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Johan Kristoffersson has more than made up for the issues suffered at round 3 of the 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship by dominating the action at round 4. The second day at the “Red Cauldron” in Nyirád, Hungary, belonged to no-one else but the Swedish driver and KMS – HORSE Powertrain, with teammate Ole Christian Veiby making it a one-two for the Swedish team.
The “Battle of Technologies” saw the electric cars secure victory in round 3 on Saturday, but in the final on Sunday, the internal combustion engine (ICE) cars were in a class of their own. After safely navigating the first corner, Kristoffersson set about establishing a dominant lead. Indeed, he finished an extraordinary 10.8 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, an age in rallycross terms. Veiby, meanwhile, made up for a lacklustre start by taking the joker lap on the first time of asking, enabling him to undercut his rivals and end up finishing 2nd behind his all-conquering teammate.
Klara Andersson, who won both of her heat races and came second in her semi-final, made a great start in the final, getting alongside and ahead of Kevin Hansen who started on the front row of the grid by the end of the first corner. Once all the cars had taken their joker laps, Andersson emerged ahead of 2019 world champion Timmy Hansen. As Veiby left them behind, Andersson and Hansen put on a great display for the fans, with with Hansen throwing everything at the CE Dealer Team driver. Andersson defended mightily and managed to secure another podium finish.
Hansen World RX Team must be wondering what’s going wrong for them. Both drivers demonstrated superb pace throughout the weekend and challenged for victories, including Kevin Hansen winning his second heat and his semi-final, but still a podium finish eludes them in 2024. The hero of Saturday, Niclas Grönholm, also faced disappointment as he was forced to retire in his semi-final when his rear left tyre came away from the wheel.
René Münnich finished 6th in the German’s first visit to an event final in 2024. He was aided in his appearance there by local hero Jankó Wieszt suffering a huge crash at the start of his semi-final. There was a racing incident coming together with Veiby that unfortunately span the Hungarian into a heavy impact with the wall. Anthony Pelfrene had no such contact, but missed out on a place in the final after a 4th place finish in his semi-final.
Driver Reaction
Kristoffersson was much more ebullient following Sunday’s performance than Saturday’s. “Big thanks to the team, they worked extremely hard last night to make repairs and gave me a very fast car” the Swedish superstar acknowledged. “It’s been a great first experience here in Hungary and it’s been nice to see so many fans. I got a good start in the final and could then control the race from there.” In alarming news for his rivals, he admitted “I wasn’t pushing hard. I just tried to drive smoothly and avoid making any mistakes. If I’d needed a real ‘killer’ lap, I’m pretty sure I could have gone quicker.”
Championship Update
Kristoffersson has reinforced his dominance at the top of the championship standings. He now has an almost ridiculous 101 points after 4 rounds, with his teammate 25 points behind him. The two CE Dealer team drivers continue their tradition of being tied on points, with Andersson and Grönholm in joint 3rd on 67 points. Timmy and Kevin Hansen are right behind them on 66 and 65 points respectively. It won’t take much for the Hansens to reverse their fortunes and leapfrog their electric rivals.
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