After months of analysis, meetings, development, and planning, the Hansen World RX Team is set to get its 10^th FIA World Rallycross Championship campaign underway at Montalegre in Portugal this weekend (June 3-4). With the Hansen team’s Peugeot 208 RX1e machines adorned in an all-new 2023 livery, the design linking the squad’s past, present and future together, drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen got acclimatised to the evolved all-electric machines at a three-day official pre-season test in Portugal last weekend. Operating its own run plan that focused on chassis development and changes to the control software systems in the twin-motor, 500kW, four-wheel-drive all-electric cars, both Hansen drivers – 2019 Drivers’ Champion Timmy and 2016 Euro RX Champion Kevin – set competitive times, while working with the Hansen engineers to give them the best opportunity to compete for success in the upcoming races. The season opener at the Montalegre Circuit is regarded among rallycross drivers as a favourite venue. Located high in the Vila Real region of Portugal, the track is home to big kerbs and fast, flowing gravel sections. The joker lap, a route that each driver must take once in every race, was moved for 2022 and remains in the same location on the run to turn two. The Hansen squad has rich history in Portugal. Team Principal Kenneth Hansen claimed eight victories in the country during his driving career, while brothers Timmy and Kevin have both finished on the podium at the Montalegre Circuit previously. Following the opening round of World RX this weekend, the championship heads to Norway (June 17-18), then to the Hansen World RX Team’s home event in Sweden for the famous ‘Magic Weekend’ (July 1-2). When and where to watch: All of the action is broadcast on the RX+ All Live platform via the World RX website. Saturday June 3 (local time: GMT+1) SuperPole: 11:50 Qualifying Heat 1: 13:30 Qualifying Heat 2: 15:30 Sunday June 4 (local time: GMT+1) Qualifying Heat 3: 10:30 Qualifying Heat 4: 13:00 Semi-Finals and Final: 15:00 Kenneth Hansen said: “We are very pleased with how testing went. We tried a lot of different steps that we wanted to learn and get feedback from. That data means that we will be more sure of what to do in certain situations and what will happen when we do certain adjustments. The few times that we were focussing on lap times we were quick, so we are happy. “Going into the race this weekend we’re looking forward to being on the grid and racing in Portugal. It will be interesting to be side-by-side with the others, after all the work we’ve done, and to see what we can achieve.” Kevin Hansen said: “Testing went well. We focussed on our own things and tried to improve step-by-step. Of course, you never know if people are running flat-out, so it’s going to very interesting heading into Saturday and seeing where we stand. “I’m feeling good in the car, and there is a big improvement from last year, so thank you to the team for working so hard to put us in a better position. Hopefully now we can fine tune the car even more for each race and fight for the championship.” Timmy Hansen said: “We’ve been driving faster around this track than we have ever done before in testing and the car has been feeling great. We feel very well prepared going into the weekend. We had some good times but still have something left in the bag for the race I think, so it’s going to be exciting to get the season started.”