Johan Kristoffersson claimed an unprecedented seventh FIA World Rallycross Championship title in Istanbul today (9 November), as the Swedish superstar sealed the deal on the same day that his KMS - HORSE Powertrain team-mate Ole Christian Veiby secured his first win.
Heading into the inaugural Battle of Technologies’ season finale holding a commanding 46-point advantage over closest rival Kevin Hansen at the summit of the standings, barring a disaster, it was very much a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ Kristoffersson would get the job done – with the answer coming as early as heat two. And he did it in epic fashion.
Having bided his time behind Niclas Grönholm en route to second place in heat one, the Arvika native was in no mood to hang back again. Just fourth exiting the first corner as his electric rivals exploited their superior torque at the start, Kristoffersson followed Kevin Hansen into the joker on the opening tour, then neatly overtook his countryman – the only driver who could still deny him the championship – a lap later.
Next time around, leader Timmy Hansen darted into the joker, and what ensued were some of the most exciting few corners in recent rallycross memory as the 2019 world champion, Grönholm and Kristoffersson went three-abreast for honours – bringing back memories of a similarly frenetic Turkish tussle in 2015. After despatching Grönholm, the Volkswagen driver fought his way grittily past Hansen on the penultimate lap – and from there on in, the result was never in doubt.
Kristoffersson’s success replicated that of Formula 1 hero Lewis Hamilton, who also clinched his seventh FIA world championship crown at Istanbul Park Circuit in 2020.
“What a race to win the championship – simply unbelievable!” the 35-year-old reflected. “It was so much fun. Big thanks to all of our partners, designers, mechanics, engineers and my team-mate. Everybody has done a fantastic job and we’ve had a flawless year.
“We have so many good people in this team and we came into the season well-prepared with a reliable car that has been very easy to drive. Seven world championship titles – it’s going to take some time for this to sink in. Just wow!”
With mission accomplished, Kristoffersson played the team game at the semi-final stage by backing up the chasing pack to enable Veiby to win, thereby propelling the Norwegian – who had languished at the very bottom of the Ranking following the heats – onto the front row of the grid for the final.
Having struggled with his starts all day, just when he needed it most, Veiby produced a textbook getaway in his sustainably-fuelled, internal combustion-engined VW Polo KMS 601 RX to out-drag pole-sitter Kevin Hansen away from the line. With all of the action thereafter happening in his rear-view mirrors, the 28-year-old didn’t put so much as a wheel out-of-place, as his 13th podium finish in World RX marked his breakthrough triumph. Lucky for some.
“The day didn’t begin too well when Kevin [Hansen] and I fought a bit too much in the heats, but I got some help from Johan [Kristoffersson] in the semi-final and nailed the launch in the final,” Veiby reflected. “I told myself before that race, ‘come on, it’s time now – you have to win this one!’
“Our pace was really good and the KMS boys kept me calm over the radio, and I want to thank everybody in the team for working flat-out for so long – we’ve been hunting this result for three years and came close last time out in Portugal. It feels amazing to finally get it!”
Behind Veiby, CE Dealer Team’s Grönholm snatched the runner-up spoils – for the third time in 2024 – with Kevin Hansen rounding out the rostrum to consolidate second spot in the title table. He took the chequered flag behind Kristoffersson, but the newly-crowned champion was subsequently relegated to sixth for failing to joker following a miscommunication – a rare error by KMS in an otherwise almost blemish-free campaign.
