Team Peugeot-Hansen score first World RX victory
Swedish driver Timmy Hansen was top of the field at the end of the event's four qualification heats. He won semi-final one and the final in emphatic fashion to score maximum points and the first ever rallycross win for the Peugeot 208WRX. The result makes it four podium finishes in succession for the team.
Double FIA European Rallycross Champion Timur Timerzyanov qualified sixth overall at the Intermediate Classification and won semi-final two to join Hansen on the front row for the final. He was second on lap one behind Hansen, but was slowed by a punctured tire from early in the race. He finished fourth.
The new circuit at Franciacorta was a big hit with World RX drivers and enthusiastic Italian spectators alike. Richard Goransson finished second while Petter Solberg finished third. The combined result of the two Peugeot 208WRXs brings Team Peugeot-Hansen within reach of the top of the Teams Championship standings, and are just 13 points behind OlsbergsMSE and Marklund Motorsport with 120 points available from the last two rounds in Turkey and Argentina.
Red Bull Peugeot Hansen Junior Team driver Kevin Hansen finished on the podium in the RX Lites Cup division at the wheel of his 208 Lites to move into second in the championship standings behind fellow Swede Kevin Eriksson.
Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208 #3
"It's so, so fantastic to finally get a win with the Peugeot 208 this season. We have fought so hard for this and finally we have put it all together over a whole weekend. We were consistent in the four heats and set really good lap times. I made a good start in the final and had some big, big pressure at the start but I did some crazy laps got a good gap by the end. This is just amazing, it's not only me winning here it's the whole team and I'm so proud to have put it all together for Peugeot."
Timur Timerzyanov, Peugeot 208 #1
"I had a very good semi-final, but in the final I just had bad luck. I did what I could to stay in second on the first lap but it wasn't possible. The track was very nice here, it was a bit bumpy at the end of the day, but overall the track and the jumps were a lot of fun."
Kenneth Hansen, Team Principal
"We scored the maximum points with Timmy here and Timur scored good points too so we have really closed the gap in the teams championship. It's a special feeling, we didn't expect that to happen. We have really focused on getting the first win this year and have had three races in row where we have performed very well. I think the whole team really deserved the victory today. Suddenly we have even more to fight for now there are two events left on new circuits. We need to play the cards right and if we do that I think we can so very well."
The next round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship takes place at the Istanbul Park. (11th – 12th October).
FIA World Rallycross Championship round ten, Italy: Final result
1 Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)
2 Richard Goransson (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
3 Petter Solberg (PSRX, Citroen DS3)
4 Timur Timerzyanov (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)
5 Johan Krisrtoffersson (VW Dealer Team, VW Polo)
6 Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
FIA World Rallycross Championship Drivers standings (after round 10 / 12):
1 Petter Solberg (PSRX, Citroen DS3) 235
2 Toomas Heikkinen (Marklund Motorsport, VW Polo) 175
3 Reinis Nitiss (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta) 167
4 Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208) 152
5 Timur Timerzyanov (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208) 148
6 Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta) 146
FIA World Rallycross Championship Teams standings (after round 10 / 12):
1 OlsbergsMSE/Ford 313
2 Marklund Motorsport/Volkswagen 313
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen 300
4 PSRX 227
5 Monster Energy World RX Team 85
6 Albatec Racing 32