A competitive weekend for Team Peugeot-Hansen at Hockenheim: even though French rally legend Sébastien Loeb didn’t quite get the results he hoped for, his Swedish team-mate, Timmy Hansen, managed slightly better by achieving his first podium finish of the season, as well as setting the fastest time in the fourth qualifying round, helping to bring home 46 championship points, more than any other team.
The Swede praised his car’s handling and performance in dry conditions, such as those he met in qualifying, but found it trickier to drive under the rain that started falling just before the semifinals.
In his own words:“It was great to score my first podium finish of the season. My car was fantastic in qualifying but the conditions turned more delicate after it rained before the semi-finals. I started my semi-final from pole position but [Johan] Kristoffersson was slightly faster on the damp track.
“In the final, I pushed as hard as possible but I couldn’t manage any better than third. That really wasn’t the sort of result we had been hoping for after qualifying but nobody can deny our potential on the dry and I believe we will be at least as competitive at Mettet.”
Next weekend, the team will be back in action at the Belgian round of the championship, on 12-14 May at the Circuit Jules Tacheny in Mettet.
