Kristoffersson keeps cool to win as tempers flare in Norway

On a weekend when tempers flared both on and off-track, Johan Kristoffersson produced an ice-cool performance in Hell to win World RX of Norway today (18 June), with female drivers notably reaching the final in three of the four categories.

Kristoffersson was as unflappable as he was untouchable around the undulating Lånkebanen circuit, maintaining his flawless SuperPole record before setting the pace in all four heats and then dominating both his semi-final and the all-important final to tally his 37^th career victory in the FIA World Rallycross Championship’s milestone 100^th round.

That secured the five-time world champion a second consecutive maximum score behind the wheel of his Volkswagen RX1e, extending his advantage at the top of the title standings to 13 points as he chases a sixth Drivers’ crown.

“We went to Montalegre and were quick and now we’ve come here, to a very different type of track, and we’ve been quick again, so it’s happy days,” Kristoffersson reflected. “We have a fantastic team who have built a very good car in which I’m very comfortable, and it feels great.

“It’s been a challenge here with the track conditions constantly changing and actually getting quite rough in places, and I played it smart and tried not to get involved in too many incidents. The field is getting tighter and tighter, and there are always details to work on. Now, we look ahead to Höljes. Driving there with these new electric cars will be super-fun!”

If the Swede’s path to the top step of the podium was relatively serene, behind him, the racing was anything but, with a brutal battle for the honour of finishing ‘best-of-the-rest’. Ultimately, it was Niclas Grönholm who prevailed in that particular fight as the Finn secured the runner-up spoils for CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction Equipment – adding to his podium finish from the Portuguese curtain-raiser.

In only his second outing in World RX’s electric era, double DTM champion Timo Scheider reached the rostrum for the first time in almost three years with a stellar performance behind the wheel of ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport’s SEAT Ibiza RX1e – showing a marked upturn in form compared to Montalegre.

Klara Andersson took the chequered flag fourth, replicating the result that she achieved on her impressive World RX debut in Hell last summer. The Swede had to fight back from a difficult start on Sunday, when technical issues curtailed her morning running.

Home hero Ole Christian Veiby finished fifth on-the-road for Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS, but was subsequently disqualified from the result of the final after his car failed post-race weight-checks. On his 27^th birthday weekend, the Norwegian was also disqualified from heat four following a collision with Timmy Hansen that sent the Swede’s Peugeot 208 RX1e briefly skyward after hitting a bump. The impact ruled the 2019 world champion out of the remainder of the event, leading to an angry post-race confrontation between the pair.

Nine-time FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb completed the finalists in his Special ONE Racing Lancia Delta Evo-e RX, while Kevin Hansen exited proceedings at the semi-final stage after picking up a puncture in a Turn One clash with Kristoffersson, compounding a miserable day for Hansen World RX Team.

In the supporting FIA RX2e Championship, Isak Sjökvist got his title challenge off to the perfect start with a win first time out for Hansen Motorsport junior outfit #YellowSquad. The Swede pipped countryman Nils Andersson to the top step of the podium by just over half-a-second, with Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky a superb third on her series debut as she rivalled the regulars for pace throughout.

Sivert Svardal described his breakthrough Euro RX1 victory as ‘the best day of his life’ after holding off defending champion Anton Marklund by the tiniest of margins, keeping his nose clean on a day of bruising on-track action. Mandie August claimed a career-best fourth place. Nils Volland was similarly a first-time winner in Euro RX3, leading home a Volland Racing one-two-three.

The season continues on 1-2 July with another full bill of racing at Höljes in Sweden – rallycross’ legendary ‘Magic Weekend’ – featuring World RX, RX2e, Euro RX1 and Euro RX3.

FINAL RESULT: WORLD RX

1. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS 5 laps
2. Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team + 1.755s
3. Timo SCHEIDER (DEU) ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport + 3.675s
4. Klara ANDERSSON (SWE) CE Dealer Team + 5.438s
5. Sébastien LOEB (FRA) Special ONE Racing + 6.798s
DQ Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS + 6.372s

Full results for all categories can be found here.