World RX – Kristoffersson wins in Mettet

Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen) scored his first victory of the World RX season in Mettet (Belgium) on the Jules Tacheny circuit, ending the series of victories of Mattias Ekström (Audi) undefeated in the discipline since the start of the year .

The PSRX Team Sweden rider, who won three of the four qualifying heats, lost in the semi-final to Timmy Hansen (Peugeot ) when he started from pole but managed to regain the advantage in the final to win ahead of the Peugeot driver.

His teammate Petter Solberg completed the podium. The three-time world champion had the best start but the Norwegian then made a mistake. Returning to the track, the two-time World RX champion collided with Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Focus). The Hoonigan Racing driver retired after hitting the wall.

Mattias Ekström failed to reach the podium and is now only 3 points ahead of Johan Kristoffersson at the top of the Championship. Kevin Eriksson (Ford) completed the top five in the final.

Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot) finished last in his semi-final after spinning following contact with Kevin Eriksson. The nine-time world champion was still able to qualify but his car was too damaged to qualify.

Jean-Baptiste Dubourg (Peugeot) finished in 18th place, two places ahead of his compatriot Guerlain Chicherit (Renault). Grégoire Demoustier (Peugeot) finished second to last.

Discover the World RX report in issue 2114 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.