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Sweden WRX: Timmy Hansen wins on home turf ahead of brother Kevin

Timmy Hansen put to bed the disappointment of being stripped of a home win at the Swedish round of the World Rallycross Championship at Holjes in 2015 by leading throughout in the final stages of the 2021 edition to claim an 11th career win.

Watch: WRX: Timmy Hansen wins on home turf ahead of brother Kevin

2019 champion Hansen topped the Intermediate classification to land pole position for semi-final one, a race that he led from lights to flag to secure the front row for the all-important final.

Just like on day one, the Swede hadn’t had things all his own way in qualifying on Sunday, as Dutchman Kevin Abbring and then Q1 winner Johan Kristoffersson set the fastest times.

But thanks to being second quickest in both sessions, and Kristoffersson only managing sixth in Q3, Hansen took the top spot.

After a difficult round one in Barcelona, where he and his EKS JC Audi S1 were disqualified from the first session for the FIA Data Logger being unplugged, Kristoffersson led semi-final two from pole position at Holjes looking to finish better than his third place finish from the opener, but a front-left puncture from the lead of the race left the triple World RX title-winner out of the running.

That left round one winner Kevin Hansen in a position to take the second semi win, following a difficult run through qualifying for the championship leader, which included transmissions problems in Q3.

For the second round in succession, the Hansen squad locked-out the front row of the final, and in another masterful display of team work, Kevin Hansen ran round the outside of polesitter Timmy through turn one, then braked early for turn-two, allowed Timmy to cut back into the race lead.

Abbring meanwhile dived into the joker at the first opportunity, and quickly closed onto the back of the leading train in his Renault Megane.

Enzo Ide was next to take his joker in his first World RX final, releasing Abbring, but that’s as far as the Dutchman’s pace would take him, as he spent the following laps behind GRX-SET driver Krisztian Szabo, and was only released when the Hungarian jokered on the sixth tour, behind the Hansen brothers.

By then Timmy Hansen had done enough to retrain the lead, flanked by his younger brother, while Abbring slotted into third to claim a maiden World RX podium with the Unkorrupted squad. Ide also cleared Szabo for fourth while Rytkonen finished sixth after a slow joker lap.

Hansen’s win elevated him to the top of the points table, with the next round taking place in 12 days at Loheac in France.

Final results:

Cla # Driver Chassis Gap
1 21 Sweden Timmy Hansen
Peugeot 208
2 9 Sweden Kevin Hansen
Peugeot 208 1.049
3 69 Netherlands Kevin Abbring
Renault Megane RS 1.645
4 91 Belgium Enzo Ide
Audi S1 3.154
5 23 Hungary Krisztián Szabó
Hyundai i20 3.696
6 18 Juha Rytkönen
Ford Fiesta 4.636

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