Ole Christian Veiby (VW Polo RX1e) drove to victory in the World RX final during the fourth round of the 2025 FIA World Rallycross Championship at Kausala (KymiRing) in Finland on Sunday (August 24). This marks for the Norwegian his second career win in World RX after he won last year in Turkey. Teammate and reigning champion Johan Kristoffersson (VW Polo RX1e) finished in second place while Kevin Hansen (Peugeot 208) eventually claimed third. In the 2025 FIA European Rallycross Championship Estonian Maiko Tamm (Ford Fiesta Mk7) took the win in the Euro RX1 category, while João Ribeiro came out on top in the Euro RX3 category.
Kristoffersson had dominated Saturday’s qualifying by scoring maximum points. On Sunday, after only being fifth fastest in Q3, he set another fastest time in Q4 to finish qualifying on top of the intermediate classification. Following the seven starters in World RX no semi-finals were held and therefore the top six of the intermediate classification advanced directly to the World RX final. Klara Andersson (PWR Hyundai i20 RX1e) was the one not making the final as she got classified as seventh.
Kristoffersson shared the front row for the World RX final with Niclas Grönholm (PWR Hyundai i20 RX1e). Ole Christian Veiby and Kevin Hansen (Peugeot 208) were behind them on the second row while Timmy Hansen (Peugeot 208) and Juha Rytkönen – in the only ICE car this weekend in World RX – completed the grid. When the green light went on, Grönholm had the better start but, unfortunately for the Finn, he did not make it through the first corner. Rytkönen, from the last row, went into the lead after turn two ahead of second row starter Veiby. The latter then passed through the joker lap section allowing Timmy Hansen and Kristoffersson to move up to second and third in the race. With next Timmy Hansen passing through the joker lap section it was Rytkönen still leading it in lap three while closely chased by Kristoffersson – both still needing to complete their jokers. Then the race leader decided to go into the joker, rejoining the main track as third behind Veiby. Veiby was able to keep up with the pace of Kristoffersson and as such when the latter made it in the joker lap section in the final lap Veiby was able to pass him just before the finish line claiming his first victory of the season. Kristoffersson was second and Rytkönen crossed the finish line as third ahead of Kevin Hansen.Timmy Hansen was the last finisher in fifth. Afterwards the Stewards of the Meeting handed a two-seconds time penalty to Rytkönen promoting Kevin [Hansen] and Timmy Hansen to third and fourth. Kristoffersson is leading the championship after four events with 95 points followed by Grönholm with 80.
In Euro RX1 Yury Beleveskiy (Audi S1), after leading it already on Saturday evening, managed it to remain on top of the ranking. Martin Enlund (Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST), the fastest in Q4, qualified second followed by Damian Litwinowicz (Audi S1) and Anton Seppä (Škoda Fabia Mk3). As a result, Belevskiy and Litwinowicz shared the front row of the first semi-final with Mika Liimatainen (Hyundai i20) and Maiko Tamm lining up on the second row. On a wet track, with cars still on slick tires, Tamm took the lead after turn two ahead of Litwinowicz and Belevskiy. With the Audi drivers passing through the joker lap section in the second and third lap and Tamm doing the same in lap four he was able to stay ahead of both of the Audis. Liimatainen, who had been leading, took his joker lap and rejoined the main track behind Tamm. At that moment, it seemed that championship points leader before Finland Yury Belevskiy would miss out on the final as Litwinowicz came in as third. However, the Stewards of the Meeting decided afterwards on a two seconds time penalty for Liimatainen as he ‘failed to respect the car #95 [Belevskiy] to his right and made contact with #95 in to T1 [turn one], resulting in #95 loosing position‘. This decision promoted Belevskiy, who originally finished fourth, into the final.
The second semi-final was jump started by Martin Enlund forcing him to pass through the joker lap section twice and reducing his chances to qualify for the final. As turn one turned into ‘chaos’ after the start, only Enlund and Mats Öhman (VW Polo Mk5) avoided incidents. As Enlund was ahead of the others he immediately passed a first time through the joker lap section and then a second time the next lap dropping him to third place, battling it out for second with Mikko Ikonen (Hyundai i20) who still needed to pass through the joker lap section. Mats Öhman won the second semi-final with Enlund, after a double joker, and Ikonen the other qualifiers for the Euro RX1 final.
In the final, Ikonen made it into the lead in the opening lap ahead of Tamm and Enlund. Litwinowicz and Belevskiy were running fifth and sixth and both passed through the joker lap section in the opening lap. Then in the third lap Tamm overtook Ikonen for the lead. Meanwhile, Belevskiy worked his way up, passing Litwinowicz and then Enlund when the latter came out of the joker lap section. Unfortunately, Belevskiy spun on the penultimate lap and was unable to continue. Ikonen suffered a blown tire on the final lap, allowing Öhman to move into second behind Tamm. The Estonian was comfortable in passing through the joker lap section and won the race in his first European championship appearance. Enlund initially finished second after overtaking Öhman, but he was black-flagged by the Race Director, promoting Öhman to second and Ikonen to third. In the standings with one more event to come Yury Belevskiy (84 points) holds a ten-point lead on Mika Liimatainen (74 points).
