The fastest lap at the semi-final stage was posted by a Peugeot 208 WRX which also got away to some of the weekend’s best starts, providing a positive pointer for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, a number of incidents prevented Sébastien Loeb (#9) and Davy Jeanney (#17) from progressing from the semi-finals to the final.
Team Peugeot Hansen had something of an emotional roller-coaster on Saturday when Timmy Hansen’s car caught fire during the third qualifying. In record time, however, the mechanics succeeded in getting Timmy back in contention for qualifying 4 which he promptly won! Due to the loss of all the car’s cooling fluid in the fire, though, the car proved underweight and the Swede’s performance went unrewarded, putting a premature end to a weekend that had got off to a strong start.
Kevin Hansen (#71) also missed the semi-finals after running off hitting a barrier before Qual 1. Kevin took his revange in Qual 4 setting third fastest time overall. At the next race in Mettet the upcoming weekend he will do the first round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship.
QUOTE / UNQUOTE:
Kenneth Hansen (Team Principal):
“The result is naturally not what we were hoping for but we showed that we have the speed. Given the choice, of course, we would prefer to have scored a result to match that speed. We are disappointed because we could have done much better. We will now need to make sure that we take full advantage of our strengths at the coming rounds in order to return to our winning ways. Next up is Mettet which is a very different type of track. It is more flowing, with some nice open bends. Last year it suited the PEUGEOT 208 WRX very well. Timmy actually holds the lap record and we are very much looking forward to going back there.”
HOCKENHEIM – FINAL POSITIONS:
1, Mattias Ekström (EKS, Audi S1)
2, Toomas Heikkinen (EKS, Audi S1)
3, Ken Block (Hoonigan Racing Division, Ford Focus RS)
4, Petter Solberg (Peter Solberg World RX Team, Citroën DS3),
5, Liam Doran (JRM, BMW Mini),
6, Robin Larsson (Robin Larsson, Audi A1)
TIMETABLE - METTET
Saturday, May 14
9:00am: Free Practice
12:30pm: Qualifying 1
3:00pm: Qualifying 2
Sunday, May 15
8:30am: Warm-up
10:00am: Qualifying 3
11:15am: Qualifying 4
3:00pm: Semi-finals and final
NEXT ROUND: METTET (Belgium)
• Track length: 1.149km
• Lap record: 38.588s (Timmy Hansen)
Asphalt / dirt: 61% / 49 %
• Top speed: 175 kph
• Hardest braking point: from 150 kph to 55 kph in 120 metres (on dirt).
TELEVISION COVERAGE - METTET
Television coverage in more than 120 countries worldwide ? http://www.fiaworldrallycross.com/article/tvlisting. The semi-finals and the final (May 15) will take place from 3pm on Sunday, May 15, and will be broadcast live in France on Equipe 21 and in Sweden on SVT.
STANDINGS
FIA World Rallycross Championship for Drivers (after two rounds)
1, Petter Solberg (Peter Solberg World RX Team, Citroën DS3), 48 points
2, Mattias Ekström (EKS, Audi S1), 48 points
3, Toomas Heikkinen (EKS, Audi S1), 45 points
4, Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen RX Sweden, Volkswagen Polo), 39 points
5, Robin Larsson (Robin Larsson, Audi A1), 34 points
6, Sebastien Loeb (Team Peugeot-Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 30 points
7, Andreas Bakkerud (Hoonigan Racing Division, Ford Focus RS), 27 points
8, Liam Doran (JRM, BMW Mini), 23 points
9, Kevin Eriksson (Olsberg MSE, Ford Fiesta ST), 23 points
10, Davy Jeanney (Peugeot-Hansen Academy, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 21 points
…
13, Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 9 points
16. Kevin Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 4 points