Swedish Rallycross driver Kevin Hansen enjoyed a good weekend’s work in the RX Lites Cup which supported the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Holjes by taking the championship lead after finishing second in the Final.
Coming into the Holjes event, Hansen was tied for the points lead of the catergory with long time rival and friend Kevin Eriksson, so a good performance on home ground was vital. Hansen kicked off proceedings by going fastest on Friday in heat one, however a spin in heat two and a jumpstart in heat three meant he was in third place at the Intermediate stage.
“The first heat on Friday was really great and we were really quick. I did my own mistake in heat two and then jumped the start in the third heat, but it was still a really good run for me – I was right in the fight to the finish line. Then in the last heat I got hit a few times in the first corner and my wheels were pointing all over the place, so that was quite tough to get a good time,” said Hansen
Despite losing time in the Semi-Final behind Tobias Brink who spun, Hansen qualified for the Final and played the long game, making places up as others took the joker lap infront of him. Second place was his reward. Hansen explained his strategy.
“I think I could have won the semi-final if we hadn’t lost a bit of time, but it was good to get second. In the final we had the perfect strategy; I took a first lap joker and pushed like crazy. I got some traffic in the race and when Thomas Bryntesson took the joker he just got out in front of me. It was just a small gap, I was so close to him in the last corner but I thought I was going to spin him around, so I backed off.
“Second is a very good result and we’re ahead of Kevin Eriksson in the championship now. It’s a good feeling to be going to the next round in Norway with the lead. Kevin’s a really good driver and it’s great to be fighting for the championship with him.”
Graham Rodemark, Red Bull Peugeot Hansen Junior Team Manager, was full of praise for his young driver.“Second is a great result. We made it hard for ourselves this weekend at times with a jump start and a spin in another race, but as always the team kept everything together. Kevin has got a major gift for being able to deliver when you need him to and that helps so much.”
Hansen’s next event will be the fourth round of the RallyX Nordic Lites Championship at Kalix, Sweden on 17th – 18th July.
