Timmy Hansen claims first electric World RX victory for Hansen World RX Team in Barcelona
Swedish star Timmy Hansen delivered the result the Hansen World RX Teamhad been fighting for all season, as he drove to victory in the eighth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain – the team’s first ever electric rallycross win.
Immense effort by the small yet effective Hansen squad had been made since committing to its biggest ever investment in rallycross ahead of the 2022 season, as World RX switched to electric technology and a more sustainable future.
But, in the four events, including three double-header weekends in the season so far, while the Hansen team’s Peugeot 208 RX1e machines and drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen displayed race-winning potential, mitigating circumstances meant a visit to the top step of the podium for one of the most decorated teams in rallycross history had so far eluded the squad.
That changed at Catalunya RX, where 2019 World RX Drivers’ Champion Timmy Hansen, at a circuit where he had won twice previously, qualified for the final with a strong run through the event, climbed to second in the opening corner from third on the grid, then hunted down leader Niclas Gronholm and took the lead on the final lap to drive to a 13th career win.
The result moves Timmy Hansen up to second in the Drivers’ standings.
In the sister 208 RX1e, Kevin Hansen won his semi-final in a battle against his older brother to start second on the grid for the final, but he dropped to last place following an incident with Johan Kristoffersson.
The two-time World RX race winner finished the race in fifth, but was promoted to fourth following a penalty for Kristoffersson.
The ninth round of World RX 2022 takes place at the same circuit tomorrow [October 30].
Check out all great content from the race at Red Bull Content Pool.
Also visit the Official World RX website.
“I was actually a little upset after the first corner of the final today with what happened between Johan and Kevin, but then of course you need to focus on the driver still in the race for the win.
The gap to the leader came down to three seconds, then Timmy closed some more and finally things went our way.
We have worked so hard and been in the fight so often this season but things just didn’t go our way, so it feels great for the whole team that we have achieved this result – we needed that!”
“Finally! We’ve come so close so many times this year, and today it’s great to have finally won a race in this new electric era, we’ve proven we can do it.
We’ve been fast all day, track conditions have been hard to compare between races but we’ve been there on the pace. We had a good start in the final when it really counts and from there on Niclas [Gronholm] took the lead on four new tyres. He ran fast but I managed to catch the gap to him with an early joker and pass him when he went into the joker on the last lap.
This is incredible, finally we take a win. I’m so proud of the whole team that has worked so hard for this – everyone keeps believing in what we are doing so it feels very good.
We need to stay focused though for tomorrow and the next round, fine turning both the driving and the car to try and win again.”
“It’s fantastic for the team to get a first win of the season, everyone has been working really hard on these new cars – we’ve been developing in the right direction.
Today the luck was on Timmy’s side compared to the last weekend in Spa, so it was good to see that the team could get a win today.”
But, in the four events, including three double-header weekends in the season so far, while the Hansen team’s Peugeot 208 RX1e machines and drivers Timmy and Kevin Hansen displayed race-winning potential, mitigating circumstances meant a visit to the top step of the podium for one of the most decorated teams in rallycross history had so far eluded the squad.
That changed at Catalunya RX, where 2019 World RX Drivers’ Champion Timmy Hansen, at a circuit where he had won twice previously, qualified for the final with a strong run through the event, climbed to second in the opening corner from third on the grid, then hunted down leader Niclas Gronholm and took the lead on the final lap to drive to a 13th career win.
The result moves Timmy Hansen up to second in the Drivers’ standings.
In the sister 208 RX1e, Kevin Hansen won his semi-final in a battle against his older brother to start second on the grid for the final, but he dropped to last place following an incident with Johan Kristoffersson.
The two-time World RX race winner finished the race in fifth, but was promoted to fourth following a penalty for Kristoffersson.
The ninth round of World RX 2022 takes place at the same circuit tomorrow [October 30].
Check out all great content from the race at Red Bull Content Pool.
Also visit the Official World RX website.
Kenneth Hansen Hansen World RX Team – Team Principal
“I was actually a little upset after the first corner of the final today with what happened between Johan and Kevin, but then of course you need to focus on the driver still in the race for the win.
The gap to the leader came down to three seconds, then Timmy closed some more and finally things went our way.
We have worked so hard and been in the fight so often this season but things just didn’t go our way, so it feels great for the whole team that we have achieved this result – we needed that!”
Timmy Hansen Hansen World RX Team – Driver #21
“Finally! We’ve come so close so many times this year, and today it’s great to have finally won a race in this new electric era, we’ve proven we can do it.
We’ve been fast all day, track conditions have been hard to compare between races but we’ve been there on the pace. We had a good start in the final when it really counts and from there on Niclas [Gronholm] took the lead on four new tyres. He ran fast but I managed to catch the gap to him with an early joker and pass him when he went into the joker on the last lap.
This is incredible, finally we take a win. I’m so proud of the whole team that has worked so hard for this – everyone keeps believing in what we are doing so it feels very good.
We need to stay focused though for tomorrow and the next round, fine turning both the driving and the car to try and win again.”
Kevin Hansen Hansen World RX Team – Driver #71
“It’s fantastic for the team to get a first win of the season, everyone has been working really hard on these new cars – we’ve been developing in the right direction.
Today the luck was on Timmy’s side compared to the last weekend in Spa, so it was good to see that the team could get a win today.” 
