Timmy Hansen (Peugeot 208 RX1e) won the first leg of the Belgian double header – round 5 of the 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship – at Mettet (Circuit Jules Tacheny) in Belgium on Saturday (August 17). He beat Ole Christian Veiby (VW Polo) and his younger brother Kevin Hansen (Peugeot 208 RX1e) in the final. For Hansen World RX Team it was the first win and first podium of the season.
The weekend didn’t start well for this season’s race winners, Johan Kristoffersson (VW Polo) with three wins and Marcus Grönholm (PWR Hyundai i20 RX1e) with one win, as both were forced to retire for different reasons from the official practice in the morning. However in race one of the first heat, with both Kristoffersson Motorsport cars and both CE Dealer Team cars on the grid, Kristoffersson scored the win ahead of teammate Veiby. Grönholm ended with a DNF in that race. In race two Kevin and Timmy Hansen both got a puncture while running first and second, eventually leading to Anthony Pelfrene (Peugeot 208) winning the race. Kevin Hansen and Johan Kristoffersson were the race winners in the second heat where Niclas Grönholm unfortunately had to record another DNF.
In the ranking after the heats Kristoffersson finished on top with maximum points after his two race wins. Timmy Hansen and Klara Andersson (PWR Hyundai i20 RX1e) were ranked second and third respectively with each time two second place finishes in the races.
The first semi-final saw the electrical cars beat the ICE cars in the start. Kevin Hansen went into the lead ahead of Klara Andersson. Soon, with the passings through the joker lap section Kristoffersson made it into second and kept the place to qualify for the final. Veiby finished third and claimed his ticket for the final as well. At that moment, Klara Andersson got eliminated as only the top three made it through to the final.
In the second semi-final the issues for Niclas Grönholm continued and the Finn was running at slow pace completing his laps. However, following a technical issue with the ICE Peugeot of Anthony Pelfrene Grönholm still finished third behind Hansen and René Münnich (SEAT Ibiza) and was allowed to start in the final. Nevertheless the team decided afterwards to let Klara Andersson start in the final instead of Grönholm.
The final for round 5 of the 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship saw the Hansen brothers on the front row. The second row was occupied by Kristoffersson and Münnich while Veiby and Andersson completed the grid on the third row. When the green lights were shown Timmy Hansen went into the lead ahead of Kevin Hansen with Kristoffersson in third. Then during the third lap Kristoffersson made it into the joker lap section but kept his third place in the race. The lap after it was the turn for race leader Timmy Hansen followed by Kevin Hansen to pass through the joker lap section. Timmy Hansen joined the main track again ahead of Kristoffersson and Veiby with Kevin Hansen dropping back to fourth. Following a puncture (front left) for Kristoffersson, Veiby was able to pass his teammate in the beginning of the final lap. Eventually Kevin Hansen beat Kristoffersson for third place on the finish line.
“It has been a tricky start to the year for the team,” Timmy Hansen said after the final. “They have been working so hard to turn it around and it feels great to be able to pay them back with a race win. Kevin [Hansen] did a fantastic job backing up the field in the final to help me build enough of a lead, and I’m happy he ended the race on the podium as well. It was a huge team effort all round but now we need to focus on doing the same tomorrow.”
In the other categories running alongside World RX only two heats were completed. In the European championship for RX1 cars Yury Belevskiy (Audi S1) is holding the overnight lead after two race wins. In the RX2e category Kobe Pauwels (RX2e) is leading it while in the RX3 category it is currently a Portuguese one and two with João Ribeiro (Audi A1) and André Sousa (Audi A1).
The event at Mettet continues on Sunday morning with round 6 of the 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship together with the remaining heats and finals in the European RX1, RX2e and RX3 championships.
Results
World RX – Final: 1. Timmy Hansen (S), Peugeot 208 RX1e; 2. Ole Christian Veiby (N), VW Polo; 3. Kevin Hansen (S), Peugeot 208 RX1e; 4. Johan Kristoffersson (S), VW Polo; 5. Klara Andersson (S), PWR Hyundai i20 RX1e; 6. René Münnich (D), SEAT Ibiza.
World RX Team: 1. Hansen World RX Team (S), 50; 2. Kristoffersson Motorsport (S), 42; 3. Construction Equipment Dealer Team (S), 22.
Euro RX1 (after 2 heats): 1. Yury Belevskiy (RUS), Audi S1; 2. Patrick O’Donovan (IRL), Peugeot 208; 3. Máté Benyó (H), Peugeot 208; 4. Paulius Pleskovas (LT), Škoda Fabia Mk3; 5. László Kiss (H), Peugeot 208; 6. Ollie O’Donovan (IRL), Peugeot 208; etc.
Euro RX2e (after 2 heats): 1. Kobe Pauwels (B), RX2e; 2. Isak Sjökvist (S), RX2e; 3. Marko Muru (EST), RX2e; 4. Nils Andersson (S), RX2e; 5. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky (S), RX2e; 6. Luka Wlömer (D), RX2e..
Euro RX3 (after 2 heats): 1. João Ribeiro (P), Audi A1; 2. André Sousa (P), Audi A1; 3. Balász Kőrmőczi (H), VW Polo Mk5; 4. Nils Volland (D), Audi A1; 5. Libor Teješ (CZ), Audi A1; 6. Dominik Senegacnik (A), Škoda Fabia Mk3; etc.
Standings
World RX (5/10): 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), 123; 2. Ole Christian Veiby (N), 96; 3. Timmy Hansen (S), 94; 4. Kevin Hansen (S), 87; 5. Klara Andersson (S), 81; etc.
World RX Team (5/10): 1. Kristoffersson Motorsport (S), 219; 2. Hansen World RX Team (S), 181; 3. Construction Equipment Dealer Team (S), 156.