted Round 3 of RX2e, Euro RX1 and Euro RX3.
Making a wild card return to rallycross, 2022 Euro RX3 champion Kobe Pauwels flew through his heats to start the RX2e final on pole – although it was Isak Sjökvist who made the best start to take an early lead. Having taken the joker on lap three, Pauwels put in “the lap of my life” to successfully complete the undercut and overtake Sjökvist (who jokered a lap later) to win in front of his home fans. Luka Wlömer completed the podium in third. Nils Andersson still leads the championship, but an unfortunate collision with a spinning Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky on lap one of the final saw the defending champion pick up damage and finish fifth.
Patrick O’Donovan remains unbeaten in Euro RX1 this year after another hard-fought victory in his Team RX Racing Peugeot 208. The championship leader made a great start in the final and was able to manage his pace all the way to the flag. Yury Belevskiy slid his Audi S1 into the barriers at Turn 1 in Heat 4, the car incurring even more damage when it was hit and pinned in position by Mika Liimatainen (Betomik Racing Hyundai i20). Volland Racing did an incredible job to repair the car to enable Belevskiy to win his semi-final, but despite chasing O’Donovan hard he had to settle for second in the final. Máté Benyó completed the Euro RX1 podium in his Korda Racing KFT Peugeot 208.
The two leading Euro RX3 title contenders, João Ribeiro and Nils Volland, lined up side-by-side in an all-Audi A1 front row final, with the Portuguese driver taking advantage of pole to hold the inside line and lead through Turn 1. Ribeiro held on to win, while the German driver lost second place to Dominik Senegacnik (Škoda Fabia) after he picked up a last lap puncture. Volland leads Ribeiro by just one point in the Euro RX3 standings, with just a winner takes all final round remaining.
Next up on the calendar is the World RX of Portugal, which takes place at Montalegre on (7/8 September). The picturesque Vila Real mountain track also plays host to the final round of the RX2e, Euro RX1 and Euro RX3 championships.
2024 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Points after Round 6
1. Johan Kristoffersson….153pts
2. Ole Christian Veiby….114pts
3. Kevin Hansen….110pts
4. Timmy Hansen….109pts
5. Niclas Grönholm….99pts
6. Klara Andersson….95pts
WORLD RX RACE RESULTS
World RX of Benelux (Circuit Jules Tacheny)
Round 6 – Sunday 18 August
1. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….5 laps
2. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+ 4.712s
3. Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….+ 4.969s
4. Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team (EV)….+ 5.266s
5. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+ 5.451s
6. Klara ANDERSSON (SWE) CE Dealer Team (EV)….+ 10.121s
WORLD RX RACE RESULTS
World RX of Benelux (Circuit Jules Tacheny)
Round 5 – Saturday 17 August
1. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….5 laps
2. Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….+ 2.214s
3. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+ 5.006s
4. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….+ 5.035s
5. Klara ANDERSSON (SWE) CE Dealer Team (EV)….+ 9.748s
6. René MÜNNICH (DEU) ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport (ICE)….+ 13.142s
