After a brilliant debut event earlier this month in Portugal, Team Peugeot-Hansen heads to England for the second round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, held at the famous Lydden Hill Race Circuit, often referred to as the ‘home of rallycross’.
Despite the late completion of the new PEUGEOT 208WRX project, the team hit the ground running in Portugal, double European Champion Timur Timerzyanov and team mate Timmy Hansen set competitive times throughout the heats and were unlucky not to make it to the final.
Timmy Hansen – “we can fight for a good result”
Both drivers were fast at Lydden Hill last season, a track that Timmy Hansen believes will complement both his driving style and the new 208 Supercar: “Lydden Hill is a circuit that suits me and my driving style, it’s about high speed, big commitment fast corners and I’m very comfortable with that, the circuit is completely me,” said Hansen. “In Portugal, the 208 felt great on those types of corners; you can push hard on the entry and still get a good exit, so it should be a good match for Lydden Hill. Before Portugal we didn’t know what to expect from the car and I was very surprised and pleased at how good it was to drive. I didn’t have to fight against it and it did exactly what I wanted. Hopefully, both Timur and I can have a good run at Lydden Hill and we can fight for a good result.”
Timur Tymerzyanov – “we can have a strong result this weekend“
Russian rallycross star Timur Timerzyanov topped the World RX leader board at the Intermediate Classification in Portugal having set fastest times in both of the first two heats. The reigning FIA European Rallycross Champion is confident that the team is making good progress with the new car.
“We just drove with what we had in Portugal, and although of course we have changes to make to improve things, we have a very good package. We are already at a higher level than we expected and if we work as a team we can improve a lot more yet. Last year at Lydden Hill I wasn’t able to get the result I wanted because I got a puncture in the final, but I’m confident we can have a strong result this weekend and improve our position in the teams championship.”
Kenneth Hansen – “we have so much motivation to succeed for the team”
Team principal, Kenneth Hansen, who has 14 European Rallycross titles to his name as a driver, is excited to take the new Red Bull backed PEUGEOT 208 WRXs to Lydden Hill this weekend, a circuit that has provided good results for the Swede in the past.
“Lydden Hill is a very different circuit to Portugal, I think it suits our team and drivers more. We believe we can get a good result in England. I feel good going into round two, we were very late getting this project together but we showed good pace in Portugal. It’s very interesting, the project has given me a new lease of life, we have so much motivation to succeed for the team, our drivers and our partners. It’s fantastic to have PEUGEOT involved, as a manufacturer they are very interested and enthusiastic about rallycross, and that’s very exciting for the whole team.”
TV coverage
The second round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill this weekend will be broadcast on television in over 100 countries around the world. Among those, the event can be watched live on Sunday afternoon in the UK on British Eurosport.
