Twice as nice: Volkswagen RX Sweden Polos in World RX of Belgium final
In a similar performance to that at the second round of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship, both Volkswagen RX Sweden Polo RXs were among the front-runners at the third round of the series, the World RX of Belgium at Mettet. Both the 600bhp rallycross Polo Supercars of Johan Kristoffersson and Anton Marklund made it to the Supercar final at the 1.1km Circuit Jules Tacheny.
Fastest time
Kristoffersson once again – as at Hockenheim – set the winning pace in the Free Practice sessions on day one, and claimed the fastest time. The Swedish driver started form third on the grid in the Supercar final on day two, but a technical issue with his Polo meant he failed to capitalise on his prominent grid position.
Marklund meanwhile stormed into the lead and the first corner from the third row of the grid in the same race, and was awarded the Monster Energy Supercharge award. With both Volkswagen RX Sweden cars in the Supercar final, the team has closed the gap in the overall teams’ standings with 83 points. Kristoffersson’s sixth overall performance in Mettet leaves him third in the drivers’ championship points table, while Marklund’s fourth puts him 11th in the individual standings.
‘Good confidence’
Kristoffersson was pleased with his Polo RX’s speed: ‘I had a pretty good feeling through the whole weekend. I like the track in Belgium and I know the car suits it well. I came here with good confidence, we had the speed to win both of the first two events and I knew we would have the pace here.
‘Me and Anton finished side-by-side in Q1 but after that in every race I started in a worse position. The start at Mettet is so crucial: it’s just so competitive now. I was driving within myself and we used new tyres for the semi-final and things were looking pretty good. It feels like we still have a big headwind but the team is really great and we know we have the speed, so that is very positive.’
Marklund was pleased with his best result of the season: ‘The pace has been really good all weekend. The guys worked so hard on the car between the races and our engine guys have done some really good work this weekend. We made a brilliant start from the last row, but after a small mistake at the chicane on the back straight we slipped down the placings. That’s where I lost a podium finish. Fourth is really good but the pace was there for the podium.’
EKS’ Mattias Ekstrom lead the 49-car Supercar field to victory at the World RX of Belgium. The fourth round of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Great Britain, takes place at Lydden Hill in Kent from 27-29 May.
2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 78
2 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 73
3 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo: 58
4 Toomas Heikkinen, Audi S1: 46
5 Robin Larsson, Audi A1: 38
2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 EKS: 124
2 Volkswagen RX Sweden: 83
3 Team Peugeot Hansen: 77
4 Hoonigan Racing Division: 43
5 World RX Team Austria: 39
[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com]
