The 2023 of FIA World Rallycross Championship ended at the streets of Hong Kong with Johan Kristoffersson going back to his winning ways in dominant fashion, with the fifth win in the season becoming his 40th in the championship.
The Sunday was at the very least dry and the circuit`s loose surface section had kind of a best line to follow, especially in the first corner, a result of the outside moves made on Saturday. With the results being all over the place, Johan Kristoffersson was the top qualifier with Niclas Grönholm and Kevin Hansen in his pursuit, and while Klara Andersson scored the best run in Heat 3, her mid table pace left her in fifth behind Ole Christian Veiby.
Semifinal 1 had Kevin Hansen and Kristoffersson in the front of the grid but Timmy Hansen had the best line on the outside as the field was compact on the inside, with Klara Andersson finding enough space to go to third. Both Hansen WRXT cars still had the Joker Lap to do in the final lap, which came in favor of Kristoffersson, and Timmy could only save himself because of the gap he had to the third place battle, which went to Andersson as Kevin Hansen hadn’t enough pace to leave Andersson behind.
In Semifinal 2, Grönholm held Veiby and forced him to change the strategy for an early Joker, which was more than enough to secure victory and keep the Norwegian in place, while Timo Scheider was too focused on chasing the top two drivers that he simply was caught in distraction as Patrick O’Donovan jumped on the inside in the final corner and stole the third place from the German.
For the Final, Volkswagen BAUHAUS, CEDT and Hansen WRXT had two drivers each to work their strategies, and Veiby jumping in second place was really important for Kristoffersson to keep control of the race, and he never let go of first place in any of the laps to secure the win number 40 for the six time World RX champion, with Veiby also keeping second place while O’Donovan prevailed in the mad dash to the line against Timmy Hansen and conquered his first World RX podium.
Hong Kong RX II - Event results
The season ended with Kristoffersson having 141 points against 104 from Kevin Hansen, 94 from Grönholm and 89 from Scheider, with a total of 13 drivers scoring points over the season. Plans for the next season aren’t still confirmed as the announcements may come over time, but one thing already known is that Special ONE Racing intends to come back to the championship despite the heavy losses suffered in the Lydden Hill fire.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
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