World RX Mid-Season Review: Tight at the Top

It has become customary in World RX to see Johan Kristoffersson stamp his authority on proceedings right from the word ‘go’, but in this year’s curtain-raising contest at Lousada, Niclas Grönholm was in charge, as the flying Finn got off to a flying start to launch his bid for a maiden Drivers’ crown in superb fashion.

The CE Dealer Team star – who has finished inside the top four in the title standings on no fewer than five occasions since making his full-time debut at the international pinnacle of the discipline in 2016 – went fastest in two of the four heats in Portugal to secure first place in the intermediate classification. He subsequently controlled the pace in both his semi-final and the all-important final to tally a maximum points haul and throw down the gauntlet to his high-calibre adversaries.

Kristoffersson, by contrast, found himself uncharacteristically muscled out at the beginning of the final in the season-opener, dropping from second to fifth and thereafter never recovering. Unbowed, the Swede and Kristoffersson Motorsport decided that if they couldn’t beat the electric contingent – who locked out three of the top four positions at Lousada – they might as well join them, and so from round two onwards, the team traded in its pair of sustainably-fuelled Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX Supercars for its hitherto all-conquering VW Polo RX1e electric beasts. Kristoffersson has not been beaten since.

On home soil at Höljes, the seven-time world champion was on unstoppable form, winning every heat at a canter before dominating his semi-final and the final, which took place amidst a torrential downpour.

In distinctly different conditions last time out at Nyirád, Kristoffersson won again – this time leading a commanding KMS one-two ahead of stablemate Ole Christian Veiby, to carry a seven-point lead over Grönholm into the second half of the campaign. The latter scooped the runner-up spoils in Sweden, but struggled to replicate that form in Hungary, where he – much like his chief rival in Portugal – was unceremoniously elbowed aside at the start of the final.

Timmy Hansen has been the model of consistency for Hansen World RX Team, reaching the rostrum in all three rounds to-date to keep himself solidly in the hunt for a second Drivers’ crown – even if the manner in which the 2019 title-winner grabbed second place on the last lap at Lousada left team-mate and brother Kevin Hansen feeling somewhat aggrieved.

The younger Swede – world championship runner-up in 2023 and 2024 – has conversely endured a disappointing start to the season, although he did enjoy a viral moment when he saved a spectacular 360-degree spin heading down the hill in heavy rain at Höljes, impressively losing barely any time at all in the process. 

Veiby is the fourth of the principal protagonists travelling next to Finland’s KymiRing (23-24 August), where independently-entered Juha Rytkönen is sure to receive a rapturous reception as the home hero. A first-time winner in Türkiye last November following a straight fight with Kristoffersson, the PGRX star would love nothing better than to repeat the feat in front of his adoring fans later this month...