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Polo-based rallycross teams Marklund Motorsport and Volkswagen Team Sweden have joined forces to contest the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship, using their star drivers to guarantee success. The newly-formed Volkswagen RX Sweden team will field Anton Maryland and Johan Kristoffersson to pilot a pair of 600bhp Polo RX Supercars.

Championship-winning potential
It’s a return of sorts to Marklund Motorsport for Marklund, who contested the 2014 series under the wing of his father’s team – the outfit finished second in both the drivers’ and teams’ points tables the same year. Kristoffersson meanwhile shows championship-winning potential, coming third in the 2015 drivers’ championship standings.

Bosses of the new team, Jan Marklund and Tommy Kristoffersson, back the new collaboration. ‘We already discussed a merger last year, but we never got around to it,’ explained Marklund, father of Anton. ‘Now we will be added to the mix of Volkswagen’s official involvement and our joint goal for 2016 is very clear.’

‘Long-term involvement’
Kristoffersson senior – father of Johan – will be the general manager of the new team and Michael Schneider has been appointed team manager after having performed the same role at Marklund Motorsport last year: ‘Pooling our resources enables us to provide the stable platform of infrastructure and competence that is required for professional, long-term involvement.’

Jost Capito, Technical Director at Volkswagen Motorsport explained the process behind the teams joining together: ‘Volkswagen Motorsport is positive about the merger that came about as a result of the team’s initiative. A collaboration between Marklund Motorsport and Volkswagen Team Sweden will strengthen VW’s position in one of the fastest growing areas of motorsport. Combining our capabilities will create good possibilities for further success in the sport.’

‘Fighting for the championship’
Sten Forsberg, Head of Volkswagen Sweden, also welcomed the merger. ‘The competitive situation in World RX calls for creative solutions to achieve success for both Marklund Motorsport and Volkswagen Team Sweden, which we as collaborative partners strive for. With our joint effort, we are convinced that the team will be able to keep up with the pack and be fighting for the championship,’ he said.

Volkswagen RX Sweden’s new Polo RX Supercars will be built at Marklund Motorsport’s premises in Boliden, but as the season gets closer, the work will be relocated to Arvika, where Volkswagen Team Sweden is based. A separate test unit with a racing car, staff and trailer will manage the new team’s development activities.

The first round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship is the World RX of Portugal on 15-17 April in Montalegre.

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Although he was eliminated at in the semi-final at the 13th and last round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Argentina in Rosario, Volkswagen Team Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson did enough to take third place in the overall drivers’ standings.

Two points
The Swede collected two points at the Circuit Juan Manuel Fangio in his Polo RX and finished just ahead of Ford Olsbergs MSE’s Andreas Bakkerud from Norway. ‘My engine went in the semi-final so we had to stop but thankfully we had enough to beat Andreas by two points,’ explained Kristoffersson. Kristoffersson’s Polo RX team-mate Ole-Christian Veiby exited in heat three.

Finn Toomas Heikkinen, the top-seeded Polo RX driver from the Marklund Motorsport squad, finished fourth in the semi-final at the South American round, giving him ninth place overall in the drivers’ championship table. Norway’s RX Lites pilot Thomas Bryntesson was driving another Marklund-prepared Polo in Argentina, but sadly finished tenth in heat three due to technical issues with his car.

Maiden win
Sweden’s Robin Larsson took his maiden World RX win in South America, while Mattias Ekstrom finished second. As expected, with a 26-point lead, Norway’s Petter Solberg (Citroën DS3 RX) clinched the 2015 World Champion title after finishing third in Argentina, relegating Peugeot’s Timmy Hansen into second place.

In the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship teams table, Team Peugeot-Hansen took the title, having already accrued enough points at the previous round in Italy to win. The Ford Olsbergs MSE team of Fiestas finished second, while Solberg’s SDRX claimed the third spot. Volkswagen Team Sweden finished fourth, while Marklund Motorsport was sixth.

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 301
2 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 275
3 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo WRX: 234
4 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Fiesta ST: 232
5 Davy Jeanney, Peugeot 208: 201

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 476
2 Ford Olsbergs MSE: 399
3 SDRX: 336
4 Volkswagen Team Sweden: 291
5 EKSRX: 258

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At the tenth round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the 18-20 September World RX of Spain, Johan Kristoffersson was the highest-placed Volkswagen Polo finisher, coming home second ahead of fellow Polo pilot Tanner Foust in fifth.

‘Fantastic job’
Kristofferssen was runner-up to current rallycross world champion Petter Solberg. ‘It feels awesome to be a part of the winner’s press conference again. I would like to thank my team: they did a fantastic job with the car, which worked magnificently and just keeps getting faster,’ said the Volkswagen Team Sweden Polo WRX driver.

The podium spot leaves Kristoffersson in third place in the overall drivers’ points table with 182 points, while the Swede also posted the fastest lap time of the weekend in his 600bhp Polo WRX Supercar.

Kristoffersson’s team-mate Tord Linnerud went out in the semi-final. However, the pair’s European Championship team-mate Ole Christian Veiby won the Euro RX part of the Spanish event after another Polo driver, Tommy Rustad, was disqualified.

Launch control
‘A victory is always a victory, but to be honest, this is not the way I want to win. I was car number two over the finish line, but rules are rules and that means I got the victory after all,’ said Veiby. Rustad had somehow activated the launch control system on his Polo RX during the race, when it is only permitted at the start of a race.

Veiby is now back in the fight for a trophy in the European Championship classification, after the penultimate round at the 1.133mile-long Formula 1 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. ‘The event in Spain was a “make or break it” in terms of the chances to get a medal in the Euro RX this season,’ said an elated Veiby.

