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july 06, 2015 - Peugeot

Rallycross: Team Peugeot Hansen deprived of victory in Sweden

Timmy Hansen was first past the flag after taking the lead through the final turn at Holjes, but a penalty relegated the Peugeot 208 WRX driver to second overall.



The Swedish round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship turned out to be an emotional rollercoaster for Team Peugeot Hansen which was racing on home ground. A convincing win for Timmy Hansen in the first qualifying heat served as a big confidence booster for the Franco-Swedish squad which hoping to build on the form revealed by the PEUGEOT 208 WRX’ recent win in Germany and also push home the sound work carried out in testing at Holjes a month ago.

 

Rallycross is a sport where even the best laid plans can be blown off course, though, and Team Peugeot Hansen experienced this at first hand when Davy Jeanney suffered a transmission problem while the two PEUGEOT 208 WRXs were dominating the first semi-final. The incident put an end to the team’s chances of seeing both its cars reach the final.

 

That left Timmy Hansen on his own to defend the colours of Team Peugeot Hansen in what turned out to be a fiercely fought race. In front of home fans, and on a track he particularly enjoys, Timmy gave another illustration of his skill and determination when he passed Mattias Ekström in magnificent style through the last turn of the final.

 

The stewards judged the manoeuvre to have been against the regulations and subsequently relegated Timmy Hansen to second place. The decision was a bitter disappointment for the team, although it didn’t prevent it from climbing to second place in the Teams’ standings, just 17 points short of the leader.

 

Kenneth Hansen, Team Principal

Both our drivers qualified for the semi-finals but Davy unfortunately suffered a transmission problem. Otherwise, we could have had two cars in the last race. Timmy found a good pace for the final. He got past Bakkerud but then found himself behind Mattias Ekström after his joker lap. He caught him into the final turn and, to my mind, pulled off a great pass to take the lead. Winning at this magical circuit in Holjes in front of 40,000 spectators was a very special moment for us. Unfortunately, Race Control took a decision which we contested. We do not believe Timmy ran into Mattias. There was simply contact while they were side by side. The stewards judged it was a form of pushing and decided to swap the positions of Timmy and Mattias after the finish. I think Timmy was the winner even though first place was taken from us. It was still a great weekend.

 

Timmy Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX #21, 2nd

I’ve seen the images and I think it was just part of rallycross. I have the feeling that my victory was taken from me. Mattias thought he had won the race and lifted, as he said at the press conference. I closed the gap and tried my luck. It was according to the rulebook but the stewards thought otherwise. I am very proud of our weekend in Holjes.

 

Davy Jeanney, PEUGEOT 208 WRX #17, 6th in Semi-final 1

I fought back well today after being handicapped by a puncture on Saturday. I improved to seventh after Heats 3 and 4 which was enough to earn a ticket for the semi-finals. Timmy and I got away to great starts but my front-left drive-shaft failed and I ended up sixth. That was still worth a few points but not as many as I had been hoping for. It would have been fantastic to have got both 208 WRXs through to the final!

 

Final positions – Round 6 (Holjes, Sweden) – July 4-5, 2015

  1. Mattias Ekström (EKS, Audi S1),
  2. Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX)
  3. Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergMSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST)
  4. Toomas Heikkinen, (Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo)
  5. Reinis Nitiss (OlsbergMSE AB Ford Fiesta ST)
  6. Petter Solberg (SDRX, Citroën DS3)

 

FIA World Rallycross Championship standings after six rounds

Drivers

1.                  Petter Solberg (SDRX, Citroën DS3), 159 pts

2.                  Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen Team Sweden, Volkswagen Polo), 115 pts

3.                  Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergMSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST), 113 pts

4.                  Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 104 pts

5.                  Reinis Nitiss (OlsbergMSE AB Ford Fiesta ST), 96 pts

6.                  Davy Jeanney (Team Peugeot Hansen, PEUGEOT 208 WRX), 88 pts

  1. Mattias Ekström (EKS, Audi S1), 87 pts

8.                  Toomas Heikkinen, (Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo), 63 pts

 

Teams

1. Ford Olsbergs MSE, 209 pts

2. Team Peugeot-Hansen, 192 pts

3. SDRX, 182 pts

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