Topi Heikkinen makes history as first TitansRX event winner

Topi Heikkinen followed up his top qualifying result his top qualifying result in Essay to become the first event winner in TitansRX history.

The Finn made a perfect start from the six-car grid and avoided the concertina behind him to eke out an early lead.

He was untroubled at the front throughout the five-lap contest, shortened due to the extreme heat, and crossed the line over six seconds ahead of second-placed Kevin Hansen. Hansen claimed second place on the second lap of the race, passing Jerome Grosset-Janin in the dirt hairpin.

Grosset-Janin made a good start from the front row of the grid but faced pressure from Hansen in the near-identical yellow Hundai-bodied Pantera RX6 immediately, and had to fend off the charging Swede on the loose surface on lap one, before eventually being bettered on the second go round.

Hayden Paddon took fourth in his first-ever rallycross event. The New Zealander, who topped practice who topped practice and Q3 started the final on the back row of the grid, but made an early move up to fourth. He almost took third from Grosset-Janin, hounding the Frenchman right to the line in photo finish.

Andreas Steffen was the final runner in the final, with Ronny C’Rock retiring towards the end of the race with a technical issue.

Timmy Hansen was the biggest name to miss out on the first TitansRX final. In his semi final his car stuggled to get off the line because of the tough weather conditions. He did recover, but finished a second adrift of a transfer spot.

Antoine Masse looked set for a final berth as well until an electrical issue ended his run. He was collected by an unsuspecting Tamara Molinaro, who had also shown strong pace up to that point.

Also failing to qualify for the final was Nelson Piquet Jr., who not only jumped the start, but then missed his braking point in the dirt hairpin again, as he did in his final heat race.

TitansRX round 1 final results