Ole Christian Veiby says the key to stopping
Johan Kristoffersson’s winning run in the FIA World Rallycross Championship is
to ‘knock him off the top spot in SuperPole’ – and that is precisely what the
Norwegian will be bidding to do in Cape Town next weekend (7-8 October).
The Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS star heads to
South Africa for the first time sitting fourth in the title table, 34 points
adrift of the summit of the standings – a position currently occupied by
five-time world champion team-mate Kristoffersson, who will arrive at Killarney
International Raceway off the back of five straight victories at the international
pinnacle of the sport.
Arguably even more impressive has been the
Swede’s SuperPole record, with nobody else having topped the timesheets since
the single-lap shoot-out – which determines the grid positions for heat one – was
introduced in advance of the 2022 campaign. But his rivals – Veiby in
particular – are turning up the wick.
The Kongsvinger native has pushed
Kristoffersson hardest in SuperPole in every round so far this year. In the
Montalegre curtain-raiser, the gap between the pair was just over half-a-second,
but in Hell, it was down to only 0.109s and at Höljes, Veiby came within a
scant 0.073s of stealing the top spot following a tense see-saw duel. Next
time, he wants to turn the tables.
“My season didn’t start out too well,” he
reflected. “Portugal and Norway were not the best weekends; we had the speed,
but it didn’t work out. Sweden was better, and I feel like I’m continuing to
get closer to Johan every time. I’m learning from him and pushing him more and
more on-track, and sometimes I’m quicker. That’s obviously a confidence boost,
proving that I do have what it takes – it’s just a case of putting it all
together on a regular basis.
“That’s where he is so strong. He is so good at
getting himself in the right position, and a lot of that comes down to
SuperPole. If he’s fastest there, he starts heat one on pole and is then able
to just keep it rolling.
“I need to put him under pressure and make him
feel a bit less comfortable, and the first goal is to knock him off the top
spot in SuperPole. That’s the key – to put him on the back foot at the
beginning of the weekend. We’ve already got very close...”
One aspect that will be different in Cape Town
is that for the first time in World RX history, all drivers will be in
completely equal machinery – meaning skill behind the wheel will be more
important than ever. It is a challenge Veiby is relishing.
“Even if we all have equal power in the RX1e
cars due to having the same battery pack, the chassis’ are different, whereas
this will be completely on a level, so it all comes down to the fastest driver
and the best engineer,” the 27-year-old mused. “Plus, this way, nobody will be
able to claim we have an advantage now if we win!”
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