Job done again for Johan
Kristoffersson as the Swede dominated again when it mattered
at the Latvia RX, winning his fifth event in a row and
also the FIA World Rallycross Championship
title with two events to go, and same goes for PSRX Volkswagen
as the team also secured the championship.
The brief rain of Saturday did messed
up things in Q2 but it didn't go past of that as the track was damp
on Sunday, so everything was almost back to normal, if not for a
superb drive from Sébastien Loeb on Q4. Johan
Kristoffersson was the top qualifier again with Loeb right behind and
Mattias Ekström in third with hopes of staying in contention for the
title.
In semifinal 1 the quick reactions of
the Volkswagen Polo GTI RX and of Johan
Kristoffersson gave him the early lead as Mattias Ekström
was in the chase. Andreas Bakkerud was trying to secure his final
spot as Niclas Grönholm was in the pressure, and so he did with
certain ease as Grönholm left the Joker lap to the last lap.
Semifinal 2 then showed the other side
of the roller coaster for PSRX Volkswagen as Petter Solberg
started well, but carried too much inertia to the first corner,
almost spun and then suffered contact from Janis Baumanis,
ending in the barriers after the mess, which brought a red flag to
the race. After a long stop the restart was going to be from the line
again, with Loeb keeping the lead while Toomas Heikkinen shut the
door in everybody's face for second, only to spin a few moments
later, so Kevin Hansen and Nico Müller were promoted.
Things then went bad for Kevin Hansen
as Müller and Baumanis found their ways to the final spots while the
young Swede lost control of his Peugeot 208 WRX. Baumanis was hungry
for more and chased Müller, but was unable to overtake, so they
finished like they were while Loeb saw the checkered flag first.
Solberg was airlifted to a nearby
hospital where it was discovered that he suffered a broken collar
bone, so he will enter a recovery process though there's no estimate
time for him to be race ready again.
The final saw Kristoffersson pull ahead
while Loeb and Ekström were trading paint, with Baumanis making some
daring moves for second but staying in third as Ekström overtook
him. Jokers done, Baumanis lost more ground to Loeb and Bakkerud but
things were settled like this while Kristoffersson just disappeared
in front, leaving a comfortable gap to celebrate not only his win but
also his first World RX title.
Explaining the standings,
Kristoffersson has 271 points against 209 of Solberg while 60 points
are up for grabs if the last two events are mastered, so the drivers
title is settled. PSRX Volkswagen has 480 points against 346 of Team
Peugeot-Hansen, clinching the title for them.
The next round will be the Germany
RX at Estering on October 1st.
PHOTO: Latvia RX
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