WorldRX Montalegre 2018

In the past weeekend, on the mountainous track in Portugal, the next round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship – WorldRX Montalegre took place. We watched all the races with excitement. We invite you to a short summary!

Montalegre RX 2018 training

The PSRX Volkswagen Sweden drivers won the training at Pista Automóvel de Montalegre twice. Petter Solberg, winner of the World RX of Portugal in 2014 and 2016, overtook Johann Kristoffersson by 0,017.

Times during training:
1. Petter Solberg (N) Volkswagen Polo R – 37,725
2. Johan Kristoffersson (S) Volkswagen Polo R – 37.742
3. Mattias Ekström (S) Audi S1 –  ​​37,813
4. Timmy Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 – 37.940
5. Sébastien Loeb (F) Peugeot 208 – 38.090
6. Kevin Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 – 38.101
7. Jānis Baumanis (LV) Ford Fiesta – 38,201
8. Timur Timercians (RUS) Ford Fiesta – 38.299
9. Niclas Grönholm (FIN) Hyundai i20 – 38.325
10. Guerlain Chicherit (F) Renault Mégane RS – 38,351

Montalegre RX 2018 qualification

In this way, the point rate was presented after all qualifying races. Andreas Bakkerud showed up on a really great side, dominating qualifying races.

1. Andreas Bakkerud (N) Audi S1 ​​- 178
2. Sébastien Loeb (F) Peugeot 208-172
3. Mattias Ekström (S) Audi S1 ​​- 166
4. Timmy Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 – 166
5. Johan Kristoffersson (S) Volkswagen Polo R – 165
6. Petter Solberg (N) Volkswagen Polo R – 161
7. Kevin Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 – 143
8. Kevin Eriksson (S) Ford Fiesta – 139
9. Niclas Grönholm (FIN) Hyundai i20 – 139
10. Jānis Baumanis (LV) Ford Fiesta – 136
11. Guerlain Chicherit (F) Renault Mégane RS – 136
12. Timur Timeranov (RUS) Ford Fiesta – 135

Montalegre semi-finals 2018

Guerlain Chicherit reached the World RX final for the first time, eliminating Mattiasa Ekström, last year’s winner from Montalegre. Along with the driver Mégane, Johan Kristoffersson and Andreas Bakkerud advanced from the first semi-final.

On the penultimate lap of the second semi-final, Timmy Hansen overtook the leading Sébastien Loeb. Petter Solberg was at the start, but he saved the third place, pushing the Peugeot at the finish. Jānis Baumanis collided with Kevin Eriksson. They competed on slicks with rain and snow falling.

SEMIFINAL 1
1. Johan Kristoffersson (S) Volkswagen Polo R 3.59,048
2. Andreas Bakkerud (N) Audi S1 ​​+1,571
3. Guerlain Chicherit (F) Renault Mégane RS +3.332
4. Mattias Ekström (S) Audi S1 ​​+3,832
5. Niclas Grönholm (FIN) Hyundai i20 +4,141
6. Kevin Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 -6 circle

SEMIFINAL 2
1. Timmy Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 4.14.812
2. Sébastien Loeb (F) Peugeot 208 + 0.398
3. Petter Solberg (N) Volkswagen Polo R + 0,774
4. Jānis Baumanis (LV) Ford Fiesta +4,957
5. Kevin Eriksson (S) Ford Fiesta +5,455
6. Timur Timerianien (RUS) Ford Fiesta +10,491

The Montalegre RX 2018 final

The competition in the final World RX race on the track in Portugal took place at a temperature close to 0 ° C and a gusty wind combined with a raging snowstorm. The competitors sometimes had extremely limited visibility in their cars. Timmy Hansen, the pole-positioner who hit the barriers on the fourth lap, practically “convinced” the last place in the race. Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen) to win the inaugural season in Spain, he won the second round of the World RX in Montalegre. The second place was taken by Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) who fought to the very end. This is the eleventh victory of the Swede in the World RX, third in a row, the second in this year – the ninth in the last 11 rounds.

1. Johan Kristoffersson (S) Volkswagen Polo R 4.16,859
2. Sébastien Loeb (F) Peugeot 208 +2,253
3. Petter Solberg (N) Volkswagen Polo R +3,938
4. Andreas Bakkerud (N) Audi S1 ​​+6,642
5. Guerlain Chicherit (F) Renault Mégane RS +9.566
6. Timmy Hansen (S) Peugeot 208 + 21.244

After the competition in Barcelona and Montalegre, the World RX leader is Johan Kristoffersson. VW driver accumulated 53 points – 9 more than Andreas Bakkerud and 10 more than Petter Solberg. The next World RX round will take place on May 12-13 in Belgium.

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Photo credit: FIAWorldRallycross.com