World RX – Grönholm triumphs in intelligence at Montalegre

How to win a World Championship event rallycross (World RX) when you lack speed? You have to use the joker round wisely. This is what Niclas Grönholm (Hyundai) this Sunday October 17 in Montalegre (Portugal).

The son of Marcus Grönholm could intrinsically aim for a fourth place, behind the Peugeot 208 of the Hansen brothers and the Audi A1 of Johan Kristoffersson. But the Finn took the joker lap from the start of the Final, thus being able to ride with a clear track while the leading trio bickered at the front.

Niclas Grönholm's other success came when Johan Kristoffersson attempted an abortive attack on leader Timmy Hansen. Cadet Kevin Hansen then sent his compatriot out of bounds, without being able to overtake him. The outgoing world champion was penalized five seconds for cutting the circuit.

The GRX's Hyundai i20 was thus able to overtake the leading group at the start of the last lap, after moving to the joker lap. This is Niclas Grönholm's second victory this year after the round in Riga (Latvia).

" That feels good ! I had a good start, then I immediately chose the joker round and thanks to the fight in front of me, I was able to catch up. I made a few mistakes but I focused on keeping my pace,” rejoiced the winner.

In the general classification, the loser of this penultimate stage is Johan Kristoffersson, who is now 14 points behind Timmy Hansen. But with a double final leader expected on the new Nürburgring track (Germany, November 27-28), the top 5 can still claim the crown.

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