The FIA World Rallycross Championship made a dazzling
debut in Hong Kong today (11 November), as Johan Kristoffersson clinched his
sixth career crown and Kevin Hansen made history by triumphing in the series’
first-ever city-centre event in front of a huge and enthusiastic crowd.
In a stunning setting – sandwiched between Hong Kong’s
iconic downtown skyscrapers and the waters of Victoria Harbour – the World RX
superstars put on a sensational show around the Central Harbourfront Circuit,
with thousands of fans lapping up the electrifying action.
Hansen delivered the most impressive performance of all,
as the Swede battled back from a tough start to the day – picking up a puncture
right at the beginning of qualifying practice – to top the table at the end of
the heat races and then dominate both his semi-final and the all-important
final. The result marked his third World RX victory – with his maximum score
strengthening his grip on second position in the championship standings.
“This is just mega!” enthused the Hansen World RX Team
ace. “I’ve been so excited to come to Hong Kong for so long – I was really
pushing for this event to happen – and to finally be here in such a spectacular
location is absolutely incredible!
“The crowd has been simply amazing – we could really
feel the fans cheering us on – and the track has been challenging but super fun
to drive. No two laps were the same so it was essential to stay laser-focussed,
but that’s what rallycross should be all about. The final was a great race and
I would say this is my best win so far. The Hansen team is back on top! Now we
need to reload for tomorrow and try to do it all over again.”
Hansen was challenged throughout the final by
Kristoffersson, who uncharacteristically did not top a single session in Hong
Kong, until the Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS driver’s ZEROID X1 car stopped
on-track on the last lap – although by that point, the title was already in the
bag.
Kristoffersson’s misfortune elevated CE Dealer Team by
Volvo Construction Equipment’s Niclas Grönholm to second place, after the Finn –
who set the pace in heat two – prevailed in a tight three-way tussle with Ole
Christian Veiby and Timo Scheider.
The order was shuffled on the last lap of the final as
Grönholm fought his way past his Norwegian rival, with Scheider similarly
leapfrogging Veiby once all the joker strategies had played out – extending the
German’s stellar recent run of podium finishes.
Veiby ended up fourth ahead of Klara Andersson in the
second CE Dealer Team car, with Kristoffersson ultimately classified sixth.
The action continues tomorrow (Sunday) with a full day of racing
on the streets of Hong Kong to bring down the curtain on the 2023 World RX campaign.
FINAL RESULT: WORLD RX
1. Kevin
HANSEN (SWE) Hansen
World RX Team 5 laps
2. Niclas
GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team + 2.290s
3. Timo
SCHEIDER (DEU) ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport + 3.276s
4. Ole Christian
VEIBY (NOR) Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS + 4.818s
5. Klara
ANDERSSON (SWE) CE Dealer Team + 6.526s
6. Johan
KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS + 21.893s