The FIA World Rallycross Championship title race is narrowing as we approach the final rounds, and the win that Johan Kristoffersson had at Spa-Francorchamps helps him in being part of the only four drivers with mathematical chances of getting the 2021 crown.
Having less attrition in Q1 was key for Kevin Abbring to take the fastest time and beat Johan Kristoffersson and Timmy Hansen, and Kristoffersson stepped up the pace in Q2, topping it ahead of the Hansens and Enzo Ide.Contacts and spins couldn’t demotivate Niclas Grönholm, who blasted his way to the top in Q3, and Kevin Abbring decided to follow Grönholm’s wave and top the Q4, with the Finn just a few tenths behind in the clock.
The wins in Q1 and Q4 were the tie-breaker for Abbring in the intermediate points as he was level with Kristoffersson, and with Timmy Hansen, Niclas Grönholm and Kevin Hansen just behind them, it was certain that the battle would be as hard as it could get.
The grid for Semifinal had Abbring alongside the pair of Hansen WRXT Peugeots, and although the Dutch driver did outpaced them in the first corner, a punt from Timmy Hansen sent the UNKORRUPTED Renault Megane to as spin with a broken rear suspension. With Timo Scheider also gifted with a broken suspension, the Hansen brothers had no effective opposition, with Timmy being followed by Kevin and Anton Marklund completed the top-3.
A post race penalty for Timmy Hansen added 5 seconds in his time, sending him behind Kevin and Marklund, but still qualifying to the Final.
On Semifinal 2, GRX and EKS JC were armed with two cars in the first two rows to work on their team games, but while Kristoffersson was at disadvantage in terms of position, pure guts kept Grönholm away and the first position with an Audi on it. The initial bump put Grönholm totally against the wall, and when it was thought that Krisztián Szabó would work to aid him, the late Joker that Grönholm took was his biggest mistake, as he saw Kristoffersson dominate with Szabó in second and Enzo Ide in third.
In the Final, Kristoffersson applies perfectly what Abbring was trying in the Semifinal, counting with some caution from Kevin Hansen, which helped to form a slight gap between them. The top-2 kept its cat and mouse game, even going to the Joker at the Final Lap, but Kevin Hansen wasn’t able to outpace Kristoffersson. Behind them, Szab[o completed the podium in the most dramatic way possible, with Timmy Hansen every way in the book to overtake the Hungarian, only to fail to secure the final podium position.
Timmy Hansen still holds the lead with 151 points, but the few points that Kevin Hansen lost in comparison to Kristoffersson sent the younger Hansen to third in the standings, as he is 3 points behind Kristoffersson’s 139.
For the World RX circle there is no rest, with the penultimate venue of the calendar hosting the Montalegre RX on 17 October.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
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