A win in heat three helped Veiby to climb from fourth to third in the intermediate classification, behind weekend pace-setter Kristoffersson and Grönholm, with Kevin and Timmy Hansen as well as Juha Rytkönen – the Suonenjoki native driving the only combustion-engined entry in the field at the KymiRing, in his sustainably-fuelled, PGRX-run Hyundai i20 – completing the line-up for the all-important final.
Intermittent rain resulted in a mixture of tyre choices, and from the outside of the front row, it was Grönholm who got away best in his electric CE Dealer Team car – the fans’ favourite eager to close the gap separating him from Kristoffersson at the summit of the championship standings. His advantage, however, would prove to be cruelly short-lived, with contact into Turn Two putting him out on the opening lap.
One Finn’s pain was another Finn’s gain, as Rytkönen miraculously emerged in the lead – from the very back of the grid – with Veiby in hot pursuit and Kristoffersson down to fifth behind the Hansens.
It soon became apparent, however, that Timmy Hansen was struggling with issues of his own as his Peugeot 208 RX1e crabbed around the 1.163km circuit, with Veiby and Kevin Hansen’s early jokers elevating Kristoffersson to third. On lap two, the seven-time world champion then fought his way past his ailing countryman before rapidly closing down Rytkönen in a repeat of the pair’s epic Turkish duel from the end of last year.
It was Veiby, however, who was truly in the box seat, having already jokered and sitting just two-and-a-half seconds shy of the lead. Rytkönen dived into the joker himself on lap three to successfully cover off the Hansen brothers, releasing Kristoffersson to try to extend his margin over his KMS team-mate – but the Norwegian was not for giving this one up.
Impressively matching his illustrious Swedish stablemate for speed, even a stellar last lap for Kristoffersson was not quite enough to turn the tables, as Veiby took the chequered flag a whisker under three tenths-of-a-second clear to cement his second career triumph in the FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Both KMS drivers picked up punctures late on, but such was their superiority, that did nothing to deflate their charge to a second consecutive one-two finish. Rytkönen thrilled the partisan crowd as he joined them on the bottom step of the podium following his headline-grabbing heroics – but the flying Finn’s celebrations would prove to be short-lived, as he was subsequently given a two-second penalty for the lap one contact that had curtailed compatriot Grönholm’s challenge.
That promoted Kevin Hansen to third and Timmy Hansen to fourth, concluding a rollercoaster week for the latter in particular. Having not expected to compete at the KymiRing until CE Dealer Team came to the rescue at the 11th hour.
After heat three, the 33-year-old looked to be facing an early bath as he brought up the rear of the order, only for a strong run in heat four – yielding the second-fastest time behind Kristoffersson – to secure his place in the final at the expense of Klara Andersson, whose lightning-fast launch in her own heat four race came to nothing when contact sent her bouncing into the tyre barriers at Turn Two.
Despite failing to add to his win count this season, the runner-up spoils enabled Kristoffersson to more than double his championship lead from seven points to 15 over the luckless Grönholm heading into the double-header Istanbul Park finale on 20-21 September, with Veiby’s victory vaulting the Kongsvinger native past Timmy Hansen into third.
Ole Christian Veiby, Kristoffersson Motorsport, added: “It feels fantastic to get another win! The final was crazy – I had a good launch but got stuck on the outside line for a moment and dropped back, so I had to fight my way through on the inside to get up to P2. From there, I took the joker to get clear air and stayed close to the others.
In the end, only Johan was ahead, who hadn’t jokered yet. I followed him well and came out in front when he took his joker. Another 1-2 for the team and some very important points for both me and Johan. I’m only four points behind P2 in the championship, so everything’s still to play for in Türkiye!”
Johan Kristoffersson, Kristoffersson Motorsport, added: “I struggled at the start of the final, I got too much wheel spin which was costly. Then Rytkönen came on the inside, and Timmy Hansen too, which forced Niclas and I out. I’m impressed with how Ole drove in the final. And it’s great for the team with a 1-2 again. We chose the right strategy with the tyres, and the cars have been running like clockwork all weekend.”
