Timmy Hansen overhauls Kevin Hansen to top round eight qualifying

Timmy Hansen overhauled brother Kevin Hansen to top qualifying for round eight of the 2019 TitansRX season at the MJP Arena in Austria.

Kevin Hansen won both his Q1 and Q2 heat races, setting the fastest times of the day in both rounds, and looked set to continue that run in Q3 until an electrical problem forced him to retire from the lead. The retirement in Q3 meant that he ended qualifying fifth overall.

Behind the table-topping Timmy Hansen was round seven top qualifier Topi Heikkinen, who had a consistent morning, but didn’t win a heat race.

Andrew Jordan was third after taking a brace of heat wins in convincing fashion in Q2 and Q3. Jerome Grosset-Janin claimed fourth despite a mechanical issue slowing him down considerably in Q3.

Oliver Webb scooped sixth after a strong run in Q3 which launched him from the fringes of the transfer spots to a comfortable top-10 spot. Webb beat Tamara Molinaro and Craig Breen, who had a dramatic morning.

Breen was on target for a comfortable heat win in Q2 until a fire on the final lap forced him to retire. Breen’s Pantera RX6 picked up exhaust damage going over the first jump which caused the bodywork to ignite later on in the lap.

The World Rally Championship regular bounced back to put in another dominant performance in Q3 to win and lock himself into the semi-finals.

Fellow rallying star Hayden Paddon will also advance after finishing ninth. The New Zealander had his fair share of troubles in qualifying – he retired from his Q3 race after contact with Heikkinen on the opening lap.

Abbie Eaton completed the top-10, despite picking up heavy damage in Q1. While battling with Perry McCarthy the pair made contact and Eaton hit the wall as a result. The race was red flagged but Eaton was able to not only make the restart, but continue for the rest of the morning and advance through to the semi-finals.

Andreas Steffen and McCarthy were the final two drivers to qualify for the semi-finals, finishing qualifying in 11th and 12th respectively.

‚CsuCsu‘ ended the morning in 13th after he retired in Q3 with a gear linkage problem. Reini Sampl and Ronny C’Rock also failed to advance – Sampl didn’t make the grid for the restart of the second Q1 race after his clutch cable broke, while Ronny C’Rock’s day ended during Q1 after contact damaged the water supply to his engine.

TitansRX round eight qualifying results