Hansen World RX Team hungry for podiums after difficult double-header in Nyirád
The Hansen World RX Team demonstrated podium worthy pace in Nyirád at the Kárai Trans World RX of Hungary (27-28 July), but were unable to convert multiple race wins into Top 3 results in Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen entered the weekend sixth and seventh in the championship standings, respectively, making a solid haul of points in the second double-header of the season crucial. The pair’s consistency across the two rounds sees them each move up a spot while keeping those ahead within reach, with Timmy just ten points adrift of second place.
The ‘Battle of Technologies’ is heating up, as the electric and ICE cars continue to exchange race wins. With the drivers growing more accustomed to the recently introduced Hoosier Racing Tires, the competition is getting closer and the season is in full swing with the drivers fighting for championship points in all of the races.
World RX returns with another jam-packed weekend of action next month, as the championship heads to Mettet, Belgium, for another double-header (17-18 August).
Saturday
The Hansen squad entered the Hungarian double-header on the hunt for it’s first podium of 2024 after a frustrating outing in Höljes earlier this month.
Kevin looked on his way to a top three finish, with three race wins to his name after the Heats and Semi-Finals. In the all-important Final, however, contact with Johan Kristoffersson in the opening corner put both drivers out of contention. While Kevin’s day ended with a DNF, a considerable task lay ahead of the team, and the mechanics worked late into the night to get the #71 all-electric Peugeot 208 car in shape for Round 4 the following day.
Qualifying presented it’s own challenges for Timmy. Technical issues for Kristoffersson in their Heat 2 race forced a quick evasive manoeuvre from Timmy, who collided with OC Veiby in the process. Both cars were able to continue, and Timmy collected a P2 finish to accompany his fourth place from Heat 1.
Timmy lined up in the same Semi-Final race as Kevin, and both Hansen cars launched to the front of the pack into Turn 1. On the wider line, Timmy was forced to slot into third place coming out of the second corner, but would soon reclaim second to secure the Hansen 1-2 and a spot in the Final.
Off the back of the incident between Kevin and Kristoffersson in Turn 1 of the Final, there was contact between Timmy, Grönholm, and Veiby into Turn 2. With considerable damage to the front of his car, Timmy managed to bring the car home in fourth to close out Round 3 of the 2024 World RX season.
Sunday
A tough end to Saturday’s racing was followed by a tough start to Sunday. Heat 1 saw a Kevin charging round the outside of Kristoffersson in the opening corner, and as both cars slid wide the contact put Kevin into the wall and out of the race. Behind the leading pair, Timmy came together once more with Grönholm and Veiby and did well to avoid a bigger shunt before going on to claim third place.
Heat 2 marked a strong comeback for the Hansen outfit, as Kevin led from start to finish to take a much needed race win. Not far behind, Timmy executed a perfect strategy, taking his joker early to undercut Veiby and take second place.
With a 1-2 under their belts, the Hansen World RX Team entered the Semi-Finals with confidence restored. As the drivers left Turn 1 in Semi-Final 1, Timmy and Kevin slotted into second and third, respectively. An early joker from Kevin paid off, however, and the Swede put in some quick laps to close the gap to the leading pair. It was Kevin who came out on top, with Timmy crossing the line in third to put both Hansen cars in the Round 4 Final.
In Sunday’s spectacular, Kevin and Timmy managed to secure third and fourth in the pack as all cars bunched together in the opening corners. All over the back of CE Dealer Team driver Klara Andersson, the Hansen brothers began to pile on the pressure, but all the while were losing time to Veiby who took his joker early.
Timmy was unable to get passed Andersson, who took the joker at the same time to help herself stay ahead. As the pair rounded the corner, Veiby took second and Kevin took fourth as the cars came back together. A late overtake from Timmy saw him steal fourth from Kevin, who crossed the line in fifth to close out the weekend.
Kenneth Hansen, Team Principal at Hansen World RX Team, said: “We’ve just finished the weekend and again we got both cars into the Final each day, but we didn’t manage to get onto the podium which is frustrating for the team. The second day of racing here in Hungary went better after a lot of work overnight and I think we managed to progress quite a lot. In the Final, the joker strategy didn’t go our way and I think we lost out on the podium there. We look forward, and following this event the FIA will be looking the data from the ‘Battle of Technologies’ so far, so hopefully next race we will have a different weight balance between the EV and ICE cars.”
Kevin Hansen, Hansen World RX Team driver, said: “This weekend has been a tough one for all of us. It was a very hot couple of days so it has been a real challenge to keep pushing forward, but the team were amazing and we kept improving the car step by step. We were much more in the fight today and that was a good feeling. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get all the way to the podium on either day this weekend, but we’ll keep pushing until we get that win.”
Timmy Hansen, Hansen World RX Team driver, said: “A big thank you to our team. They worked until the early hours of the morning preparing for today and fixing the damage from yesterday. They did an amazing job and the cars were like new. The ‘Battle of Technologies’ is still in favour of the ICE cars, we are 160kg heavier than them and even with our extra power we can’t seem to get the advantage. We are fighting with the CE Dealer Team for best of the electric, and that fight is looking very close.We’ve got testing tomorrow so we’ll be looking into everything and improving where we can ahead of Belgium.”
Drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen entered the weekend sixth and seventh in the championship standings, respectively, making a solid haul of points in the second double-header of the season crucial. The pair’s consistency across the two rounds sees them each move up a spot while keeping those ahead within reach, with Timmy just ten points adrift of second place.
The ‘Battle of Technologies’ is heating up, as the electric and ICE cars continue to exchange race wins. With the drivers growing more accustomed to the recently introduced Hoosier Racing Tires, the competition is getting closer and the season is in full swing with the drivers fighting for championship points in all of the races.
World RX returns with another jam-packed weekend of action next month, as the championship heads to Mettet, Belgium, for another double-header (17-18 August).
Saturday
The Hansen squad entered the Hungarian double-header on the hunt for it’s first podium of 2024 after a frustrating outing in Höljes earlier this month.
Kevin looked on his way to a top three finish, with three race wins to his name after the Heats and Semi-Finals. In the all-important Final, however, contact with Johan Kristoffersson in the opening corner put both drivers out of contention. While Kevin’s day ended with a DNF, a considerable task lay ahead of the team, and the mechanics worked late into the night to get the #71 all-electric Peugeot 208 car in shape for Round 4 the following day.
Qualifying presented it’s own challenges for Timmy. Technical issues for Kristoffersson in their Heat 2 race forced a quick evasive manoeuvre from Timmy, who collided with OC Veiby in the process. Both cars were able to continue, and Timmy collected a P2 finish to accompany his fourth place from Heat 1.
Timmy lined up in the same Semi-Final race as Kevin, and both Hansen cars launched to the front of the pack into Turn 1. On the wider line, Timmy was forced to slot into third place coming out of the second corner, but would soon reclaim second to secure the Hansen 1-2 and a spot in the Final.
Off the back of the incident between Kevin and Kristoffersson in Turn 1 of the Final, there was contact between Timmy, Grönholm, and Veiby into Turn 2. With considerable damage to the front of his car, Timmy managed to bring the car home in fourth to close out Round 3 of the 2024 World RX season.
Sunday
A tough end to Saturday’s racing was followed by a tough start to Sunday. Heat 1 saw a Kevin charging round the outside of Kristoffersson in the opening corner, and as both cars slid wide the contact put Kevin into the wall and out of the race. Behind the leading pair, Timmy came together once more with Grönholm and Veiby and did well to avoid a bigger shunt before going on to claim third place.
Heat 2 marked a strong comeback for the Hansen outfit, as Kevin led from start to finish to take a much needed race win. Not far behind, Timmy executed a perfect strategy, taking his joker early to undercut Veiby and take second place.
With a 1-2 under their belts, the Hansen World RX Team entered the Semi-Finals with confidence restored. As the drivers left Turn 1 in Semi-Final 1, Timmy and Kevin slotted into second and third, respectively. An early joker from Kevin paid off, however, and the Swede put in some quick laps to close the gap to the leading pair. It was Kevin who came out on top, with Timmy crossing the line in third to put both Hansen cars in the Round 4 Final.
In Sunday’s spectacular, Kevin and Timmy managed to secure third and fourth in the pack as all cars bunched together in the opening corners. All over the back of CE Dealer Team driver Klara Andersson, the Hansen brothers began to pile on the pressure, but all the while were losing time to Veiby who took his joker early.
Timmy was unable to get passed Andersson, who took the joker at the same time to help herself stay ahead. As the pair rounded the corner, Veiby took second and Kevin took fourth as the cars came back together. A late overtake from Timmy saw him steal fourth from Kevin, who crossed the line in fifth to close out the weekend.
Kenneth Hansen, Team Principal at Hansen World RX Team, said: “We’ve just finished the weekend and again we got both cars into the Final each day, but we didn’t manage to get onto the podium which is frustrating for the team. The second day of racing here in Hungary went better after a lot of work overnight and I think we managed to progress quite a lot. In the Final, the joker strategy didn’t go our way and I think we lost out on the podium there. We look forward, and following this event the FIA will be looking the data from the ‘Battle of Technologies’ so far, so hopefully next race we will have a different weight balance between the EV and ICE cars.”
Kevin Hansen, Hansen World RX Team driver, said: “This weekend has been a tough one for all of us. It was a very hot couple of days so it has been a real challenge to keep pushing forward, but the team were amazing and we kept improving the car step by step. We were much more in the fight today and that was a good feeling. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get all the way to the podium on either day this weekend, but we’ll keep pushing until we get that win.”
Timmy Hansen, Hansen World RX Team driver, said: “A big thank you to our team. They worked until the early hours of the morning preparing for today and fixing the damage from yesterday. They did an amazing job and the cars were like new. The ‘Battle of Technologies’ is still in favour of the ICE cars, we are 160kg heavier than them and even with our extra power we can’t seem to get the advantage. We are fighting with the CE Dealer Team for best of the electric, and that fight is looking very close.We’ve got testing tomorrow so we’ll be looking into everything and improving where we can ahead of Belgium.”
in World RX
