For the fourth time in his career, Swedish motorist Johann Kristoferson has become the FIA World Rallycross Champion. In the breathtaking final of the World RX of Germany, he managed to keep behind his main rival, Timmy Hansen, who scored the same number of points.
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The winner of the final stage of the 2021 season was Nicholas Gronholm. Meanwhile, the title went to the Hansen World RX Team.
Christopher won the double round of the World RX stage at the Nürburgring, with Christoferson winning on Saturday in cold and wet weather with even icing on the road. As a result, Christopher drastically reduced his points deficit against Hansen, who was in the lead all season. As before the day before, on Sunday the stage took place on a cool and wet track. The mud created by the cars on the gravel surface made it difficult for the drivers to follow, closely following the competitors ahead.
In the first qualifying race, the two leading riders of the season, Timijs Hansen and Johann Christoferson, started different races. Avoiding unnecessary problems, after a great start, Christopher achieved the best result in the overall standings, but Hansen remained in second place. Hungarian Christian Sabo became the closest follower of the two Swedish drivers. He beat both teammate Niklas Gronholm and Saturday’s finalist Enzo Idi on his trip. Timi Hansen’s younger brother Kevin started the day not very well. In the first turns, starting from the outside, Hansen caught Tamasa Karai’s Audi S1. It turned in front of Hansen, making both athletes waste a lot of time. Kevin Hansen finished tenth in the overall standings after a 2-second penalty.
The second qualifier began with a clash between Oliver O’Donavan and Tamas Karai. Kevin Hansen was the first to cross the finish line, but the winner of the next race, Enzo Ide, completed four laps on the Nürburgring. Johann Christopher did not get off to a good start. Until the first turn, he got behind Timi Hansen and started a fight with Christian Sabo. After a great recovery, Christopher closely followed Hansen and tried to threaten his compatriot’s position. The two lost some time in the fight, but were able to keep Sabo behind. In the overall standings, Hansen failed to beat Idoff, a member of Christopher’s team – the Belgian motorist was surprised by winning the second qualifying round.
Christopher took revenge in the final qualifying race of the season. Hansen’s two brothers followed him, but Christopher’s position was not threatened. Timm Hansen was third in the overall standings after Niklas Gronholm.
Thanks to an excellent qualifying, Gronholm secured the first starting line for the semi-finals. In terms of qualifications, the Finn ranked fourth after Johann Christofferson, Timi Hansen and Enzo Ide. Saturday’s hero Jurijs Beļevskis reached the seventh place in the competition of 13 riders, convincingly qualifying for the semi-finals.
There was no lack of drama in both semi-final rounds. For the first time this year, Christian Sabo was left without a final. The Hungarian was ousted in the first turn after contact with Enzo Idi and Yuri Belevsky. Johann Christoferson finished in the first place in the first place, but his teammate Enzo Ide and the Frenchman Gerlen Schischer, who had not ridden in the world championship before this season in Germany, also entered the finals.
Timij Hansen and Nicholas Gronholm, who started from the first row, collided in the second semi-final. As a result of the contact, Gronholm slipped and continued his journey to the last place. Kevin Hansen did not try to jeopardize the position of his older brother and teammate. After six great laps, Gronholm was able to climb to third place and reach the final. The judges found Hansen guilty in the collision and sentenced him to 7 seconds, dropping Timmy from first to third.
Before the last race of the season, Hansen had only one point over Christopher in the overall standings. The two Hansen brothers got off to a great start – Kevin came ahead of Christopher, but Timmy, who started from the third row, rose to several positions and was right behind his main competitor. Unexpectedly, the two main contenders for the championship title already completed the joker lap in the first lap, this time giving Christopher an advantage – his main competitor Timi Hansen now had to overtake Christopher on the track. Although Kevin Hansen tried to brake Christopher during the trip, Thyme’s speed was not enough this time, and Christopher’s superiority had to be acknowledged. In addition, as in Portugal, the leaders’ fights and lost time on the track provided a great opportunity for Niklas Gronholm, who won a convincing victory.
“Our goal was to win at least one race. We succeeded. The speed at the weekend was good, but this is a rallycross. Being the fastest is not always the determining factor. Anything can happen. In the semi-finals and finals we saw contacts in the very first turn. “My prospects didn’t look brilliant, but in the end I managed to achieve my expectations,” says the winner of the competition, Nicolas Gronholm.
Christopher crossed the finish line in third and Timius Hansen in fourth. In the overall standings of the season, they both scored the same number of points, but Johann Christofferson was crowned world champion for the fourth time in his career, thanks to more victories during the season.
“Crazy, crazy! What about the final! Quite unbelievable! We arrived this weekend with 17 points, but we ended the season with the same number of points. It will take a long time to feel what happened. Visibility was very poor, there was fog in the car, wipers “The ride of the final was a difficult one, but now I have so many thoughts in my mind.
Christopher was not the only champion crowned at the Nürburgring. In the very first season of the RX2e, Belgium’s Guillain de Rider finished off the season with a stunning victory, while his main rival, Jesse Kallio, was able to compete for second place after finishing in the first round of the final. Pablo Suaress was able to show his best performance at the right moment by climbing to the third step of the podium.
In the overall standings of the 2021 season of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Johann Christoferson won first place with 217 points, and Timijs Hansen also finished second with 217 points. Niklas Gronholm, the winner of the last stage, was 20 points behind the champion, six points ahead of Kevin Hansen.
Stability and speed, demonstrated by both Hansen World RX Team members Timmy Hansen and Kevin Hansen during the season, allowed the Swedish team to win the title.
