Returning to home is
always a good thing. Lydden Hill
is like this to rallycross as the sport was born there, so the
British round of the FIA World
Rallycross Championship is always
special, as everybody wants to win in the temple of the rallycross.
It wasn’t different for Mattias
Ekström, as the Swede now has 3 wins
out of 4 events of the 2016 season, placing him as a confirmed
favorite for the World RX
crown.
The qualifying heats
would suggest that Petter Solberg
was on a straight route to the second win of the season, as outside
the fourth heat, there was no mistake, with dominating performances.
The same wasn’t possible to say about the wildcard entries Tanner
Foust, Guy Wilks and Julian Godfrey, as unlike François Duval at
Mettet, they weren’t anywhere near the semifinal promotion. Godfrey
also had a spectacular roll beyond the guardrail, but he was OK after
what happened.
Strong grids were in
both semifinals, and the first one Solberg left everybody behind
right from the start, bringing Kevin Eriksson and Anton Marklund with
him through the normal route with the trend going until the final
lap, when they finally went to the Joker Lap. Solberg was way ahead
of the competition, so he just had to manage his pace to the finish.
Behind him, Timmy Hansen
too second place in the last lap while Kevin Hansen left the late
Joker with the third place.
In the second
semifinal, Andreas Bakkerud
did the same as Solberg, even delaying the Joker Lap too. On lap 4,
the fight behind Bakkerud between Timur
Timerzyanov and Johan Kristoffersson
ended up with the Polo RX of the Swede missing the point. Using the
curb as a ramp and going to the grass.
To Bakkerud it was a
question of opening enough distance to keep the lead, but a charging
Mattias Ekström was decided to ruin his strategy, and so he did in
the last lap, leaving Bakkerud and Timerzyanov behind him when both
Fords were out of the Joker Lap.
Again the final
would be around the Solberg-Ekström battle, and it was Solberg the
one in the lead after the first corner, trying to open the gap to
keep the lead. In the end, it wasn’t close of be enough to hold
Ekström, so the EKSRX
driver/owner was leading.
As Timmy Hansen was
in a provisional lead but with good distance to hold Ekström, and as
the EKSRX driver was on maximum attack, there was no chance for
Solberg to take the lead back, and the third victory of the Swede in
an Audi was a reality. Timmy Hansen was still able to get a third
place finish, leaving Kevin Hansen
behind after the Joker.
Ekström is still
the leader with 105 points, but the almost perfect weekend of Solberg
leaves him with 100 points, leaving the title battle wide open
between them. Behind them with a long way to go is Johan
Kristoffersson, as he only has 70 points. The teams’ championship
presents a more comfortable situation for EKSRX, as they have 165
points against 109 of the Team Peugeot-Hansen, relegating Volkswagen
RX Sweden to third place with 102.
In two weeks the
action is back to World RX, as Hell, on Norway, will the venue of the
fifth round of the 2016 season. In 2015, Timmy Hansen won it as
Solberg and Ekström fell in the semifinals, but history in World RX
hardly repeats itself, so it’s even
harder to point a winner.
PHOTO: EKSRX
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