Solid points haul puts Hansen 1-2 in World RX Drivers‘ Championship

A challenging first visit to Spa-Francorchamps for the World RX of Belgium gave mixed emotions for Team Hansen MJP. While Kevin Hansen missed out on a berth in the Final by less than a tenth of a second – colliding with Liam Doran mid-air while crossing the finish line – Timmy turned in a brillaint recovery drive in his Semi Final to make the Final and finish fourth overall.

A repeat of Barcelona, where a Hansen car topped every session on the way to a one-two finish in the Final, was always unlikely to be reproduced, though Timmy and Kevin’s pace was still very much on show. Timmy won his heat in Q1 but ultimately was only sixth quickest, while Kevin bogged down off the line and finished 10th. It was then 8th and 10th for Kevin and Timmy respectively in Q2, as trademark Ardennes rainfall made conditions very tricky.

Both Kevin and Timmy ended up in the same heat for Q3, with Kevin showing some great speed after a slow launch to go second fastest, even passing Timmy at the end of the second lap. Meanwhile, Timmy had spent the early part of Q3 in an intense battle with eventual Final winner Timur Timerzyanov, falling to fifth place after taking his Joker and going 10th fastest.

A brillaint Q4 performance from Timmy helped him rebound, going fastest to jump to fourth in the combined qualifying standings, while Kevin earned a second row slot for the first Semi Final by placing seventh in the aggregate qualifying standings.

Kevin started fourth in his Semi Final and was immediately battling Liam Doran, who took an early joker lap. Kevin’s strategy was the opposite, pulling off on the very last lap and coming out of the joker side-by-side with the Audi. With the two on different lines they collided in mid-air, Doran beating Kevin to third place by the narrowest of margins and pitching Kevin into the wall.

Timmy had started his Semi Final from second but was pushed wide into the wall at turn one by Janis Baumanis, dropping to fifth and forcing Timmy to do what he does best: mount an epic comeback. He passed Anton Marklund and Cyril Raymond when they took their jokers on consecutive laps, followed later by Baumanis, then turned in the fastest lap of the race to ensure he came out ahead of the Renaults and book a place in the Final.

Fourth place was Timmy’s reward in the Final, passing Doran after he crashed at the Raidillon hairpin and then taking Baumanis for fourth down the inside of the long final left hander on the penultimate lap. Though not able to finish on the podium, Timmy jumped from third to second in the World RX drivers‘ championship, nine points behind Kevin who still leads. And while Team Hansen MJP was outscored by its main rival, it still leads the teams‘ championship by one point, keeping them atop both championships after three rounds.