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Spain WRX: Ekstrom regains points lead after win

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom turned a five point deficit into a 10 point advantage in the World Rallycross Championship standings as he claimed victory in Barcelona, while title rival Petter Solberg didn’t make it into the final.

Mattias Ekström, EKS RX

Mattias Ekström, EKS RX

FIA World Rallycross

Mattias Ekström, EKS RX
Timmy Hansen, Team Peugeot Hansen
Petter Solberg, Petter Solberg World RX Team leads
Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Team Sweden
Mattias Ekström, EKS RX
Start action
Timmy Hansen, Team Peugeot Hansen
Andreas Bakkerud, Hoonigan Racing Division
Petter Solberg, Petter Solberg World RX Team

Starting alongside top Intermediate Classification qualifier Timmy Hansen on the front row of semi-final one, Ekstrom led the race from lights-to-flag, to earn pole position for the final.

The Swede made another good launch in his Audi S1 in the final, and fended off the attentions off Russian Timur Timeryzanov in the opening two corners to take the lead of the race.

Timerzyanov had spectacularly won the second semi-final ahead of Johan Kristoffersson in the final corner to earn a front row spot.

Driving a replacement Ford Fiesta after his 2016 race car was damaged beyond repair in a crash at Loheac two weeks ago, Timerzyanov applied the same pressure to Ekstrom in the opening laps of the final as he had in the semi-final to Kristoffersson.

The Volkswagen RX Sweden driver got the better of Hansen at the start of the race, before taking his joker lap at the second opportunity and dropped to fourth.

By the fourth lap, Timerzyanov had dropped back from Ekstrom by a few tenths of a second, allowing Hansen to apply pressure to the Russian at the circuit’s hairpin.

Timerzyanov immediately took his joker, while Hansen followed Ekstrom into the extra-route on lap five.

Ekstrom returned to the main circuit in the lead but Timerzyanov got ahead of Hansen, only for the Swede to cut back up the inside at turn one on the final lap, having carried more momentum out of the joker lap.

The drama wasn’t over for Timeryznov, who running in third was set to score only his second ever World RX podium, only for his Fiesta to slow slightly out of the hairpin on the final tour, giving Kristoffersson the opportunity to make a move on the inside of the long loose right hander to seize the position.

Ekstrom won, his fourth victory of the season, with Hansen second and Kristoffersson scoring his third podium in a row to close the gap to Solberg in the championship standings.

Janis Baumanis made his first final of the season. He took his joker on the first lap and finished fifth behind team mate Timerzyanov, while Robin Larsson retired on the fifth lap.

The Swedish privateer made it into the final following a stellar defensive drive in his semi-final, holding off WRC champions Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg under immense pressure. Loeb retired from that race with damage from hitting a tyre wall. Solberg was fourth.

UPDATE: Timerzyanov has been promoted to a podium position, following a post-race black flag for Kristoffersson, for contact with the Russian’s Ford Fiesta during the race.

The Race Director decision 3.9 stated that Number 3, Kristoffersson had been black flagged for ‘pushing and overtaking’. 

The incident happened on the final lap of the race, when Kristoffersson passed the Russian driver on a long right-hand loose surface corner.

Kristoffersson was classified sixth in the race and scores no championship points from the final. The Swede’s other points accumulated during the event remain unaffected.

“We are delighted with this result after a difficult season and we are now looking forward to (the next round) in Riga,” said World RX Team Austria owner, Max Pucher, for who Timerzyanov drives.

Kristoffersson accepted that he had touched Timerzyanov’s car, but admitted that he felt the Russian would have run wide in the corner regardless.

“Timur had a problem at the hairpin on the last lap, and going into the next corner we had contact,” said the Swede.

“Fair enough I touched him a little bit, but I believe he would have gone wide anyway, but it is what it is. We had good pace this weekend and we are fighting hard to move forward in the championship.”

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