• Despite failing to challenge for the weekend’s top prize at Lydden Hill as they did a fortnight ago at Mettet, Belgium, the team’s PEUGEOT 208 WRXs showed good form at the historic British venue. Timmy Hansen topped Q4 to take the car’s tally of heat victories to date this season to four.
• For the third time since the beginning of the 2017 championship, both PEUGEOT 208 WRXs reached Sunday’s final. Sébastien Loeb’s car was found to have a radiator leak after his semi-final and had to cope with an overheating engine from the opening lap, although he still managed to complete the race in fourth spot. Timmy Hansen was forced to settle for sixth after picking up a puncture.
• The weekend’s total points harvest by Sébastien Loeb and Timmy Hansen has taken Team Peugeot Hansen further up the provisional Teams’ standings to second place with just one round to go before the 2017 campaign’s halfway point.
• Kevin Hansen’s drive in his 2016-specification car was spoiled by a defective fuel injector in Q2. His frustrating weekend saw him have to make do with the status of first reserve for the semi-final phase. He had been hoping for better fortunes to celebrate his 19th birthday.
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Kenneth Hansen (Team Principal):
“It was a bit of a strange weekend. We didn’t really show the speed we had been hoping for until Q4 and neither of our drivers was able to fulfil their full potential in the final. Sébastien had to deal with an overheating engine and Timmy punctured on Lap 2. Even so, we managed to come away from Lydden Hill with a good points haul which has taken us to second in the Teams’ standings. We are continuing to work on the car in order to be part of the battle for outright victory. We feel that a win is within reach but we still have nothing to show for our efforts this season.”
Sébastien Loeb (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #9), 4th
“We always seem to be better at the end of the weekend than at the start. Petter Solberg and Johan Kristoffersson were unbeatable this time but we succeeded in fighting with the others. I had the feeling that I went well in qualifying but that didn’t convert into the sort of intermediate classification I thought I was going to achieve. In the final, an engine issue prevented me from targeting a top-three finish.”
Timmy Hansen (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #21), 6th
“I’m a little disappointed. Although we didn’t have the speed to challenge for this weekend’s win, I thought a podium was on the cards, especially after my win in Q4. Unfortunately, my chances in the final were dented by a puncture and the main thing after that was to make sure I reached the finish, without really being able to push. Looking back at the early part of the season, it’s nice to see that I have started all five finals, so that’s very encouraging for the rest of the year.”
Kevin Hansen (PEUGEOT 208 WRX #71), 13th
“I’m having a bit of a hard time this year. I’m doing all I can but it’s not easy against drivers in 2017-spec cars. On top of that, I had a small technical problem in Q2 on Saturday and that scuppered my chances of reaching the semi-finals. It was very disappointing to come 13th, especially here at Lydden Hill where I made my rallycross debut and where I have scored some good results. I had been hoping for a better way to celebrate my 19th birthday.”
FINAL POSITIONS - Lydden Hill (May 28, 2017):
1. Petter Solberg (Volkswagen Polo GTI)
2. Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen Polo GTI)
3. Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Focus RS)
4. Sébastien Loeb (PEUGEOT 208 WRX)
5. Mattias Ekström (Audi S1)
6. Timmy Hansen (PEUGEOT 208 WRX)
PROVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS AFTER 5 ROUNDS
Drivers’ standings
1. Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen Polo GTI), 124 pts
2. Mattias Ekström (Audi S1), 120 points
3. Petter Solberg (Volkswagen Polo GTI), 117 pts
4. Timmy Hansen (PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 91 pts
5. Sébastien Loeb (PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 81 pts
6. Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Focus RS), 73 pts
7. Ken Block (Ford Focus RS), 52 pts
8. Timo Scheider (Ford Fiesta), 50 pts
9. Toomas Heikkinen (Audi S1), 46 pts
10. Kevin Eriksson (Ford Fiesta), 42 pts
Teams’ standings
1. Volkswagen PSRX, 241 points
2. Team Peugeot Hansen, 172 pts
3. EKS Audi, 166 pts
4. Hoonigan Racing Division, 125 pts
5. MJP Racing Team Austria, 103 pts
6. STARD, 66 pts