Stage at Lydda Hill has a special significance for the world championship on rally-cross — it was here in February 1967 for the first time held the competition for this type of motor sport.
It has been almost fifty years and now the race gathered in this small circuit interesting list of participants, gave the audience a bitter struggle.
Unlike the two previous stages, this time Matthias was not a leader of the stage for the end of the qualifying rounds. Quite the contrary — Ekström occupied only the fourth place, and headed the table of the results of its main rival Petter Solberg.
Two-time world champion on rally-cross is better adapted to the rest of the British track. Norway's only one goal won the first, second and third qualifying. In the fourth, he was second, behind Andreas Bakkeruda.
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As a result, Petter with a huge margin topped the intermediate classification stage. Bakkerud was the second — he lost to his countryman nearly three dozen points. For comparison — took third place after qualifying Timmy Hansen Andreas lagged behind by only five points!
Following the three leaders stage a dozen lucky, passed to the next round, settled the leader of the drivers' championship Mattias Ekström, Topi Heykkonen, Johan Kristofferson, Kevin Hansen, Timur Timerzyanov Kevin Eriksson, Sebastien Loeb, Anton Marklund and Janis Baumanis.
But the intermediate classification this is only the definition of a dozen members, which are then tested in the two semi-final arrival and placement of the riders on the grid of each of the semi-finals. On the final victory, it is not particularly affected and no does not give guarantees. So what happened this time...
Semifinal race this time was not marked by a large number of collisions, but without it the audience enough bitter struggle.
Dusty track seriously complicate the race the participants who went after anyone of the contestants. The advantage is given to those who went ahead of the other participants — the leader of the race and the one who led the group of riders at the same time to stop by the «joker-lap.» And he and the other had «operational space» and could go at a maximum speed — in contrast to their less fortunate competitors.
This situation determined the outcome of both the first and second semi-final races.
Winner of the pole position on the starting grid of the first semi-final Petter Solberg won the start, and without going to the «joker-lap» went on the road. His example was followed by Kevin Eriksson and Anton Marklund. Their opponents — Hansen brothers (Timmy and Kevin) and Thomas Heykkonen — with the starting line on the left to the left of the loop «joker-circle».
Solberg led the race in the whole of its length, and won a landslide victory — excellent visibility allowed him to maintain a high pace. But Eriksson and Marklund who were traveling behind him lost everything — on the basis of arrival, both were not included in the top three winners.
But Timmy Hansen, driven by his brother Kevin brought the race to a successful finish in the top 3 — both passed to the final.
The second semi-final race was much more dramatic. Like podsmotrev for his countryman Petter Solberg Norwegian Andreas Bakkerud likewise headed race and did not immediately call in to «joker-lap.» The victory in the bag? If…
Mattias Ekström drove to «joker-circle» from the start, and then inflated rate and brought the race to win — to prevent the Swede nobody could.
Excellent launched Sebastien Loeb — the Frenchman at the start ahead of Timur Timerzyanova — then faced with technical problems and began to lose pace. As a result, nine-time world rally champion finished only fifth and was very unhappy, not failing to give his assessment of the management team.
Always calm and Alsatian in the World Championship in rally-cross much has changed — it became much more emotional that weekend confirmed Liddy Hill! However, what surprised — the first technical problems in Seba any more in qualifying...
But the loser start Loeb Russian Timur Timerzyanov quickly gathered, he returned the lost was the Frenchman's position, then beat Johan Kristofferson — Swede later flew off the track — and finished the race behind Ekström and Bakkerudom. Thus for the first time this season, the Russians reached the final in rally-cross World Championship!
At the end of all things are turned upside down — and this is interesting rally-cross! From the very start, Andreas Bakkerud lost everyone and everything — of course if you had to forget the other five members rushed forward from the start, his car seemed to lose a good five hundred troops from its six... With such a high rate by the Norwegians.
His countryman Petter Solberg brilliantly won the start and seems determined to repeat his semi-final race and used the same tactics. However, a significant difference was that this time, Solberg started on the already previously used RV, and it served him a disservice. As a result, he drove on the last lap at the «joker» Petter went back on the track only the second.
The first — the third time this season — became Mattias Ekström! The Swede drove to the «Joker» on the first lap and that helped him win.
Third place went to Timmy Hansen — at the finish of his bumper, «breathed» his younger brother Kevin. Timur Timerzyanov became only the fifth, and the unfortunate Andreas Bakkerud finished sixth and last.
The next stage of the world championship on rally-cross will be held in two weeks in Norway on the track in Hёlle.
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Photo: www.fiaworldrallycross.com
