The 2020 FIA World Rallycross championship finally got underway today in Höljes with the first round of this weekend’s double header with Johan Kristoffersson displaying his class by taking the top qualifier spot for round one.
Qualifying One
The weather was changeable and the first qualifying session of the year was set to be even more exciting, with wet conditions greeting the drivers on the grid.
The action got underway with Andreas Bakkerud in the new megane on pole with Krisztián Szabo, Niclas Gronhölm, and Rene Münnich alongside. It was a disaster for Bakkerud who stalled the megane on the line and lost a chunk of time. Szabo was the first to get to turn one and led the race from start to finish, taking the first win of the 2020 season ahead of Gronhölm, Münnich, and Bakkerud.
Race two saw defending world champion, Timmy Hansen, on the pole. Alongside him was Guerlain Chicherit, Anton Marklund, and Jani Paasonen. Marklund got a fantastic start from fourth and slotted into the lead in turn one. Marklund had the measure of Hansen and took the win and the fastest time of the session ahead of Hansen but the track was developing fast.
Race three saw Kevin Hansen on the pole with Rokas Baciuska, Timur Timerzyanov, and Sebastian Eriksson in the Honda Civic lining up. Off the line there was contact between Baciuska and Timerzyanov which damaged the Russian’s front right suspension and ultimately resulted in it failing in the Velodrome and a DNF for him. Eriksson was showing good pace in the Civic, managing to keep up with Hansen for the entire race. Hansen took the race win ahead of Eriksson but the time was not good enough to displace Marklund at the top.
Robin Larsson lined up on the pole for race four alongside teammate Mattias Ekström with Liam Doran, the returning Johan Kristoffersson, and Timo Scheider making up the rest of the grid. Kristoffersson, in his typical style, got an incredible getaway and surged clear of everyone into turn one and setting the fastest lap of the day from a standing start. However, Ekström began piling on the pressure in second place, setting the fastest lap of the day twice in a row. He opted to stay behind Kristofferson, who took the win and the fastest time of the session by seven seconds, winning the first qualifying session of the year. Kristoffersson was back!
Qualifying Two
The second session began with the news that Doran would not be taking part after his car caught fire in the paddock. Thankfully he was OK but it was a massive disappointment for the British Bomb.
Bakkerud, Paasonen, Chicherit, and Timerzyanov lined up for race one. It was Bakkerud who got the best launch but Paasonen managed to edge in front of the Norwegian into turn one, who jokered straight away. Timerzyanov jokered on the next lap coming out just in front of Bakkerud. The pair got severely held up by Paasonen out in front who was running his own race. Eventually, Timerzyanov managed to get past but the damage was done by then. Timerzyanov won ahead of Bakkerud but the time was not good. Bakkerud was in danger.
Race two consisted of Szabo, Gronhölm, Baciuska, and Münnich. Gronhölm got the best start and led into turn one ahead of Baciuska. Baciuska jokered next lap and came out inches in front of Szabo, whose pace was hindered by the Lithuanian. Gronhölm was flying out front, setting the fastest lap of the weekend so far. He crossed the line to set the fastest time of the session and also the fastest time of the weekend. The Hyundai was looking quick.
Lining up for race three were Marklund, Kevin Hansen, Eriksson, and Timmy Hansen. Off the line it was Kevin Hansen who got the best start and slotted in front of Eriksson while Marklund and Timmy opted for the joker. Kevin and Marklund traded lap times all the way through but Marklund managed to get Kevin on the joker merge on lap four, setting the fastest lap of the weekend right at the last moment, and beating Gronhölm’s session time by four tenths. The GCK Bilstein machine was on fine form.
All eyes were now on race four with Kristoffersson and Ekström lining up next to each other. Larsson and Scheider made up the rest of the grid. It was an even start all round but Ekström was firm into turn one and shut the door on Kristoffersson, allowing Larsson to slot in front of Kristoffersson as they both opted to joker. It was clear that Kristoffersson was slightly quicker than Larsson but he couldn’t find a way past the Audi. Out front, Ekström was on immense form setting fastest lap after fastest lap. He crossed the line to set the fastest time of the weekend and took the session win too ahead of Larsson and Kristoffersson. The two former world champions are displaying their class. Ekström now leads the qualifying standings heading into qualifying three.
Qualifying Three
It was a crucial session for Andreas Bakkerud who was sitting just outside of the all important top twelve. He lined up in second next to Münnich, who was on pole, Paasonen, and Chicherit. Finally Bakkerud managed to nail his start and got out in the lead in turn one. Chicherit made a nice move on paasonen into turn two to take second and he began to follow Bakkerud. It seemed the megane was not on the pace at all as he struggled to get near the benchmark set by Ekström in the previous session. Münnich retired the Seat Ibiza with a problem on the final lap as Bakkerud crossed the line to win, but the time was nowhere near what he needed. He was in danger of missing out on the semi-final.
Race two saw last year’s winner, Eriksson, on pole with Baciuska, Szabo, and Timerzyanov lining up next to him. Timerzyanov also needed a good result as he was outside the top twelve. Eriksson took the whole shot into turn one as Baciuska jokered. Szabo jokered next lap and came out in front of him. Timerzyanov then jokered and also came out in front of him but behind Szabo. Eriksson left it until the last lap to joker and made slight contact with Szabo on the joker exit but Szabo beat him by a matter of inches. Szabo took the win and the fastest time. Baciuska crawled across the line as his engine caught fire, the second GCK car to do so. Will this be a recurring issue for the team?
For race three it was Timmy Hansen, Kristoffersson, Kevin Hansen, and Scheider lining up. The advantage that the Polo used to have on the starts seems to be less as Timmy took the lead in turn one. His brother followed as Kristoffersson jokered. The Hansen’s opted not to joker early which ultimately cost them the win as Kristoffersson set blistering times behind to come out in front on the final lap. He crossed the line to set the fastest time of the weekend.
The final qualifying race of the day saw Ekström lining up next to Marklund, Gronhölm, and Larsson. The race descended into chaos immediately as Gronhölm tried to send it around the outside into turn one but ended up out in the gravel. Ekström ended up getting stuck behind Marklund as they jokered. He attempted a pass up the inside but made contact and half spun, ending up on the bank. He continued but the chance at taking top qualifer was gone. Larsson was putting Gronhölm under pressure out front, even attempting a move up the inside of the last corner which didn’t quite work.
Meanwhile, Marklund was lapping quickly behind and was closing the gap to the leader. Gronhölm responded on lap three and jokered but came out just behind the Swede. The Megane appeared to not be handling well though as it was bouncing up and down severely, an apparent broken damper the suspected cause. Marklund crossed the line to win by two tenths of a second ahead of Gronhölm with Ekström coming fourth. The time was not quick enough to trouble the top and Johan Kristoffersson claims the top qualifer spot on his return to the world rallycross championship. A stunning performance from the two time world champion. The big news was that Andreas Bakkerud did not make the Semi-final and is relying on Baciuska to not get his car fixed to make it in. It’s been a horrid first round for last year’s runner up and he’s got a lot of work to do for future round
The Semi-final’s get underway shortly so stay tuned for all the action.