25,000-strong crowd
Foust meanwhile put on a show for the 25,000-strong crowd in Barcelona and was the highest-placed Polo RX driver from the Marklund Motorsport squad. Thomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen went out in the semi-final race and finished the event in eighth place.

Coming from a podium at the World RX of Canada, Foust, the US TV star and two-time Formula Drift Champion remains the only American to have a won a round of the World Rallycross Championship having triumphed at last year’s World RX of Finland.

The next round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Turkey, will take place in Istanbul from 2-4 October.

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 243
2 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 208
3 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo WRX: 182
4 Davy Jeanney, Peugeot 208: 166
5 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Fiesta ST: 163

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 374
2 Ford Olsbergs MSE: 297
3 SDRX: 268
4 Marklund Motorsport: 216
5 Volkswagen Team Sweden: 214

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Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen was the best-placed Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar driver at the sixth round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Sweden, which took place in Höljes over the weekend of 4-5 July. Polos were prolifically-represented, though, with four cars in the semi-final rounds.

Welcome return
After scoring a third place in semi-final number two, Heikkinen advanced to the final race, and finished fourth overall behind the Ford Fiesta of Andreas Bakkerud. It was a welcome return to the podium for Volkswagen-backed Marklund Motorsport, and Heikkinen was jubilant about the result.

‘It’s nice to be back in the finals after missing the semi-final two races in a row. Too bad we were not able to compete for a podium, but I’m still pretty happy with this weekend. With my twelfth place in qualifying I was one of the last drivers into the semi-finals, but I still managed to be fourth overall,’ the young Finn said.

It wasn’t quite such good news for Heikkinen’s team-mate Per-Gunnar (P-G) Andersson. He finished 13th in heat four. A bad start in the qualifying heats was out down to a faulty generator on his 600bhp Polo RX Supercar, while a false start in the fourth heat put a stop to his chances in Sweden.

Runner-up position
Championship second-placed Johan Kristoffersson of Volkswagen Team Sweden suffered bad luck on his home round, with a puncture in the semi-finals. However, he still managed to retain his runner-up position in the drivers’ overall standings behind Petter Solberg, despite a seventh-place result in Höljes.

Over 39,000 spectators watched the other Polo RXs and their foes battle it out in the Swedish heat. Kristoffersson’s team-mate and Euro RX driver Ole Christian Veiby finished fifth in semi-final two. Meanwhile, HTB-Marklund Motorsport’s Euro RX driver, Tommy Rustad, brought his Polo RX home fourth in the first semi-final.

After a strong showing in Germany, it was a disappointing World RX of Sweden for Volkswagen Team Sweden’s Tord Linnerud. The Norwegian experienced technical problems and finished 15th in heat four, therefore not progressing any further.

‘Had the pace’
Michael Schneider, team manager of Marklund Motorsport, summed up the weekend with mixed feelings: ‘I am pleased that we are back in final, but not totally happy. Andersson had the pace for the finals this weekend, but unfortunately he had bad luck in the first heat. Tommy Rustad drove a very good race again, just as in Germany. But, for the rest of the season, I hope to put an end to all the bad luck’.

The overall event was won by EKSRX’s Mattias Ekström. It was the second consecutive Swedish win for the Audi S1 Supercar driver, who initially finished second in Höljes, but was awarded the first place after Peugeot’s Timmy Hansen was penalised for an overtaking manoeuvre on the last corner of the final.

The next round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the Word RX of Canada, takes place in Trois-Rivieres on 7-8 August.

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 159
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo WRX: 115
3 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Fiesta ST: 113
4 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 104
5 Reinis Nitiss, Ford Fiesta ST: 96

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Ford Olsbergs MSE: 209
2 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 192
2 SDRX: 182
4 Volkswagen Team Sweden: 154
5 Marklund Motorsport: 126

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It was Johan Kristoffersson who put a Polo on the podium at the recent 24-24 May World RX of Great Britain, the fourth round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship. The Volkswagen Team Sweden driver cemented his championship-chasing form by finishing in third place at the iconic Lydden Hill circuit.

Top honours
The result follows his maiden win at the first round of the season in Portugal. Kristoffersson now lies in second in the Drivers’ Championship, 29 points behind former world rally ace Petter Solberg, who took the top honours in the UK races in Kent in front of a 15,000-strong crowd. Matias Ekstrom was second.

It was a doubly joyous weekend for Kristoffersson who became a father for the first time on the morning of the second and final day. ‘It’s certainly been an emotional day,’ explained the 21 year-old.

‘I really didn’t expect to be here today. We were 13th position in free practice yesterday because I just couldn’t find the pace. I adjusted my driving style for today and then had a good start in the final but Petter was just so quick! We had a really nice fight but I have to say third position is fantastic for the Championship, so I’m really happy,’ the Swede enthused.

Suffered problems
In marked contrast to Kristoffersson’s and Volkswagen Team Sweden’s fortunes, the Swedish Marklund Motorsport outfit failed to qualify for the Supercar semi-final. The Polo RXs of Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinnen, Per-Gunnar Andersson and two-time Global Rallycross Champion and Top Gear US TV presenter Tanner Foust suffered problems and sadly just couldn’t hit the top of the results table.

Round 5 of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship will be held at the Estering in Germany from 19-21 June.

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 112
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo WRX: 83
3 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Fiesta ST: 77
4 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 63
5 Reinis Nitiss, Ford Fiesta ST: 61

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Ford Olsbergs MSE: 138
2 SDRX: 132
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 110
4 Marklund Motorsport: 106
5 Volkswagen Team Sweden: 105

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