The incident-packed qualifying phase was partly troubled by wet weather on the second day but PEUGEOT was the only make to get all of its cars into the semi-finals.
Sébastien Loeb produced a combative run to qualify on Row 2 for the final in front of the huge partisan crowd. Thanks to his incisive style and speed, he was able to make several successful passing manoeuvres and collect third place at the flag, watched by his loyal co-driver Daniel Elena who had made the trip to Brittany especially for the occasion.
Buoyed by its victory in Canada and, in France, its sixth podium finish of the season, Team Peugeot Hansen has edged 11 points closer to the championship lead, shaving the gap down to 19 points with four rounds remaining.
Quote:
Kenneth Hansen (Team Principal):
“Lohéac is always a weekend to savour. For everyone in the team, and for everybody at PEUGEOT, of course, it’s such a special event and so many French fans turn out to watch! We were competitive on Saturday but things were a little more delicate in the damper conditions on Sunday morning. We had trouble finding grip but we succeeded in bouncing back in time for the final phase. Unfortunately, Timmy got caught in a tangle through the first turn, but Sébastien produced a great performance in his semi-final, and then again in the final. He showed the required degree of aggressiveness to clinch a podium finish in true, gritty rallycross style and the fans were delighted!”
Sébastien Loeb (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #9, Team Peugeot Hansen):
“I managed to qualify for the final which I finished on the podium, so that’s a good result for the team, especially here at Lohéac. And I wasn’t the only French driver to reach the final! It’s not the same as winning, of course, but it was still a strong overall run given the conditions we had this morning when we found ourselves in a little difficulty. Being able to hit the pace again after that and end up on the podium is very encouraging, especially given the quality of the final which was quite virile. There was overtaking going on left, right and centre, so it was an entertaining race for the spectators, too, and I had tremendous fun personally.”
Timmy Hansen (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #21, Team Peugeot Hansen):
“It wasn’t a good day for me. I had power steering failure in the third qualifying heat so I was forced to start the fourth run behind a slower competitor, which obviously wasn’t ideal. In my semi-final, I was hit by Larsson through the first turn and that put paid to my chances of repeating my victory here at Lohéac last year.”
Kevin Hansen (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #71, Peugeot Hansen Academy):
“My weekend got off to a poor start in the shape of a gearbox problem. After that, I found a good pace which enabled me to reach the semi-finals. My car was good here, so that’s very encouraging for Barcelona in two weeks’ time.”
Davy Jeanney (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #17, Peugeot Hansen Academy):
“It turned out to be an exciting weekend, both on and off the track, with lots of interest in PEUGEOT. Performance-wise, I succeeded in qualifying for the semi-final. I didn’t make it any further, but I still had fun on the track.”
FINAL POSITIONS: LOHEAC - FRANCE
1. Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen RX Sweden, Volkswagen Polo)
2. Andreas Bakkerud (Hoonigan Racing Division, Ford Focus RS)
3. Sebastien Loeb (Team Peugeot Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX)
4. Petter Solberg (Petter Solberg World RX Team, Citroën DS3)
5. Reinis Nitiss
6. Ken Block (Hoonigan Racing Division, Ford Focus RS)
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONSAFTER 8 ROUNDS
FIA World Rallycross Championship for Drivers
1. Petter Solberg (Peter Solberg World RX Team, Citroën DS3), 181 pts
2. Mattias Ekström (EKS, Audi S1), 176 pts
3. Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen RX Sweden, Volkswagen Polo), 158 pts
4. Andreas Bakkerud (Hoonigan Racing Division, Ford Focus RS), 157 points
5. Sebastien Loeb (Team Peugeot Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 141 pts
6. Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 117 pts
7. Toomas Heikkinen (EKS, Audi S1), 101 pts
8. Robin Larsson (Robin Larsson, Audi A1), 71 pts
9. Timur Timerzyanov (World RX Team Austria, Ford Fiesta), 67 pts
10. Davy Jeanney (Peugeot-Hansen Academy, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 60 pts
FIA World Rallycross Championship for Teams
1. EKS, 277 pts
2. Team Peugeot Hansen, 258 pts
3. Volkswagen RX Sweden, 217 pts
ABOUT Rallycross
Rallycross events use mixed-surface asphalt/dirt (60%/40%) circuits of about one kilometre in length and can feature one or more jumps. The drivers are knocked out as the weekend progresses and only the six fastest and bravest of them get to contest the final.
2016 CALENDAR (*) rounds which also count towards the European Championship
1. April 16-17: Portugal (Montalegre)
2. May 7-8: Germany (Hockenheim)
3. May 14-15: Belgium (Mettet)*
4. May 28-29: Great Britain (Lydden Hill)
5. June 11-12: Norway (Hell)*
6. July 2-3: Sweden (Holjes)*
7. August 6-7: Canada (Trois-Rivières)
8. September 3-4: France (Lohéac)
9. September 17-18: Spain (Barcelona)*
10. October 1-2: Lithuania (Riga)*
11. October 15-16: Germany (Estering)
12. November 26-27: Argentina (Rosario)