After a dramatic incident involving three drivers, Johan Kristoffersson broke his Sunday curse by winning round eight of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Semi-Final One
Lining up for the first semi-final were Mattias Ekström and Kevin Hansen on the front row, with Kristoffersson and Robin Larsson on row two and Timo Scheider and Tamas Karai completing the grid.
It was a good start from Hansen who tried to squeeze Ekström early on, but he managed to hold off the Swede and take the lead. Kristoffersson opted for the joker on lap three and eventually managed to pip Ekström for the win in the semi-final from the second row of the grid. Ekström came through in second and Larsson managed to secure third.
Semi-Final Two
Andreas Bakkerud, Timmy Hansen, Anton Marklund, Niclas Grönholm, Timur Timerzyanov, and Enzo Ide lined up for semi-final two and it was Bakkerud who got an excellent start and managed to pip Hansen to the lead into turn one.
Hansen was the first driver to joker early in a bid to get ahead later in the race but after him and Bakkerud went side-by-side, it was the Audi S1 driver who came out on top.
Bakkerud held on to take the win with Hansen right behind and Marklund getting third and qualifying as a result.
Final
Bakkerud lined up on pole in the final for the first time this season with Kristoffersson alongside him. Ekström & Timmy lined up on row two, with Marklund and Larsson on the back row.
Chaos ensued immediately as Kristoffersson tried to close the door on Bakkerud into turn one and after contact between the pair the Megane was sent into the air and spearing into the barrier and in turn he also collected Larsson in the process.
Both drivers were okay and walked away from the incident but it was a retirement for both. Hansen recovered to second and Ekström slotted into third.
Kristoffersson led but the stewards were investigating before even more drama took place on lap four as Ekström slid to a halt in the final corner.
He managed to restart, but he had dropped to fourth by the time the car had stopped moving. Marklund took over third place, but nobody could trouble Kristoffersson out in front as he cruised to victory ahead of Hansen and Marklund, who picked up his first podium of the year.
The stewards investigation wasn’t completed until after the end of the race, but the incident involving Kristoffersson was deemed a racing incident and the results stand.
It’s now a one month break before World RX returns to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for round nine of the championship. Will Kristoffersson continue his series masterclass, or will the chasing pack manage to fight back in the race for the championship?
