World Championship heats up at Lydden
The AUTOSPORT World RX of Great Britain, round two of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy, got underway at Lydden Hill Race Circuit today with Andreas Bakkerud heading the field after the first run of heats.
Two Supercar heats for each driver, totalling 16 contests across an action-packed day, were held in mixed conditions as bright sunshine and heavy rain took turns to show their hand.
A stunning spectacle of cars from marques including Ford, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Citroen and Audi wowed the crowds, with stars like former WRC Champion Petter Solberg, Formula Drift Champion Tanner Foust and reigning BTCC Champion Andrew Jordan among the driver talent on show.
It was Bakkerud who topped the times in the first heats in his Olsberg MSE Ford Fiesta ST, enjoying a near second advantage over Toomas Heikkinen’s VW Polo, whilst Russian Timur Timerzyanov pipped Foust into third.
With a record 37 Supercars in the ultra-competitive field and only 12 semi-final places on offer, there is little room for error across the four scheduled heats, which both Solberg and wildcard entry Jordan realised early on.
Both were left on the cusp in 11th and 12th after frustrating moments in their opening races. Solberg had to complete a stellar comeback after stalling off the line, whilst Jordan faced problems at the end of his contest when a puncture lost him time on the run to the finish line.
The duo really showed their class in the run of second heats, however, as Solberg’s Citroen led home Jordan’s Ford, with both surging up the overall order as a result into fourth and eighth respectively.
“The first one was really disappointing as I’m sure we could have been in the top six but the puncture dropped us to 11th,” said Jordan, who was celebrating his 25th birthday today. “That said I dodged a bullet as it only happened on the final lap. The second heat though was a good race. My target was always to make the top 12 and thus qualify for the semi finals – so overall it has been a good day.”
Solberg – winner of the opening round of the exciting new World RX in Portugal earlier this month – was equally happy to have stormed up the timesheets in the afternoon, saying, “It’s a balancing act between speed and caution out there. I would have been happy with a top six today so to be in fourth makes me very, very happy because there are a hell of a lot of quick drivers out there - that’s the great thing about rallycross!”
Bakkerud was delighted to have held on to the top spot overall despite losing nearly three seconds to Solberg in his second run.
"So far so good and I feel confident,” claimed the Norwegian star. “We are up there fighting and leading which feels good, but the competition is really hard. One silly mistake and you drop six places down the leaderboard. It makes the whole game very interesting as it’s never been this close before. Let’s see how we go tomorrow.”
Super consistent Foust holds second ahead of Heikkinen and the aforementioned Solberg. “The car is great to drive,” enthused Faust - host of the US version of Top Gear. “The fact just tenths of a second are separating the top ten after four laps is unbelievable and just shows the incredible depth of the field there is here - I feel fortunate to be in second spot.”
Arguably the star of the show was the debuting Audi R1 of Robin Larsson who set the fifth fastest time in heat one before improving to third at the next time of asking. The Swede currently holds fifth position overall.
Aside from the impressive Jordan there were mixed results for the other Britons in the field. Andy Scott hauled his Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 to a heat victory in the afternoon session, and in turn fired himself into 12th in the overnight standings and in with a genuine chance of making the semi finals.
There is unlikely to be such joy for X Games medallist Liam Doran, however, who unfortunately suffered heartache in both of his showdowns. The LD Motorsports racer was penalised after jumping the start in heat one, before mechanical gremlins slowed his car in the second contest.
Doran wasn’t the only high profile driver to face dramatic exits from the top order as Tommy Rustad crashed his ultra-quick Volvo late on, whilst Anton Marklund’s VW Polo spluttered across the line in the same heat having run in the top six early on.
With two heats remaining tomorrow morning and just fractions covering the top order there will be a high-speed scramble to make the semi-finals, from which the top three drivers in each will go on to contest the final. A huge crowd is expected to descend on the legendary Kent circuit tomorrow to witness history in the making and see the ‘champions league’ of Rallycross unfold.
Access to Lydden is via the A2 only – not via the local villages surrounding the circuit – with a special traffic flow system in place. To assist flow into the venue extra entrance booths have been created and these will be open from 05.30. Tickets are also available on the gate priced at £30. Accompanied children aged 12 and under are admitted free.
AUTOSPORT World RX of Great Britain (Classification after two of four heats)
1.Andreas Bakkerud (Nor) Ford Fiesta ST 88 points
2.Tanner Foust (USA) VW Polo 85
3.Toomas Heikkinen (Fin) VW Polo 84
4.Petter Solberg Nor) Citroen DS3 82
5.Robin Larsson (Swe) Audi A1 81
6.Timur Timerzyanov (Rus) Peugeot 208 77
7.Timmy Hansen (Swe) Peugeot 208 74
8.Andrew Jordan (GBR) Ford Fiesta ST 73
Others:
12. Andy Scott (GBR) Peugeot 208 58
28. Liam Doran (GBR) Citroen DS3 31
29. Julian Godfrey (GBR) Ford Fiesta 31
Top 12 qualify for semi-finals