Like the first round, Mattias Ekström also won the second round of FIA World Rallycross Championship, when they raced at the Montalegre track in Portugal.
The Swede extended his lead in the World Championship standings, when the former number 2, Timo Scheider, had a bad weekend and only scored two points. He missed the semifinals by just one position in qualifying race 4. But that’s how it goes in Rallycross – there are close fights all around the fields.
Sebastien Loeb finished second in the final, ahead of the new number 2 in the championship, Johan Kristoffersson. That makes it three different car models in the top 3 – Audi ahead of Peugeot and Volkswagen.
Petter Solberg was leading the finale, but he got a puncture and had to limp home in 6th and last position. Still he scored enough points to claim third in the championship standings.
Andreas Bakkerud retired from the semifinal, when he collided with Janis Baumanis in turn one, on the first lap. That resulted in punctures for both cars.
Photo: FIAWorldrallycross.com
The next round will be held in one and a half weeks at Hockenheim, where they will run at the same venue as DTM. That means that Championship leader Mattias Ekström will have a double programme, since he will pilot both his Audi S1 and his Audi RS5 DTM.
