Johan
Kristoffersson extended his winning run in the 2023 FIA World Rallycross
Championship with another consummate performance as the season resumed in South
Africa today (7 October).
World
RX marked its return to Cape Town in spectacular style, as drivers duelled
wheel-to-wheel and kicked up the dust at Killarney International Raceway – to the
clear delight of an enthusiastic and appreciative audience of trackside
spectators.
While
Kristoffersson ultimately emerged on top – with his 39th career
victory increasing his advantage at the summit of the standings to 38 points over
his closest pursuer – the Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS star did not have
things all his own way in the ‘Mother City’, where the entire field took to the
track in equal machinery for the very first time.
Kevin
Hansen broke Kristoffersson’s previously unbeaten record in the single-lap
SuperPole shootout, before heat honours went the way of three different drivers.
Kristoffersson
exploited an error by the younger of the Hansen brothers in heat one to seize
the initiative, which he retained to the chequered flag to post the fastest
time of the session. Despite his comparative lack of experience in the all-electric
ZEROID X1, Timo Scheider sprung a surprise in heat two as the German outpaced
all of his rivals, with Timmy Hansen – who clinched the world championship
crown in Cape Town in 2019 – prevailing in heat three.
Kristoffersson’s commendable consistency
earned him top qualifier honours ahead of fellow heat winners
Hansen and Scheider, and the Swede dominated the opening semi-final before
surviving a Turn One squeeze in the final to make good his escape – assisted by
a healthy dose of drama in his wake.
“It’s really good to be back
and it’s always nice to win,” the five-time world champion reflected. “It was a
tricky day, but I was lucky enough not to be in the traffic too much; I imagine
it was easier for me than for the others, because it was difficult to follow with
such limited visibility.
“These cars are a little bit
different to the ones we are used to driving and the field is really tight. The
first couple of corners in the final were pretty exciting and I actually thought
I was going to spin in Turn Two; the track also got quite rutted in places, so I
just played it safe to avoid any punctures and bring it home. Now we’ll try to
do the same again tomorrow.”
The sequence of events behind began when Ole Christian Veiby caught one
of the aforementioned ruts midway through the final, pitching him sideways and
enabling Timmy Hansen to pull alongside, with contact between the pair into the next corner forcing the
Swede onto the grass.
With
both drivers delayed, an opportunistic Scheider threaded the needle between
them, but the biggest beneficiary in the end was Kevin Hansen, who had already
jokered and was able to leapfrog all three to clinch the runner-up spoils.
Scheider
narrowly fended off the elder Hansen for third – his second podium finish of
the campaign – with Grönholm a distant fifth and Veiby retiring due to the
earlier clash.
The
action continues tomorrow with another full day of racing in Cape Town, with
all of the action to be broadcast on Rally.TV.
FINAL RESULT: WORLD RX
1. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS 5 laps
2. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World
RX Team +
3.925s
3. Timo SCHEIDER (DEU) ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport + 4.427s
4. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World
RX Team +
4.710s
5. Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer
Team + 6.226s
6. Ole Christian
VEIBY (NOR) Volkswagen
Dealerteam BAUHAUS +
1 lap