The start of the 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship season saw the Barcelona RX triumph more or less falling in the hands of the Hansen World RX Team, as the best driver of the day, Johan Kristoffersson, had a decisive penalty that put him behind winner Kevin Hansen and runner-up Timmy Hansen, with the Swedish brothers defending their position with all they got.
Kristoffersson was undoubtedly the fastest man around during the whole Qualifying, as if he raced in his Audi S1 EKS RX for a long time, beating the field and the clock in every heat, but an unplugged data logger in Q1 saw his first win be nullified, so Timmy and Kevin Hansen brought a 1-2 for Hansen World RX Team in the table, while the triple World RX champion was in sixth position, with and impressive Timo Scheider also in front, as well Niclas Grönholm and Krisztián Szabó, confirming that the former DTM driver would act like an intruder between the permanent entries.
At the bottom of the qualification zone, Tamás Karai recovered from early struggles to be 11th while Oliver Bennett saved himself in Q4, securing the Semifinal spot by beating Mandie August for 12th place.
Semifinal 1 had Timmy Hansen side by side with both Timo Scheider and Krisztián Szabó, and in the mess that was the Turn 2 entry, Scheider sustained extensive damage and stopped while Timmy had Szabó trying to get the rear end of his Peugeot 208 WRX while Tamás Kárai was fighting for survival with René Münnich, but once went to the Joker, the German had open way to third place while Hansen and Szabó kept their positions ahead.
Semifinal 2 had all six cars defying physics at Turn 1, as they were rubbing doors, bumpers and more while aiming for space, which victimized Niclas Grönholm’s Hyundai i20 RX, sent spinning to the wall.
Kevin Hansen played the tactics right in his Joker, so he could stay glued to Kevin Abbring despite the time loss, and once the Hansen driver had clear way, his worry was defending position from Johan Kristoffersson, so the race to the line was a demonstration of absolute defense from Hansen, as he gave no space in every possible way. After the first two, Kevin Abbring came home comfortably to secure the third spot in the race and the sixth in the Final.
The Final had the front row occupied by the Hansen WRXT Peugeots, which would be an indication for some tactical play coming, and again they were able to cover all bases and leave Kristoffersson in third despite his extra pace, with Szabó watching from fourth place and waiting to act.
An early Joker was the alternative that Kristoffersson had to undercut the Hansen brothers, but Timmy countered it immediately while being momentarily held up by Szabó. After his Joker, Kevin Hansen came back to the lead barely ahead of Timmy, but with the older Hansen totally on the defensive, the younger one could create some sort of a gap and lead the Hansen 1-2 while keeping Kristoffersson at the last podium spot.
An emotional Kevin Hansen mentioned post race that when given a chance they had to make the most out of it, so the Q1 penalty to Kristoffersson gave them the opportunity to hold his pace and then stay ahead. Kevin leads the table with 29 points against 27 of his brother Timmy, while Kristoffersson is tied with Szabó in third with 20 points.
The next World RX event will see the leaders coming back home, as the Höljes RX will be held on 22 August.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
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