World Rallycross Championship: Johan Kristoffersson also wins his WRX home race in Höljes

Heats, semi-finals, finals: Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS) was once again unbeatable in any session at his home WRX race in Höljes (Sweden) and extended the gap to Niclas Grönholm (Construction Equipment Dealerteam) in the overall standings. Timmy Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) bounced back after a difficult start to the season in Montalegre and Hell, relegating the second Kristoffersson driver Ole Christian Veiby to third place. Timo Scheider (All-inkl.com Münnich Motorsport) was fifth after an incident in rainy weather.

Kristoffersson and Timmy Hansen qualified unchallenged for the final with 1st and 2nd places in semifinal 1, as the CE Dealer team of Klara Andersson and Niclas Grönholm did not have the pace on the wet track to fight for victory. Kristoffersson pulled away from Hansen by more than five seconds. In semifinal 2, Veiby was able to pass Kevin Hansen (Hansen World RX Team) at the start. However, on lap 3 the younger Hansen brother forced the Norwegian to go wide through turn 6 and passed on the inside himself. Timo Scheider defended 3rd place against Sebastian Loeb (Special One Racing) to secure his place in the final.

Veiby, with the best start, was initially able to pass both Hansen brothers and sorted himself into 2nd place behind his teammate. That wasn't to last, however, as Timmy Hansen overtook the Norwegian at the same hairpin as his brother in the semifinal. Meanwhile, Kevin Hansen and Timo Scheider had turned into the joker lap early. Hansen touched the wall at the exit of the joker lap allowing the German to pass him. Hansen found a way past Scheider on the track offside the cameras, but had already lost too much time to be able to fight for the podium.

There was no more action at the front as Kristoffersson drove away with a gap of more than four seconds, while Timmy Hansen held Veiby at bay just as confidently. Guerlain Chicherit (Special One Racing) was unable to finish the race after technical problems with the Lancia Delta Evo-e. As a result, Johan Kristoffersson celebrated his 38th career victory in front of 25,000 spectators at his home race.

Results of the 2023 Rallycross final in Höljes

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1	Johan Kristoffersson	Volkswagen dealer team BAUHAUS	4:30.055 min
2	Timmy Hansen	Hansen World RX Team	+4.268 s
3	Ole Christian Veiby	Volkswagen dealer team BAUHAUS	+7.773 s
4	Kevin Hansen	Hansen World RX Team	+9.637 s
5	Timo Scheider	All-inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	+44.001 s
6	Guerlain Chicherit	Special One Racing	+4 laps

 

Overall Standings WRX

RX2e: Ole Henry Steinsholt celebrates 1st win

After things did not go well for Victor Vranckx (VMV Racing) and Ole Henry Steinsholt (Ole Henry Steinsholt) at the season opener in Hell, they came back all the stronger in Höljes. In semifinal 1, the defending champion spun on his own axis on a wet track and touched the wall in the Joker Lap. Nevertheless, he finished just ahead of his Norwegian rival. Qualifying from the second semifinal were Nils Andersson (Team E), who started the final from row 1 with Vranckx, Isak Sjökvist (#YellowSquad) and Philip Thoren (Zeroid Motorsport).

Andersson had the best start in the final and tried to pass the Belgian on the outside lane. However, he could not hold the line, jumped over the curbs and had to drive back across the grass onto the track. He dropped back to fourth position. Sjökvist and Steinsholt turned into the joker lap early, rolling up the field from behind.

After the front runners also completed the extra meters, a three-way battle ensued between Vranckx, Andersson and Steinsholt. They went side by side through several corners - with the best ending for the Norwegian, who overtook them both on the inside lane. Andersson again could not hold the line and spun. He even dropped back to fifth position behind Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky.

The next race for both series is in three weeks at Lydden Hill (Great Britain).

Results of the 2023 RX2e final in Höljes

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1	Ole Henry Steinsholt	Ole Henry Steinsholt	4:34.861 min
2	Victor Vranckx	VMV Racing	+0.566 s
3	Isak Sjökvist	#Yellowsquad	+2,010 s
4	Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky	Team E	+3.742 s
5	Nils Andersson	Team E	+8.302 s
6	Filip Thoren	Zeroid Motorsport	+17.014 s

 

Overall Standings RX2e