Johan Kristoffersson came into the FIA RX2e Championship with basically no mileage in the Olsbergs MSE built machine, but he still haven’t left his winning ways, driving through a rough path to triumph at the penultimate round of the 2023 season at Mettet, in Belgium.
The news that rocked the weekend were that not only the World RX drivers from Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS and Hansen World RX Team would be competing, with the whole process to get their registration provisionally transferred being done in a few days, but also that championship leader Viktor Vranckx wouldn’t be present at his home round due to claims of lack of fairness by allowing Kristoffersson, Veiby and the Hansen brothers, as it would be advantage for his direct rivals.
Past the off track drama, the Circuit Jules Tacheny wasn’t really that welcoming as rain turned the dirt parts into an uneven wet mess, with the Turn 2 and the chicane that follows it being especially tricky as the bumps were really savage, and with the wet surface, any adventurous lunge would throw the RX2e cars out of the way easily as their backs were considerably in the air during the turn-in.
As with most cramped circuits, first place was the safest place, and Johan Kristoffersson made question to not be held by anyone and battle his place forward if needed, which secured three wins out of the four heats and the top qualifier spot, with Heat 1 winner Kevin Hansen being second and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky being in an impressive third place, clearly ahead of her team mates Ole Christian Veiby and title contender Nils Andersson. What saved Andersson’s skin from his sixth place was that Isak Sjökvist had an abysmal Heats phase along with newcomer Molly Taylor, sitting in eleventh in the intermediate standings and losing all battles when body slam was required.
Semifinal 1 had Kristoffersson going from pole to third after Ahlin-Kottulinsky cutting his front, and while she was holding the pack with Marko Muruk, Kristoffersson and Veiby, the Norwegian rolled and stood on his roof after hitting a bad bump and the barriers, which caused a red flag.
The re-run had to be made after Semifinal 2, and once the green flag was waved, Kristoffersson was able to adapt to the lack of grip on the inside of the first corner, and with a less crowded grid around him and the argy bargy behind, he was able to hold his lead with certain ease, while Muru aced his Final Lap Joker to finish second and Ahlin-Kottulinsky was third, causing the early end for Sjökvist’s run, which certainly has implications in his title race.
Semifinal 2 had the Hansen brothers monopolizing the front row, but while Timmy kept the lead, grip issues made things difficlut for Kevin, dropping behind Ole Henry Steinsholt. Instead of being stuck behind a struggling Timmy, Kevins made a late Joker, but the track was so slippery that it was almost impossible to make any gains, so Timmy kept the top spot and Nils Andersson jumped from third to second as the late Joker paid off.
Due to corner cutting, Kevin Hansen took a 5 second penalty and conceded his third place to Steinsholt.
The Final had Kristoffersson battling to keep the car in place to stay in the lead while Steinsholt and Andersson made progress over Timmy Hansen, who got back second place. The final laps were of survival at its best, with Kristoffersson barely keeping it together to win it with a bent suspension, while Timmy Hansen went straight to the barriers once his rear suspension also crumbled, allowing Steinsholt to get second place and promoting Ahlin-Kottulinsky to third place.
FIA RX2e - Mettet event results
The title race was completely flipped up before the finale at Estering, as Andersson takes the lead with 59 points and is followed by Ahlin-Kottulinsky with 57 and Sjökvist with 54, while the absent Viktor Vranckx drops to fourth with his 44 points. The championship decider in Germany will be held on 20 August.
PHOTO: Kristoffersson Motorsport
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