Kevin Hansen, Hansen Motorsport, said: “Finally, some silverware for me this season. A shame that it came about from a penalty for Juha [Rytkönen], but after what we’ve been through, we can’t help but feel great about a podium. The team really deserves it after such a rollercoaster of a week. A massive thank you to the CE Dealer Team and Volvo Construction Equipment. Without them, we wouldn’t have been here fighting for a podium in the first place, and we really appreciate their support.”
Click here to view the final classification from the World RX of Finland.
Click here to view the provisional championship standings.
Tamm triumphs on dazzling Euro RX1 debut as title contenders come unstuck
Maiko Tamm stunned his Euro RX1 rivals to claim a hugely popular triumph on his FIA European Rallycross Championship bow at the KymiRing today (24 August), as the title-chasing trio all encountered drama on a rain-affected day in Finland.
Tamm had already sent out a calling card by boldly running wheel-to-wheel with championship leader Yury Belevskiy in heat two yesterday, but contact left him down in seventh in the overnight order.
A rocket-propelled launch in heat three and a solid run in heat four kept the Estonian in contention, and he took full advantage of a squabble between title protagonists Belevskiy, Damian Litwinowicz and Mika Liimatainen at the start of the first semi-final to assume a lead that – joker laps aside – he would not subsequently relinquish.
That earned Tamm pole position for the all-important final in mixed wet-dry conditions. While he conceded the initiative into Turn Two – as Mikko Ikonen swept spectacularly around the outside of all of his adversaries to grab first place from the very back of the grid – the Ford Fiesta driver reclaimed it with an incisive overtake approaching mid-distance. And with all manner of chaos unravelling behind, that was that.
Tamm’s margin of victory at the chequered flag was more than six seconds over a similarly inspired Mats Öhman. The experienced Swedish campaigner – who drives with hand controls after being left paralysed from the waist down in a snowmobile accident in 1998 – was arguably the standout performer of the day.
Even a stall at the start of heat four was not going to hold Öhman back, as he flung his JC Raceteknik-prepared Volkswagen Polo around the 1.163km circuit with unadulterated brio. From fifth on the grid, he artfully avoided a Turn Two mêlée and benefitted from a double joker penalty for a jump-start by pole-sitter Martin Enlund to win semi-final two.
In the final, he unleashed a strong turn-of-speed once again to cross the finish line just over a second behind Enlund in third place, but when his countryman was later disqualified for a clash with Belevskiy, Öhman was elevated to the runner-up spoils.
Astonishingly, Ikonen rounded out the rostrum in third – notwithstanding his tyre dramatically delaminating at the beginning of the last lap, pitching the home hero into a spin – as the championship contenders found themselves in the wars.
Belevskiy – who had only made it into the final after Liimatainen was handed a two-second penalty for contact between the pair in their semi-final – initially ran at the tail-end of the field, but ever the canny operator, an early joker strategy and relentless pace hauled the Swiss star back into the mix.
He was on-course to finish second until he found himself turned around by Enlund on the penultimate tour, with the closely-following Litwinowicz having nowhere to go but into the side of his former team-mate, putting both Audi drivers out on the spot.
Despite his DNF, Belevskiy has nonetheless extended his gap over Liimatainen at the summit of the standings from four points to ten heading into the Turkish season finale on 20-21 September, with Litwinowicz a further five points in arrears in third – setting the scene for a tantalising three-way title showdown at Istanbul Park next month.
Maiko Tamm, commented, “It’s amazing – I really need to thank all my team, they did a brilliant job. The weekend had a lot of ups and downs – yesterday I had a huge spin, so I had to reset mentally and come back. Today was all about focus: the semi-final was crazy, and the final even more so. In second position, I couldn’t see much on the track, so I just had to stay clean and push. To take the win on my Euro RX1 debut is unbelievable – I honestly have no words. I hope to continue racing in this championship, because the atmosphere here is amazing.”
Mats Öhman, said,” It was an incredible final – everything was so intense, especially the first corner. The car was very good, and my team has been amazing all weekend. Driving in the final was tricky, but my launch worked perfectly and helped me get ahead. The competition was tough, but it feels great to take the victory. I’m not sure yet how I’ll celebrate tonight, but I’ll enjoy it!”
