Johan Kristoffersson continued the strong momentum that he showed after taking a podium finish in the World RX of Canada as he went on to take a dominant win at the 2016 World RX of France after a strong showing during day two of the event.
After ending Qualifying on Day One in tenth place, the Volkswagen RX Sweden driver was locked into tenth place overnight and looking to find more speed over the second days running. Overnight rain saw the teams and drivers face more difficult conditions, however this spurred on Kristoffersson as he went fastest in both Q3 and Q4 to end Qualifying in second place overall and on pole position for Semi-Final Two.
The former STCC Champion went on to take the race win which put him on the front row for the Final where he got a great start to stay ahead of the action behind him and go on to secure his first win in the series since Portugal last year.
Kristoffersson was overjoyed to take his first win of the season:
“We have been in a position to win since the first race of the season, and then in Canada four weeks ago were able to finish on the podium. Yesterday we had quite a good speed but didn’t really put everything together, but today it has just been amazing,” said Kristoffersson.
“The Volkswagen Polo RX and my driving style suit the wet conditions well, and to be fastest in Q3 and Q4 was fantastic. The semi-final was also good, I just got my head down. In the final I made a good start then at turn three I saw Petter [Solberg] in the wrong direction in my mirror.
“From there I was just pushing, I heard on the radio I was clear behind so I was just trying to stay away from the kerbs and push hard, but not too hard. I have to say a really big thanks to the team, we made some positive changes to the car overnight and it was a pleasure to drive. This is just fantastic!”
Anton Marklund has been showing some impressive performances this season as he re-acclimatises to the Volkswagen Polo Supercar, however in France he was looking to find that performance again after the huge hit his car took in Canada. The young Swedish driver was showing good pace in challenging conditions where he remained inside the top 15 during Qualifying before losing out in Q4.
Marklund took the positives away from his weekends work:
“Straight away in the first run I did in practice I was P4, even if the others had done two runs already. The pace was definitely there,” said Marklund.
“The guys worked so hard to get the car rebuilt after the crash we had in Canada for this event and they did an exceptional job. It worked very well but we had some small problems, which is a big shame because Lohéac is special. Not only is the crowd big, but the people are very passionate.
“They know who you are and they really love everything about rallycross. My focus is now on Barcelona in two weeks, where I know we will be fighting for the podium, with both cars.”
Kristoffersson now sits in third place overall in the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Drivers Championship, 18 points behind second place driver Mattias Ekstrom as the series now moves onto Barcelona in Spain for round nine of the season.
