WRX
17 Jun 2019
Credit: Tom Banks/World RX Media
Niclas Gronholm won on his return to the World Rallycross championship, inheriting the victory after Anton Marklund was excluded for a technical infringement.
Marklund’s win on-the-road was not only his first win in the category, but it was the first for GCK and its Prodrive-built Renault Megane supercar. However, during post-race scrutineering the support for the front bumper was found to be too thick, contravening safety regulations.
What’s more Kevin Hansen, who finished second on the road, was also demoted for an incident with Gronholm in what was reminiscent of the season opener in Abu Dhabi where Hansen was handed his maiden win after the Hyundai driver forced his way past on track.
As well as the shuffled order in the final, a number of big-name drivers failed to make it past the semi-final stage after rain hit the track after the conclusion of qualifying.
Timo Scheider was caught out in a start incident with Guerlain Chicherit in the first semi-final which caused him to retire. In the same race Timur Timerzyanov showed strong pace but dropped behind both Kevin Abbring and Janis Baumanis late on to miss out on a final berth.
In the second semi-final, championship leader Timmy Hansen made a poor start which left him playing catch-up for the whole race – he was passed late on by his brother Kevin. Andreas Bakkerud also struggled at the start, and was later jumped by Liam Doran and Marklund who both took the joker on the first lap.
Extreme conditions shuffled up the order on Sunday – Credit: Tom Banks/World RX Media
In what was an action-packed final, series debutante Abbring led for much of the six-lap contest.
The World Rally Championship regular made a good start from the second row of the grid to pass Gronholm early on. Meanwhile Doran, Marklund, and Baumanis opted to take the joker on the first lap to get some clear air.
The strategy looked to be a strong one, because although Abbring looked to be dominating up front, with him yet to joker it was actually Doran in fourth place who was in the strongest position to win.
However, the Brit’s chances of a maiden World RX win were dashed on the penultimate lap when he pulled of the track. With Abbring jokering on lap five and Gronholm and Hansen taking the longer route on the final lap, that handed a clear lead to Marklund, who was unchallenged for the final run round the 0.6 mile course.
Gronholm, who was aggressively passed by Hansen at the start, spent much of the race starring at the back of the Swede’s Puegeot unable to find a way back past on track. Meanwhile Baumanis, who had a relatively quiet race, led home Abbring and Doran.
The heavily-revised result puts Gronholm in first place, ahead of Hansen, Baumanis, and Abbring. Doran was classified fifth, despite his technical issues, and Marklund’s penalty dropped him from classification entirely.
Kevin Abbring starred on his World RX debut – Credit: Tom Banks/World RX Media
| 1. | Niclas Gronholm | 04:35.753 | ||
| 2. | Kevin Hansen | 04:35.097 (+ 1 sec) | ||
| 3. | Janis Baumanis | 04:36.570 | ||
| 4. | Kevin Abbring | 04:38.165 | ||
| 5. | Liam Doran | 04:56.515 | ||
| DSQ. | Anton Marklund | 04:32.385 |
Despite missing out on the final, Timmy Hansen continues to lead the championship by one point from Kevin Hansen. Bakkerud and Baumanis also hold station in the points, while Gronholm, who missed the previous two rounds because of a bout of appendicitis, moves up to fifth.
| Timmy Hansen | 107 |
| Kevin Hansen | 106 |
| Andreas Bakkerud | 92 |
| Janis Baumanis | 79 |
| Niclas Gronholm | 78 |
| Timur Timerzyanov | 78 |
| Liam Doran | 74 |
| Timo Scheider | 64 |
| Krisztian Szabo | 55 |
| Anton Marklund | 52 |
| Guerlain Chicherit | 46 |
| Cyril Raymond | 45 |
| Joni Wiman | 39 |
| Kevin Abbring | 18 |
| Rokas Baciuska | 15 |
| Oliver Bennett | 13 |
| Guillaume De Ridder | 13 |
| Jani Paasonen | 8 |
| Mark Higgins | 2 |
| Herve Knapick | 0 |
Gronholm’s win comes after he lost a win following a post-race decision in Abu Dhabi – Credit: Tom Banks/World RX Media
