av Webmaster | jul 1, 2018 | News
In front of a crowd of 51 600 spectators in Höljes, Johan Kristoffersson managed to repeat his grand victory from last year – yet another Magic Weekend for the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver. ”When I won my home event for the first time last year I knew that I would never forget that feeling and I wanted to feel it again” said a delighted Johan.
In perfect summer weather, Höljes once again showed itself from its best side and over 50 000 rallycross fans came to the famous track in the north of Värmland county in Sweden. Many of them came to see if the leading World RX driver Johan Kristoffersson could repeat his triumph from last year – and he definitely could!
”You really get a kick out of racing in front of these fans – even though some of them are here for the other Swedish drivers. I love this track and I love these fans. I also love this team, it’s their home event as well and a victory is special to them.”
Johan began his weekend in a brilliant way by being quickest in the first two qualifying heats, but he still felt that he had more to give.
”I didn’t think the car was absolutely perfect on Saturday, but during the second day it only got better and better. In the semis, it was just amazing.”
Johan’s Volkswagen Polo R Supercar looked like it had magnetic contact with the surface and he could get the most out of it without the slightest problem or mistake.
”I was so comfortable in the car and felt like I could just keep pushing and work with it.”
After a dominant win in the semi-final, he was in pole position in the final and was off to a great start.
”The launch worked flawlessly, I immediately flew into the lead. And with that I also got the Monster Super Charge Award. That’s something I’m extra happy for since it was my first since France last year” said Johan, who despite having five victories in six rounds this season still hasn’t been the quickest one in the start.
Now that he also nailed the start, nothing could stop the Swede. After six controlled laps he was greeted by fireworks at the finish line, which he crossed three seconds before Andreas Bakkerud.
”I felt that the tyres got a bit warm at the end, but by then I had a pretty comfortable lead. Now we scored another 30 points and yet another strong result for the championship.”
After ’The Magic Weekend’, Johan extends his lead in the Drivers’ Championship with 40 points and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden leads the Team Championship by 42 points ahead of the summer break.
av Webmaster | jun 10, 2018 | News
As the second driver ever in the history of World RX, Johan Kristoffersson scored maximum points at Norwegian Hell: quickest in all four qualifying heats, victory in the semi-final and a great triumph in the final. All in all a dominant winning weekend for the FIA World Rallycross Championship leader.
”What a fantastic weekend! Already from start I felt very comfortable with the car. It’s incredible when you really can control your car and feel like you can do whatever you want with it” said Johan.
Unlike at previous races, Johan dominated already on Saturday at the Lånke track in Norwegian Hell. Two heat wins meant overnight lead and Johan continued in the same way on Sunday. With strong starts, he could defend his position all through the remaining qualifying heats.
In the semi-final, both PSRX Volkswagen Sweden drivers, Johan and his team-mate Petter Solberg, were once again side by side in the first row. But this time without any drama. Johan drove his Polo R Supercar towards a convincing victory while Petter finished third.
The drama in the final played out in the first corner, behind Johan in the lead. Timmy Hansen took a hit, went sideways and almost hit Johan. But after escaping that drama without a scratch, Johan controlled the rest of the race. Mattias Ekström, with an early joker lap behind him, came chasing from behind but the ruling world champion had more to give and finished eighth tenths before Ekström with Petter third. The Swede secured his second straight victory on this track in front of 24.000 spectators and also the fourth win in five rounds in this year’s World RX championship.
By winning all four qualifying heats, the semi-final and the final, Johan accomplished something that only Andreas Bakkerud has done before in the World RX.
”Such a great feeling” said Johan. ”This weekend was yet another superb effort by PSRX Volkswagen Sweden. We had a strategy that worked and it is awesome to have my team-mate with me on the podium! Sweden is my home, but I live close to Norway so this victory feels very special. But at the same time, the 30 points for the championship are even more important.”
av Webmaster | maj 27, 2018 | News
Ruling world champion Johan Kristoffersson was in a class of his own when he took the victory at the first World RX ever at classic Silverstone in the UK. This was Johan’s third win in four rounds this season, which means that he is extending his championship lead.
The weekend began in the same way as it has previously this season, with a tough Saturday for Johan. The Swedish driver set a fourth and a sixth quickest time in Q1 and Q2.
”I don’t know what it is with me and Saturdays. Seems like I’ve become more of a Sunday person. But that’s ok since the final is on Sunday” said Johan.
On the day of the final, the championship leader had found the speed in his Volkswagen Polo R Supercar. 50 points in both Q3 and Q4 meant 16 qualifying points and pole position in the first semi-final. That’s when things got a bit more dramatic. An incident with team-mate Petter Solberg in the first corner made Johan crash into a pile of tyres and the race got a red flag.
”Already ahead of the semis I had a problem with the radio. I couldn’t hear the spotter. We managed to solve the issue, but it became a little stressful. And then when we reached the first corner, Petter and I hit each other and I crashed right into the barrier. That was absolutely not our plan” said Johan.
When they re-started, everything worked out according to plan for Johan. He got through the first corner without problems and could then in a controlled way secure the win in the semi-final and score another six points.
In the final, Johan’s Polo R Supercar was the quickest one in the start and after a great drive with a flawless joker lap, the ruling world champion took home his third victory in four events this season. The weekend also gave him maximum points, 30, to add to his collection.
