Round eight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Trois-Rivières, Canada, has provided Team Peugeot-Hansen with a strong points haul, consolidating their second place in the Teams’ Championship.
Despite eventful qualifying races, French rally legend turned rallycross driver, Sébastien Loeb, finished third in his semi-final, gaining a back-row spot on the grid for the final. Despite the less-than-ideal starting position, he nevertheless managed to finish third overall.
His team-mate, Timmy Hansen, looked set for an even better result, even though a transmission problem had prematurely ended his Q2 run. He bounced back to a P2 finish in his semi-final, and although he briefly led the final in front of the seemingly unstoppable VWs of Johan Kristoffersson and Petter Solberg, he was ultimately stopped by a mechanical problem. His sixth place overall granted him enough points to sit fifth overall in the Drivers’ standings.
His younger brother Kevin, meanwhile, appeared to be on top form, and finished fourth in his semi-final, where he competed against his older brother, thus just about missing out on a final slot.
“Saturday proved a little laborious for us due to a number of technical problems, says Peugeot-Hansen’s team boss, Kenneth Hansen.
“Sébastien was unable to avoid hitting [Andreas] Bakkerud‘s car which was stationary in the middle of the track during Q2. Happily, the tables turned on Sunday and our three cars all reached the semi-final phase.”
“Perhaps we could have opted for a different strategy for Sébastien in his semi-final but at least he and Timmy made it through to the final. Unfortunately, Timmy suffered an engine problem but Sébastien clinched another podium finish, so there was every reason to be pleased with the outcome.”
The team are now looking forward to the ninth meeting of the season, just after the summer break (2-3 September) at Lohéac in France, on Peugeot’s and Loeb’s home ground. On last year’s edition, the French rally legend finished third, while Timmy’s win back in 2015 is the team’s best result on the French circuit so far.
