Kevin Hansen was frustrated on Sunday after he was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the World RX of Finland. Hansen was in the runner-up’s spot going into the final part of qualifying after he finished second in Q2.
But worsening weather and track conditions in Q3 hurt the drivers in the last race of the session including Hansen. Nevertheless, he still qualified sixth and believes he was on course for victory in his semi-final if traffic did not hamper him.
Ironically, it was brother Timmy Hansen who inadvertently held Kevin up and allowed GRX Taneco‘s Timur Timerzyanov to jump Kevin on the final lap when he took to the joker lap.
Despite Kevin doing everything he could to sneak by Timerzyanov at the line, it was not enough and he left Kouvola disappointed.
Hansen said: “Today (Sunday) was a wet race so we had to set-up the car completely for those conditions, and we made some progress in that area. I had the best feeling during the semi-final; I was very fast and had never felt so confident in the wet, so I was very happy in that respect. In the end, the margins were not on my side today.“
“In Q3 we lost a lot because it had started to rain more than the previous races. The grip was lower of course but more than that, going up the hill towards turn two I couldn’t see anything on two laps, so my run wasn’t fast. That cost me a lot in terms of grid position for the semis as the intermediate points were so close.“
“I felt like I was on course for first in the semi-final until getting stuck in traffic. The result was a bit tough to take when I was so fast but there’s been worse days. We’re fifth in the championship which isn’t too bad considering some of the issues we’ve had with launches and not making it to the final twice this year.“
Team Boss Kenneth Hansen was happy with the improvements the team could was able to make in the days between Sweden and Finland but he still thinks the starts can be improved. Kenneth said: “We’re going in the right direction, both with the chassis and with the starts.“
“We’re already four rounds into the season now so perhaps that improvement hasn’t come as quickly as we’d hoped, but that’s motorsport, sometimes you need to work to catch up a little bit. The circumstances on Sunday were particularly difficult for us because of how little grip there was, especially on the start line. But we’ll use this knowledge to continue improving the car and try to come back stronger in Latvia.”
The World RX of Latvia, rounds five and six of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, take place between September 19-20.
