World RX: Johan Kristoffersson celebrates seventh World RX drivers’ title

Sport news Johan Kristoffersson has won the FIA World Rallycross Championship drivers’ title for an unprecedented seventh time after an exciting season finale in Türkiye. The 35-year old Swede didn’t add to his five race wins at the Istanbul Park double header – although he didn’t have to as he secured the title with victory in the second heat on Saturday. “What a race to win the championship – simply unbelievable and so much fun,” said Kristoffersson. “We have so many good people in this team and we came into the season well-prepared with a reliable car that has been very easy to drive. “Seven world championship titles – it’s going to take some time for this to sink in!” From that title winning moment on, Kristoffersson focused on ensuring KMS won the World RX Teams’ title and sacrificed a heat and a semi final win in an attempt to promote team-mate Ole Christian Veiby up into the runners-up position in the drivers’ standings. Veiby scored his maiden World RX victory of his career by winning Round 9 in his sustainably-fuelled combustion engined KMS - HORSE Powertrain-prepared Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX – but the Norwegian driver then stalled the car at the start of Sunday’s final, ruining a golden chance of stealing silver from pole position. It was therefore Kevin Hansen who held on to take second in the drivers’ standings in his Hansen World RX Team Peugeot 208 RX1e, with a fourth place finish in the final round (and more importantly finishing ahead of Veiby) securing the runners-up spot. Whilst the Hansen team was conspicuous by its absence on the podium in the first four rounds of the season, some outstanding teamwork saw them secure a run of six consecutive podium finishes thereafter. Both Kevin and brother Timmy won a race each during the season, with the latter finishing fourth in the points standings. Sunday’s rain and exceptionally slippery track conditions didn’t favour the electric cars in Türkiye, as they found it tricky to find traction. Niclas Grönholm had been super fast in the dry on Saturday and finished second in the final, but in the wet it was a different story the next day as the CE Dealer Team PWR RX1e driver could only finish fifth in the last race of the year. The Finn ends up fifth in the final points standings, one place ahead of team-mate Klara Andersson who failed to qualify for both World RX of Türkiye finals. A lack of grip was the main issue for a very sideways Patrick O’Donovan. The Euro RX champion got into Saturday’s final, despite getting squeezed into a spin approaching Turn 1 in the semi final – with fifth in Round 9 the highlight of a flamboyant weekend in his Team RX Racing Peugeot 208 WRX. One of the biggest surprises of the season was kept until the last round, when Juha Rytkönen held off Kristoffersson and Timmy Hansen to win Round 10. The 33-year old Finn had been on tremendous form all weekend and had been involved in some hard battles – most notably with his PGRX team-mate Steven Bossard. But it all came good in the end, as Rytkönen turned a brilliant start into a textbook lights to flag victory to become the sixth driver to win a round of this year’s World RX series. “I’m speechless and really surprised,” admitted Rytkönen. “Saturday was a difficult day for us, but Sunday went much better and to beat two world champions in the final is a really special feeling. It’s amazing!”   2024 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP Points after Round 10 1. Johan Kristoffersson….240pts 2. Kevin Hansen….197pts 3. Ole Christian Veiby….190pts 4. Timmy Hansen….181pts 5. Niclas Grönholm….177pts 6. Klara Andersson….145pts WORLD RX RACE RESULTS World RX of Türkiye (Istanbul Park) Round 10 – Sunday 10 November 1. Juha RYTKÖNEN (FIN) PGRX (ICE)….5 laps 2. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….+3.026s 3. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+12.428s 4. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+14.465s 5. Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team (EV)….+18.783s 6. Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….+19.370s WORLD RX RACE RESULTS World RX of Türkiye (Istanbul Park) Round 9 – Saturday 9 November 1. Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….5 laps 2. Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team (EV)….+6.017s 3. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+7.654s 4. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV)….+10.991s 5. Patrick O’DONOVAN (IRL) Team RX Racing (ICE)….+11.811s 6. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) KMS - Horse Powertrain (ICE)….+6.768s World Rallycross Championship World RX WorldRX of Turkey Off-road World RX SEASON 2024 Sport Off-Road 1SportWorld Rallycross ChampionshipOff-RoadWorld RXSEASON 2024World RXWorldRX of TurkeyOff-road00 Monday, November 11, 2024 - 11:57am Monday, November 11, 2024 - 11:57am