A whirlwind start to the 2020 FIA World Rallycross championship enters its second phase this weekend with the third and fourth rounds of the season in Finland, only days after the season opener in Sweden.
Defending world teams’ champions Team Hansen and defending drivers’ champion Timmy Hansen didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts at their home round in Höljes, but did score second place in the second round thanks to Kevin Hansen’s efforts.
Only a single day has passed since the conclusion of the first two rounds of the season but the team is already in full preparation mode for World RX of Finland, having serviced the cars and begun the journey to Kouvola across the Baltic Sea.
Kouvola’s addition to the 2020 calendar was somewhat sudden but also highly welcomed, as other events dropped off the calendar due to complications from the ongoing Covid-19 situation. With past experience at the track for both Timmy and Kevin, it’s a favourite circuit of both the team and drivers.
Kevin Hansen, who finished third in World RX last year, moved up to fourth in the standings after round two, while older brother Timmy is seventh. The two combined to put Team Hansen second in the teams’ standings, as it tries to defend its teams’ championship.
The team is aiming for more podium finishes this weekend, and banking more crucial points to climb up the championship standings.
Quotes
“Kouvola is a great track. It has strong character, good jumps, elevation changes, fast and slow corners, so it’s nice to be driving there again. I think I have the lap record there but I’m not sure! I’ve had some good races there and I’m looking forward to going back.
“I believe we have what it takes in our package to win a couple of races and to be able to fight at the top. Last weekend wasn’t normal and my hope is Finland is closer to what we would consider ‘normal’. The car is still good, so we’re hoping for a better result in Finland.”
“Kouvola is quite similar to Höljes, with a lot of elevation changes. I love the track; it’s got a good flow and I think we have a good car for it too.
“I expect we’ll be able to score podiums in Finland. That’s the aim, and we need to keep on our toes and do the maximum possible. If we want to reach the podium or score wins, we have to keep pushing step-by-step beyond where we are now.”
“It’s good to be back racing so soon after the last round. We didn’t have the result we expected last time, so we have strong motivation to be back on track again and trying to perform to our best. It’s going to be quite unusual this time, as it’s the first time we’re racing with only World RX present and none of the support categories.
“Both Timmy and Kevin know and love this circuit, so they’ll have a slight advantage over the drivers who’ve been here before. But there won’t be a big difference compared to the top-calibre drivers who’ve not raced here before; they’ll get into it quickly. The difference in Höljes was that some of our rivals had driven there this year and we hadn’t, so that’s a little disadvantage we had.”
