Andersson’s bid
did not get off to the best start in Saturday’s opening heat when a high line in
Turn One sent her spinning into the tyre barriers, but an early joker in heat two
– allied to a technical issue that halted Johan Kristoffersson and compromised the
closely following Timmy Hansen and Ole Christian Veiby – paved the way to a
race win, securing the Swede fifth spot in the intermediate ranking.
A stellar launch in
the semi-final saw Andersson advance to second as she held her nerve through
the first corner, and she was ramping up the pressure on Kevin Hansen in the
lead when a lap two joker ended in disaster, as she twice swiped the wall in
her CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction Equipment car, breaking its steering
arm and curtailing her challenge.
The next day, the
Löberöd native set out to make amends – and she did so in style. A clean sweep
of heat race victories earned her Top Qualifier honours for the second time
this season, and a nip-and-tuck battle with the Hansen brothers in the semi-final
resulted in the runner-up position, less than half-a-second adrift of the top
spot.
CE Dealer Team
then elected to roll the dice ahead of the final by bolting Hoosier rain tyres
onto Andersson’s all-electric PWR RX1e. From third on the grid, another
excellent getaway enabled her to dive up the inside of Kevin Hansen into second
place in the first corner, and she proceeded to engage in a thrilling four-way
scrap for the runner-up spoils with the two Hansen siblings and Veiby.
The 24-year-old
darted into the joker on lap three followed by Timmy Hansen, and when she
emerged, she slotted neatly into third place just behind Veiby, which she then
held to the chequered flag to cement the third rostrum result of her career at rallycross’
highest level. In so doing, she consolidated the same spot in the championship
standings, level on points with team-mate Niclas Grönholm.
“It was a tough weekend, but I was
really happy to finish on the podium on Sunday,” Andersson reflected. “The car
felt great, and winning two heats was a big highlight. The pace was there to do something really special on Saturday as well so
that hurt, but these things only make me stronger for the future.
“A big decision on Sunday was
switching to rain tyres for the final. It might
have looked a strange choice in 30-plus degrees and sunny weather, but having tested them before, we thought it was worth the
gamble and it paid off!
“Standing on the podium and earning
good points felt amazing, and to leave Hungary sharing third place in the
championship with Niclas [Grönholm] was a great comeback from Saturday. Big congratulations to him for taking CE Dealer Team’s first
win of the season.
“I can’t
thank the team enough for their hard work and all the support from our partners.
Now, it’s all eyes on Belgium in a couple of weeks. I’m still learning all the
time but I feel more confident in the car than ever, and I know there’s
more potential to unlock...”
Greece
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