The former Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT driver Ole Christian Veiby from Norway has now confirmed that he will be on the start line for the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Sweden next month.
Veiby will be doing four winter rallies during the FIA World Rallycross Championship off-season. He will attend three local rallies in Sweden and Norway before rounding up with Rally Sweden. He will enter Rally Sigdal, Rally Elverum, Rally Lima with the 2022 World RX team´s champion Kristoffersson Motorsport in a Volkswagen Polo GTi R5, same car he used last year in Rally Sweden where he finished second in the WRC2 class behind his fellow countryman Andreas Mikkelsen.
During the week Veiby has tested in Anttila, Sweden and next Saturday Veiby’s rally season begins with Rally Sigdal northwest of the Norwegian capital Oslo. Then Rally Elverum, which is the premiere of the Norwegian Rally Championship, awaits next weekend and Rally Lima the weekend before Rally Sweden.
I really feel at home in the Polo. We have a good feeling and had a really good winter last year. It was just a bit of bad luck that meant we didn’t win in Rally Sweden. It is important to have good people around you and in this team I feel really safe.” Veiby said.
The five-time World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson has also tested the car over the winter, he used to do some rally outtings but he is only focusing on rallycross now. He finished third in the WRC3 class in the 2020 Rally Sweden.
“We are grateful that we get to drive the Polo with Ole Christian. If there is a burning interest in rallycross in the team, that interest is definitely no less when it comes to rallying. It is deep in the soul of our guys. Last year we had a tough match against Andreas Mikkelsen for the victory in WRC2 and we expect to be able to fight for the victory this year as well. We don’t have the resources of a factory team, but we don’t feel inferior in any way. Sure, other makes come out with brand new cars, but we have a few aces up our sleeve as well, because we know our car so well.” Tommy Kristoffersson, Kristoffersson Motorsport Team Principal, added.
“Johan has driven the car himself for a whole day during our tests, to gain knowledge about how it behaves. In this way, he knows exactly what Ole Christian is talking about regarding the details. Johan and Ole Christian work very well together and with Per Johansson as the third link they form a very strong combination.”