Mikko Ikonen, added, “It was a bit of a surprise to end up in that position. I had a great start, and after turn two I was leading – I was quite sure I was going to win today. But on the first lap, I suffered a puncture on the rear left, and after that it was a struggle. Obviously, it was heartbreaking, especially in the final lap. Still, it’s nice to come away with a podium finish. The competition has been strong all weekend, which makes it even more satisfying.”
Click here to view the final classification from the Euro RX1 of Finland.
Click here to view the provisional championship standings.
Ribeiro victorious after dramatic
Finnish RX3 weekend
The FIA European Rallycross Championship’s RX3 category served up high drama in Finland, as João Ribeiro fought back to claim victory in the Finnish forests.
The Portuguese championship leader endured a tough start to the weekend, unable to find his usual pace in Saturday’s heats and ending the day down in fifth overall. Sunday morning brought little improvement, keeping him on the back foot heading into the semi-finals. But when the rain arrived later in the afternoon, shaking up conditions for the knockouts and final, Ribeiro seized his chance.
In the first semi-final, Antiguan rising star Nicolas Geleyns capitalised on early chaos to secure his place in the final. Balázs Körmöczi, who had shown lightning pace in qualifying, suffered heavy contact at turn one, halting his Volkswagen Polo and eliminating him from the competition. With Körmöczi out, Geleyns opened a clear gap to the pack and drove confidently to victory.
The second semi-final promised fireworks, with Lithuania’s Rytis Gurklys starting from pole after topping both days’ qualifying. At the start, Gurklys, Ribeiro and fellow Portuguese driver André Sousa made it a three-wide drag race into turn one. Contact between the two countrymen dropped Sousa down the order, while Ribeiro slotted into second behind Gurklys. A tactical joker battle followed, with Ribeiro taking his on lap one in a bid to undercut the Lithuanian.
Gurklys immediately responded, covering the move and rejoining just ahead at the merge. The pair ran nose-to-nose for the remainder, trading tenths in a thrilling fight with Gurklys ultimately holding on to secure pole for the final.
That set up a showdown featuring two of the category’s brightest young talents on the front row – Gurklys and Geleyns – with Ribeiro and Sousa looking to pounce behind. Gurklys made the stronger launch and seized the lead, only for disaster to strike in the first corner when Ribeiro lunged down the inside. Contact sent the Lithuanian spinning to the back, ending his hopes of victory.
With Gurklys out of contention, Ribeiro snatched the advantage and pushed hard to build a gap. Geleyns responded with a charging drive, cutting into Ribeiro’s lead and setting up a tense finish. Geleyns came within six tenths of a second at the flag – agonisingly close, but not quite enough to deny Ribeiro.
The podium was rounded out by Rogério Sousa, who delivered a superb tactical race from sixth on the grid. Timing his joker to perfection, Sousa leapt into contention for third and defended fiercely against Libor Teješ in the closing stages. The Czech driver piled on the pressure with a late surge, but Sousa held firm to secure the final step of the podium.
João Ribeiro, said: “I didn’t expect this victory – we struggled for pace this weekend, so honestly I wasn’t expecting it. But in the final I got a good start, and after some tough battles into the first corner I managed to get out in front. From there it was a bit of a solitary race, but the pace was good and it feels great to finish on the top step. I love this track – the style is similar to Montalegre, really fast and fun to drive. This result sets us up well for the final showdown in Türkiye, where the goal will be to stay smart and enjoy the fight.”
Nicolas Geleyns, commented: “I was not expecting this result. Honestly, it was difficult, especially on the dirt where grip was very low in the wet. But it was amazing fun to race here. To end the weekend on the podium, after a tough start, is incredible. The crowd support was amazing and I’m so proud to be here.”
Rogério Sousa, added: “It was a great weekend. Starting in P6, I wasn’t projecting third place at all – I just came here to enjoy the race. But we fought hard, made the right calls, and showed we could compete with the best. I love this track – it was my first time racing here, but I felt comfortable right away.”
The Finnish round leaves Ribeiro firmly in control of the standings, but Geleyns and Gurklys have underlined their ability to challenge for wins. With everything still to play for, the stage is now set for a thrilling season finale in Türkiye.
Click here to view the provisional classification from the Euro RX3 of Finland.
Click here to view the provisional championship standings.
