Kristoffersson races clear of rivals with Mettet masterclass
Johan Kristoffersson produced a peerless performance to secure a 44th career triumph in the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Mettet in Belgium today (18 August), as the multiple world champion sped further clear of his adversaries in the inaugural ‘Battle of Technologies’.
Following Saturday’s disappointment – when a late puncture denied him a podium finish around the Circuit Jules Tacheny – Kristoffersson entered the second day of World RX of Benelux eager to bounce back. Behind the wheel of his sustainably-fuelled, combustion-engined Volkswagen Polo KMS 601 RX, he did so in style.
Having fought his way to victory in both of his heat races – despite not exiting Turn One in the lead on either occasion – the KMS – HORSE Powertrain star duly lined up on pole position for the opening semi-final, which he controlled from lights-to-flag.
The Swede subsequently produced a repeat display in the final, fending off a fast-starting Niclas Grönholm into the first corner and thereafter never looking back as he crossed the finish line almost five seconds clear of his closest pursuer. His fourth win from six rounds in 2024 increases his advantage at the summit of the Drivers’ standings to 39 points.
“I must say a big ‘thank you’ to the team,” Kristoffersson reflected. “They gave us a great car and we were consistently quick, and today, we managed to pull everything together. I’m very happy, and it was nice to have OC [Veiby – team-mate] on the podium as well collecting more important points towards the championship. That said, our competitors are doing a good job too and the times got increasingly tight, so we have to keep pushing.”
If Kristoffersson’s path to the top step of the podium in the final was relatively serene, the fight behind the championship leader was fierce. Kevin Hansen emerged on top of that particular tussle to reach the rostrum for the second time this weekend, despite finding the rear of his electric Peugeot 208 RX1e lifted up into the air in Turn One by Veiby’s VW, which had itself been briefly airborne shortly after the start.
The battle-scarred Hansen narrowly pipped Veiby to the runner-up spoils, the Swede responding to the Norwegian’s lap two joker by following suit next time around and chopping across the nose of his VW rival on the blast towards the first corner to cement second place.
Veiby wound up barely half-a-second further back in third – posting the race’s fastest lap, as he had done 24 hours earlier – with Grönholm and Saturday winner Timmy Hansen similarly in hot pursuit, the quartet blanketed by less than three-quarters-of-a-second at the chequered flag in a breathless finish.
Klara Andersson completed the finalists in sixth in the second CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction Equipment entry, while the support series saw victories for home hero Kobe Pauwels in RX2e – on the Belgian’s rallycross return – championship leader Patrick O’Donovan in Euro RX1 and João Ribeiro in Euro RX3.
World RX’s ‘Battle of Technologies’ will continue at Montalegre in Portugal on 7-8 September.
FINAL RESULT: WORLD RX
1. Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (SWE) KMS – Horse Powertrain (ICE) 5 laps
2. Kevin HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV) + 4.712s
3. Ole Christian VEIBY (NOR) KMS – Horse Powertrain (ICE) + 4.969s
4. Niclas GRÖNHOLM (FIN) CE Dealer Team (EV) + 5.266s
5. Timmy HANSEN (SWE) Hansen World RX Team (EV) + 5.451s
6. Klara ANDERSSON (SWE) CE Dealer Team (EV) + 10.121s
Full results for all categories can be found at www.fiaworldrallycross.com