Kristoffersson at GP3R, Speed in ARX, Jeanney plots World return

4 August The Estonian Ralycross Championship returned to Kehala for its fifth event of the year. Back in June, Mitsubish driver Ain Laiverik had a huge roll at the venue. This time he again managed to get his Evo 6 on its roof, but in a much more gentle accident from which he recovered to place third in the event. 

The winner was Raini Roomets (Skoda) who took the lead from top qualifier Andri Oun in the first lap. Oun slipped to third but repassed Laiverik in lap four to place second and keep his points lead over Roomets. Janno Ligur (Skoda) took the Super1600 victory ahead of series points leader Andre Kurg’s similar car and the Peugeot 206 of Mihkel Varhul. Rommi Pukk (BMW 120) won in TouringCar but second place for Margo Soomets (Fiesta Mk6) kept him ahead in the championship.

4 August ARX2 competitors ran a double-header schedule within the World RX event at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (GP3R), so the second round of their championship was completed on Saturday. Travis PeCoy was top qualifier but lost out to Christian Brooks in the first semi-final. The pair of them were trumped by Conner Martel who qualified second, won semi two and then bagged the final. Brooks was second from PeCoy with series debutant Cabot Bigham fourth.

5 August Steve Otzer (Citroen Saxo) became the Belgian Super1600 champion after winning the fifth round of the seven-event championship at Maasmechelen.

Kristoff Bex (Volvo S40) won the over 2000cc Supernational category, leading home the similar car of Luc Maris and Steve Volders’ Fiesta. Martijn Vanhove (BMW 120) won the up to 2000cc class. The event was also visited by the British Minicross class in which George Edwardes beat the evergreen Richard Wakeling.

5 August World RX resumed after its summer break with the annual visit to GP3R, the fifth time the series has appeared in Canada. By his own exceptional standard, points leader Johan Kristoffersson had a mare on Saturday, ending the first day in ninth place as Sebastien Loeb bagged a pair of qualifying victories. Kristoffersson was fastest twice on Sunday, Loeb 12th in Q3 after a clash with Mattias Ekstrom, and sixth in Q4. Kristoffersson won semi one, but Loeb lost out in semi two as Timmy Hansen went ahead, and he then dropped second place with a last lap off in which Janis Baumanis progressed from third to second. Kristoffersson won again in the final, his sixth victory of the year. Hansen and Loeb completed the podium, on which Baumanis also appeared as winner of the Monster Energy Supercharge award for fastest reaction at the start of the final.

RX2 joined World RX at GP3R and Oliver Eriksson was the man to beat. Guillaume De Ridder was fastest in Q1, but thereafter it was Eriksson’s show as the young Swede won the remaining qualifiers, his semi and the final. Conner Martell (driving in both ARX2 and RX2) crashed while challenging Eriksson for the lead. De Ridder placed second with American youngster Cole Keatts taking his best result to date with a fine third place.

The third ARX event of the year was also on the GP3R bill. On the face of it a Scott Speed walkover, the field was perhaps closer than ever with Ken Block (Ford Focus) and Patrik Sandell (Subaru WRX) both in great form. Speed’s VW team mate Tanner Foust was out of luck and on the back foot after crashing out of Q2 and retiring from Q4. Speed led Foust home in both semi one and the final, Block beat Sandell in semi two and placing third in the final.

The hard working ARX2 racers completed round three on Sunday with Martell repeating his win of the previous day. Brooks was again second with third place taken by Alex Keyes.

8 August Former French champion and double World RX event winner Davy Jeanney announces that he will drive a Pailler Competition Peugeot 208 at World RX of France in Loheac next month. The Frenchman will drive the 2016 208 that Pailler has recently acquired from Peugeot.

8 August The entry lists for World RX of France are published and reveal that the event is oversubscribed in all three FIA championships present (World, Euro Supercar and Super1600) – the first time that this has happened. Among those making the cut for the entry are World RX irregulars Timo Scheider and Andrew Jordan, and double European Super1600 champion Krisztian Szabo who will make his Euro Supercar debut with EKS.

Pics: rallikross.ee / Johan Dingenen / arxrallycross.com / Hal Ridge / fiaworldrallycross.com / @DavyJeanney /