Kristoffersson ‘impressed’ by team-mate Veiby’s victory

After setting the fastest time outright in heat three, Veiby wound up third in the intermediate classification at the KymiRing, earning him a second row starting slot for the all-important final.

The onset of rain threw a new variable into the mix, and with grip at a premium around parts of the 1.163km lap, the first couple of corners were a real journey into the unknown. Despite fleetingly finding himself down in sixth position, Kristoffersson Motorsport star Veiby managed to neatly cut to the inside exiting Turn Two to emerge in second place.

From there, he was the first driver to dive into the joker – a tactic that would prove key to the end result. As his rivals squabbled in the challenging mixed conditions, all the while, the Norwegian was gaining ground, until only Kristoffersson stood in his way.

Keeping his illustrious KMS stablemate – the most decorated driver in the history of World RX – firmly in his sights, when the Swede exited his own joker on the last lap, Veiby narrowly swept past, going on to take the chequered flag just under three tenths-of-a-second clear to cement his second career success at the international pinnacle of the sport.

“I’m impressed by how well Ole Christian drove in the final,” Kristoffersson commented. “Of course I was disappointed personally not to have the pace to match him for the win, but I’m very happy for Ole Christian and very happy for the team with another one-two finish [after Hungary]. It looks like our car performs well in all conditions, so I’m very pleased about that.”

“It was an up-and-down weekend, but it felt really good to come away with a win,” acknowledged Veiby. “It was kind of a crazy final! I had a mega launch, but got stuck on the outside and was in a pretty bad position after Turn One, before I found a gap on the inside and ended up coming out of Turn Two right behind Juha [Rytkönen].

“We then made a good joker call, which enabled me to drive freely and catch up with the others. I managed to match the pace of my good friend and team-mate to get the win, and it’s nice to take this with me into the last two rounds in Türkiye.”

Indeed, as he prepares to return to the scene of his breakthrough World RX victory last November, Veiby will do so with momentum solidly on his side, having overhauled Timmy Hansen for third in the championship standings and slashed his deficit to second-placed Niclas Grönholm from 15 points to just four, with 56 remaining in play in the double-header Istanbul Park finale on 20-21 September.