In Euro RX3 four different drivers set fastest times in the qualifying sessions during the event. Balász Kőrmőczi (VW Polo Mk5) was the one leading it on Saturday evening. Today the Hungarian recorded a DNF in Q4 which allowed Rytis Gurklys (Audi A1) to claim the top qualifier ahead of Kőrmőczi. André Sousa (Audi A1) who set the fastest time in Q4 qualified third while championship points leader João Ribeiro only qualified fifth. Ribeiro started on the second row of the first semi-final with Gurklys and André Sousa occupying the front row. In his semi-final Ribeiro then quickly moved into second after turn two and went into the joker lap section. After five laps he also came in as second behind Gurklys and ahead of Libor Teješ (Audi A1). André Sousa was the driver who got eliminated for the final. In the second semi-final Balász Kőrmőczi was forced to stop on the opening lap after contact with Nicolas Geleyns and Rogério Sousa (Ford Fiesta Mk7). Geleyns and Sámuel Kovács (Škoda Fabia Mk3) were the only finishers in the second semi-final. Rogério Sousa, despite not finishing, was classified third and allowed to start in the final.
In a wet turn two after the final got underway, Ribeiro made contact with Gurklys, causing the Lithuanian to spin. Ribeiro then moved into the lead ahead of Geleyns and Kovács. Ribeiro and Geleyns held first and second place throughout the race, both taking the joker lap in the penultimate lap while maintaining their positions. They eventually finished in first and second after six laps, with Rogério Sousa completing the podium in third. Although the Stewards of the Meeting investigated the turn two incident between Gurklys and Ribeiro, they concluded that ‘the contact was unavoidable and exacerbated by the weather conditions,’ and decided ‘no further action‘ was necessary. However, the results have been published as provisional and remain subject to appeal.
The 2025 FIA World Rallycross Championship will conclude with a double-header event on September 20–21 at the Istanbul Park Circuit in Turkey, following an earlier decision by the FIA. That same weekend, the 2025 FIA European Rallycross Championship for Euro RX1 and Euro RX3 categories will also conclude in Istanbul, featuring a single-header event.
Results
World RX – Final: 1. Ole Christian Veiby (N), VW Polo RX1e; 2. Johan Kristoffersson (S), VW Polo RX1e; 3. Kevin Hansen (S), Peugeot 208 RX1e; 4. Timmy Hansen (S), Peugeot 208 RX1e; 5. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), Hyundai i20; -. Niclas Grönholm (FIN), PWR Hyundai i20 RX1e – DNF.
World RX Team: 1. Kristoffersson Motorsport (S), 49; 2. Hansen World RX Team (S), 32; 3. Construction Equipment Dealer Team (S), 27.
Euro RX1 – Final: 1. Maiko Tamm (EST), Ford Fiesta Mk7; 2. Mats Öhman (S), VW Polo Mk5; 3. Mikko Ikonen (FIN), Hyundai i20; -. Yury Belevskiy (RUS), Audi S1 – DNF; -. Damian Litwinowicz (PL), Audi S1 – DNF; -. Martin Enlund (S), Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST.
Euro RX3 – Final (*): 1. João Ribeiro (P), Audi A1; 2. Nicolas Geleyns (AG), Audi A1; 3. Rogério Sousa (P), Ford Fiesta Mk7; 4. Libor Teješ (CZ), Audi A1; 5. Sámuel Kovács (H), Škoda Fabia Mk3; 6. Rytis Gurklys (LT), Audi A1.
(*) subject to appeal as of August 24, 2025
Standings
World RX (4/6): 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), 95; 2. Niclas Grönholm (FIN), 80; 3. Ole Christian Veiby (N), 76; 4. Timmy Hansen (S), 70; 5. Kevin Hansen (S), 56; 6. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), 56; etc.
World RX Team (4/6): 1. Kristoffersson Motorsport (S), 171; 2. Construction Equipment Dealer Team (S), 131; 3. Hansen World RX Team (S), 126.
Euro RX1 (4/5): 1. Yury Belevskiy (RUS), 84; 2. Mika Liimatainen (FIN), 74; 3. Damian Litwinowicz (PL), 69; 4. Nils Volland (D), 48; 5. Martin Enlund (S), 43; 6. László Kiss (H), 30; etc.
Euro RX3 (4/5): 1. João Ribeiro (P), 94; 2. Rytis Gurklys (LT), 70; 3. Nicolas Geleyns (AG), 63; 4. Balász Kőrmőczi (H), 58; 5. Libor Teješ (CZ), 57; 6. Sámuel Kovács (H), 55; etc.