”We had some work to do before the final, but I have the best team in the world – they were amazing! I don’t know why, but I felt like I didn’t have the right speed during the first half of the race and Andreas (Bakkerud) was just behind me. In some places it was very slippery and I had to drive really carefully and precise.”
After the dramatic semi-final and the following final, it was obviously a big relief that Johan finished on top of the podium.
”As you probably can guess, I’m so happy right now. We had a super stressful hour, but we took the victory and scored important points for PSRX Volkswagen Sweden, which is the main thing” said Johan, stating that this was maybe the toughest of all his thirteen World RX victories.
With this result, Johan extends his overall championship lead and has now 105 points – 14 points ahead of Sebastien Loeb with Andreas Bakkerud in third, 22 points behind.
av Webmaster | maj 13, 2018 | News
Johan Kristoffersson finished fifth at the third round of this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship at Circuit Jules Tacheny in Belgian Mettet. With that, he holds on to his overall championship lead, nine points ahead of Sebastien Loeb.
Johan had a tough first day in rough conditions, but still scored a fourth and a fifth place and was in fifth position overall after Saturday’s heats. In Sunday’s last two qualifying heats, the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver managed to climb in the standings by getting a second and a third place, which placed him in the first row in the semi-final.
”That’s been the thing so far this season, a tough Saturday and a better Sunday” said Johan.
He dominated his semi-final and got another six points for winning it. That result put him in pole position in the final, but in this case it wasn’t an advantage.
”It was a bit wetter than on Loeb’s side. The start wasn’t too bad, but all of a sudden I was on two wheels in the first corner. We were lucky not to roll, but when the car hit the ground again I felt that it was damaged and immediately knew that it would be difficult to go for the win” said Johan.
Instead, he had to focus on getting his Volkswagen Polo R Supercar to the finish and bring home as many points as he could in this situation.
”I really tried to reach the podium, but there was no chance and instead I dropped to fifth place. This wasn’t the perfect weekend, very rough racing and really, really tough conditions.”
Johan managed to score enough points to stay in the lead in the overall World RX championship, still with a nine points’ margin. This weekend’s winner Sebastien Loeb moved up to second place and has 66 points compared to Johans’ 75 points.
”In that way it’s like this weekend never happened since nothing changed for me in the standings. Now we just look forward to racing at Silverstone for the first time.”
av Webmaster | apr 29, 2018 | News
Just when we thought we had seen it all in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Christmas arrived to the Portugese championship round. And Johan Kristoffersson and his team PSRX Volkswagen Sweden could enjoy the best gift of them all – Johan finishing on top of the podium.
Round two of this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship wasn’t a walk in the park, but still it ended in the same way as the season premiere in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago – with Johan Kristoffersson taking the win. This was his second victory in two events and he now extends his overall lead in the drivers’ championship. His team-mate and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden owner, Petter Solberg finished third and these great results also put the team at the top of the team championship.
”What can I say? Today included just about everything! In Q3 and Q4, nothing worked that well for us, but with the crazy weather and very small time differences in the top, we knew that anything was possible. From the second row in the semi-finals, my plan was to follow the leader but after Andreas Bakkerud went wide, I took my chance and was really happy to win the heat” said Johan.
Everyone expected difficult and changing weather this weekend, but no one expected the drivers to race in a snow storm on Sunday. The patient Portugese fans didn’t mind the weather, they simply zipped up their jackets and let themselves be entertained by the performance that Johan gave in the final. Both him and the Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R Supercar were magnificent.
”When the snow started to fall for real, I wondered what would happen in the final – but eventually it all played out perfectly for us” said Johan. ”The car was great and I couldn’t be more pleased. Sure, the fight in the top gets tougher so winning two times in two rounds – and having Petter on the podium as well – is an amazing start to the season for me and the whole PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team.”
av Webmaster | apr 16, 2018 | News
Defending world champion Johan Kristoffersson and his team PSRX Volkswagen Sweden started the new season in the FIA World Rallycross Championship in the same way they finished the last one – with a victory.
”It was a tough start of the new year so taking the victory makes me really happy” said Johan. ”The competition was tough and the weekend was rough. To start with a brand new car in these conditions (on Saturday) was difficult, we struggled a lot with the grip. It was a day where you just tried to survive and to have both our PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo R Supercars was a great confirmation for the team after the hard work that they’ve done during the winter.”
The opening day of the FIA World Rallycross Championship 2018 offered grey skies and heavy rain, which made the Catalunya track in Barcelona extremely muddy and slippery. Johan still managed to claim third place after the first two qualifying heats and found himself in a great position for the remaining two heats.
On Sunday, the weather was finally sunny again and a good performance in the morning, Johan stayed in third place and moved on to the first semi-final. The race was tough and after having to fight in the first corner, Johan stroke back, passed Andreas Bakkerud after a fantastic joker lap and finished second.
It was set for a real fight in the final and a dramatic incident already in the first corner caused Johan’s team-mate Petter Solberg to crash into a pile of tyres, while Johan battled his way to second place behind Mattias Ekström. But after investigating the accident in the start, the organizers came to the decision to disqualify Ekström and the victory went to Johan instead.
”The semi-final was good and gave us a good result and position in the final. I’m really sorry for what happened to Petter in the first corner. And like I said, it’s been a tough weekend but we’re coming home with points and that’s what matters at the end of the season” said Johan.
