Mattias Ekström put in a great shift at Hockenheim to claim the win of the second round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Even more impressive when you factor in he was also competing in a DTM Championship race in the same weekend. His teammate Toomas Heikkinen had an impressive start - winning the Monster Energy Super Charge Award - and led for the majority of the race before Ekström pounced from second place after a well executed joker lap.
Commenting on the victory, Ekström said: “I’ve never been happier in my entire life – to win in World RX and now in front of my loyal DTM fans is a dream come true,” said Ekstrom who is tied at the top of the World RX drivers’ standings alongside Petter Solberg [48 points]. “Topi is a great racer, he certainly made it tough for me! I had my opportunity at the Joker Lap and I managed to take it a smooth line ahead of Topi. What an amazing day but it’s not over yet as now it’s time for DTM!”
The one-two finish for the EKS team Audi S1 drivers puts Ekström in 2nd place with 48 points and Heikkinen in 3rd place with 45 points. Petter Solberg remains top of the pile but he had car troubles once again as his Citroen's engine stalled on day one, leading to a DNF in qualifying 4. He was not alone though, Timmy Hansen's 208 caught alight and it looked like he could be out for the rest of the weekend.
Miraculously though, his car was back on the mend in very little time and he was able to qualify for the semi-final after giving a great drive in qualifying 4. Or so he thought, after the repairs the car was 18kg lighter, this led to disqualification which meant that Hoonigan Racing driver Ken Block was able to creep into the semi-finals.
Ken Block had a solid race in the final and gained himself a podium place finished 3rd after the two EKS drivers. His podium place puts him in 12th place overall with a score of 13 points, leaving him with a bit of catching up to do.
The full weekend was awash with action and provided a great advert of what the World RX Championship is able to offer as s motorsport. Johan Kristoffersson was very unlucky not to reach the final after he produced a valiant effort on three tyres but came 4th after leading for most of the second semi-final.
However, this opened the door for British driver Liam Doran to win the race despite having a smaller, 1.6 litre engine in his Mini. The Brit went on to come 5th in the final, ahead of Robin Larrson who rolled his Audi A1 in a cloud of smoke but he was able to finish the race, coming in at 6th place. Petter Solberg could only muster 4th place meaning that he missed out on the podium and has Ekström right behind in the championship standings.
The championship moves on to Belgium and will take place between the 13th and 15th May. If you fancy watching the action you can do so on TV channel Quest at 13:00 on the 15th.