World RX of Hockenheim podium place for Kristoffersson and Polo GTI
Boosting his second place in the overall standings, Johan Kristoffersson took his Polo GTI Supercar to a second consecutive podium at the World RX of Hockenheim last weekend, the third round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship. Team-mate and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team boss Petter Solberg finished fourth in Germany.
‘Exceptionally difficult weekend’
The two-Polo appearance in the Supercar Final maintained the Torsby-based squad’s 100 per cent record of both its cars in the last race. It wasn’t all plain-sailing, though: Solberg suffered an ‘exceptionally difficult weekend’. Fastest in free practice, the Norwegian was under attack in the qualifying rounds, but won the third qualifying session, and was runner-up in the fourth, elevating him from 14th overnight to fifth.
Overall, though, Solberg was pleased with his German result: ‘The first part of qualifying was really tough, but that’s when you have to dig deep. I’m going to be honest now, it was absolutely terrifying when I was hit by another car. I have had some big crashes in my career, but that one really scared me. When I came out of that race, I didn’t know what would happen.
‘As a team, we were a little bit in crisis. We talked about the technical and sporting side of what had happened and what we thought we could achieve with the rest of the weekend. At that time, just making the cut looked like it could be tough. But I wouldn’t want any other team around me at a time like this,’ Solberg enthused.
‘Experience, knowledge and determination’
‘PSRX Volkswagen Sweden showed what it’s all about this weekend; we used all of our experience, knowledge, and determination to put this weekend back together. Making the final was like winning the final. This one really was unbelievable,’ a thankful Solberg reported. The 42 year-old’s heroic fightback resulted in a second place in the semi-final and a fourth in the final, which means Solberg hangs on to his third spot in the overall drivers’ points table.
Kristoffersson on the other hand, enjoyed a weekend which was as calm as Solberg’s was traumatic. The young Swede won his semi-final and finished runner-up in the final itself, and was on sublime form. The winner at the Hockenheimring was current World RX champ Mattias Ekström.
‘PSRX Volkswagen Sweden did an amazing job this weekend,’ said Kristoffersson. ‘This team is still really new, but in round one the team was fourth in the final, last time we were third, this time we are second… in Belgium we will continue this progression and hopefully make first! Petter had a tough one, but for me things were a bit more straightforward.
‘Amazing speed’
‘The Polo GTI Supercar is showing amazing speed. The other big thing for me, for Petter and the team is what we are doing in the teams’ championship; 17 points clear is very, very impressive for this new team. We’re still learning, we’re still developing and we’re still getting faster – but this weekend we showed how to work as a team. I’m proud to be part of PSRX Volkswagen Sweden,’ said a jubilant Kristoffersson.
The fourth round of the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship series is the World RX of Belgium, which takes place on 13-14 May at the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Mettet, 20 kilometres south east of Charleroi. As neither PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver has won the final at the Belgian circuit before, both will be determined and keen for success!
2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 85
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 69
3 Petter Solberg, Volkswagen Polo GTI: 62
4 Sebastian Loeb, Peugeot 208: 48
5 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 47
2017 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden: 131
2 EKS: 114
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 95
4 Hoonigan Racing Division: 60
5 MJP Racing Team Austria: 59
[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / PSRX Volkswagen Sweden]
