Hansens awarded. McConnell in RX2. Dubourg leads Andros. Return for Kristoffersson?

18 January    The Swedish ASN hosts its annual Bilsportgalan at which the achievements of the Hansen brothers are recognised and awarded. FIA World Rallycross Champion Timmy Hansen was Sportsman of the year and Kevin Hansen was Youth driver of the year. Kenneth Hansen was also recognised with a special award and an SBF ‘Gold Wheel’.

18 January    Tristan Ovenden (Renault Clio V6) wins the third round of the Lydden Winter Series. The local driver and three time British Supernational champion dominated the event, winning all three qualifying races and the over 1600cc two-wheel drive final before going on to win the Superfinal. Fred Ling (Fiesta) was the closest challenger but retired from the final. Bradley Sampson (Mitsubishi Lancer) was second to Ovenden at the end of the day with John Cross taking third place in his Retro Rallycross Lancia Stratos replica. Tomasz Wielgosz (Peugeot 106) won the uptown 1600cc class, Cross was best of the Classic & Retro field and Tom Ovenden (Suzuki Swift) won the Junior class.

19 January    JB Dubourg takes the Trophy Andros points lead after a consistent even in Serre Chevalier, the fourth weekend of racing in 2019-2020 series. Dubourg (Renault Zoe) placed second in the first day or racing in the Hautes Alpes and followed that with third on Sunday to move ahead of Aurelian panic (Audi) in the title race. The Sunday event also brought a victory for Dubourg’s DA Racing teammate Nicolas Prost who is fifth in the championship. Andreas Bakkerud placed fourth and fifth during the weekend and former European rallycross Champion Eddy Benezet gained his first Elite class victory on Sunday. The series moves on to Lans-en-Vercors this weekend.

21 January    RallyX Nordic announces that double Crosskart champion Nils Andersson will step up to the Supercar Lites category of the series. The 20-year-old Swede, who is mentored by double World RX Champion Johan Kristoffersson, relishes his new challenge. “I’m really excited to drive in rallycross this year – it’s what I have been dreaming of since I was a small boy. I know I’m in for a big challenge, being new in a class up against many drivers with years of experience, but one of the main things I like about the Supercar Lites concept is that everybody has the same car at their disposal. That pushes drivers to really develop their skills – every last detail is important,” he said.

21 January    Fraser McConnell will return to the RX2 series in 2020. The Jamaican star won the ARX2 title last year in only his second year of rallycross, and is now set for a shot at the RX2 crown having laid solid foundations in the championship in which he placed third in 2019. The results catapulted McConnell to prominence in Jamaica where he had a meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness – with whom he discussed his international rallycross experience and efforts to continue putting the island nation on the global motor sport map – he was celebrated as Senior Sportsman of the Year at the FIA Americas Awards and Sportsman of the Year for Motorsports by RJR, the largest media house in Jamaica. “I didn’t have any expectations last year. I didn’t know any of the tracks – the only prior information I had was either from YouTube or video games – so it inevitably took me a little while to get fully up-to-speed, and if you’re playing catch-up in rallycross, you’re not going to be able to fight for the win. One of my major personal focuses this season is to make sure I’m more mentally ready for the challenge … adjusting to different time zones and dealing with the associated jetlag – plus juggling my racing commitments with my college studies. It’s a pretty intense schedule and a big commitment to make, but I’ve devoted a lot of time over the winter to preparing myself,” said McConnell who also hopes to add some Supercar outings in the RallyX Nordic series to his RX2 campaign.

22 January    Former FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson reveals that he is working on a possible return to rallycross in 2020. Talking to Motorsport.com Kristoffersson said that he would favour a possibility in which he could assist a team to develop: “I think just to be able to get a job, if you just want to go somewhere with your helmet, fly in and fly out, there are some options. But I would like to be a bit more involved than that. If you want to do something that is really good, there is maybe only two or three options,” he said. Kristoffersson finished fifth in the 2019 WTCR season but was left without a drive after Volkswagen’s withdrawal. In a clear reference the difficult season he experienced in 2019 he added: “I really like rallycross. The regulations are quite open so you can do a lot of things and make a difference as a driver. And in rallycross there is no extra weight, no weight penalties, no BoP… this is what I really like.” KMS Racing, the team Kristoffersson runs with his father Tommy will be involved with the FIA European Rallycross Championship running a VW Polo for Sondre Evjen. Kristoffersson is also slated to mentor Crosskart champ Nils Andersson in Supercar Lites this year (see above).

23 January   The British Rallycross Championship announces that Ollie O’Donovan (Ford Fiesta), Steve Hill (Mitusbishi Lancer E10) and Roger Thomas (Ford Fiesta) will all race their Supercars in the BRX 5 Nations Trophy in 2020. This in addition to the participation of Tristan Ovenden (Citroen DS3) who has already confirmed that he would graduate from the Supernational category.

Also    As there’s no video in the news this week, here’s a bit of classic action featuring Kenneth Hansen, who stars in the first item above. And if you want to see more of him down the years there’s several hours worth here.