Block podiums while Solberg, Doran and Bakkerud shred at World RX Germany

In only his second event with the ground breaking Ford Focus RS RX, Head Hoonigan in Charge Ken Block converted a 12th place qualifying spot into a third place podium finish. The fairy tale story was only compounded by the fact that at the end of qualifying Block nearly didn’t make it into the semi finals, placing 12th, after a series of mechanical issues left him empty handed through Q1 to Q4. The result is the perfect follow up to the season opener in Portugal, for the Hoonigan Racing Division team, where Andreas Bakkerud finished fourth. Unfortunately Andreas himself was denied a shot at the main final in Germany, ultimately placing 12th, after a driveshaft problem ruled him out of the cut from semi final one.

Defending champion Petter Solberg showed exactly why he is the reigning champion of World RX, gritting through engine failures, boost problems, and DNFs to a fourth place in the main final, just 1.1 seconds behind Ken. With a 48 point total in the championship standings Petter is first equal ahead of event winner Mattias Ekström, and World RX Germany Monster Energy Super Charge winner Topi Heikkinen.

Completing the near-full house final was Liam Doran. Arguably putting on some of the most crowd-pleasing performances of the weekend, Liam once again drove the wheels off his 1.6 litre JRM Racing Mini RX Supercar. Charging through the pack in first semi two final, Liam claimed the win and secured his slot in the main final. What’s more at the lights of the 6-lap event ending race, the 29 year old racer was pushing for the lead and a sure fire podium, and only was only narrowly denied silverware after being caught up in the intense on track battles. He did however cross the line in 5th and claim 15 points overall to his championship campaign.

Fans won’t have to wait long before the next installment of the series. Round three of World RX heads to Belgium next weekend to take on the technical and switchback-laden Mettet circuit. Stay tuned from the 13th to the 15th May to find out how it all goes down. In the meantime don’t forget to check out our day one and day two coverage, and stay tuned for more news from the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy, here. ###

Ken Block – 3rd “There’s been so much work and effort to get us to this point. Sitting in 12th place at the end of qualifying yesterday I wouldn’t have imagined that things could have turned around this much. Of course we aim for the maximum, but we don’t really know our car fully yet. We were making set up changes into today still, playing a little bit of an educated guessing game about where we can improve the performance. It’s not the typical rallycross set up in the Focus RS RX. I raced my Fiesta for five years and knew it inside and out. The Focus reacts differently. It’s bigger and wider, and that has to be reflected in the set up; it’s been a really great challenge actually. I know the team are putting in all hours, so I just tried to drive my ass off to deliver on track. We are definitely getting closer; the [lap] times were much better today. This is my second podium out of four tries in World Rallycross – I’m really enjoying myself, and the tracks and competition are great. It’s helping me to become a better driver, and pushing the team as a whole. That’s why I’m here; I want to be the best that I can possibly be. I honestly didn’t expect the result – it’s all a combination of hard work, luck and really going for it. Bring on Belgium.”

Petter Solberg – 4th “19 points, fourth place, and now level with Ekström in the championship; to turn a bad weekend into this result is actually very good. It feels like a victory in many ways. Day one (Q1 and Q2) were very tough, and it didn’t get any easier with Q3 and Q4. We were leading the semi, and there was a lot of contact in the race; if it hadn’t of been for all of that we would have been in a better position in the final. I had plenty of opportunities to crash back into the other drivers, but I didn’t do it. I never want to risk the car, and consistency with finishes is what gets the championship results. My team worked on the engine and set up until 5am last night, and they did an incredible job. We had a few issues with boost and response in the finals. The contact between everyone in the final was crazy again though. I was working my way up to 2nd early in the race, but was pushed out and down last. All the cars were all over the place. I guess it’s good fun to watch on TV, but from my point of view it’s not how it’s supposed to be at this level of the sport. The good news is that we have points from this weekend and look ahead to racing again in Belgium next weekend.”

Liam Doran – 5th “Second event and another step up – this is really where we need to be. The competitive part of me is actually a little disappointed because I know that I could be on the podium today. The final was pretty brutal in terms of the amount of shunting around. It’s obvious we don’t quite have the speed of some of the other guys, but I made it as difficult as possible for them to pass on the straights as I could. Around the corners I was just wringing the cars neck again to extract every last bit of performance possible. I know I can win, and I know this team has what it takes to get the car there. In Portugal we were pushing all the way, and again here in Germany, in the hot conditions, we have proved that we are a force to be reckoned with. There are some serious upgrades on the way, so as soon as it’s a level playing field, the rest of the pack better watch out!”

Andreas Bakkerud – 12th “I’m super proud of the guys this weekend. We have done so little mileage compared to everyone else, and now Ken managed to put the car on the podium in only his second event. If ever we needed it confirming then this is it. We have the speed, the car has the speed and now we just need to continue on. I feel fortunate to be able to work with such a group of great people. Of course I would have loved to have been fighting with everyone in the main final – I had a drive shaft issue which meant I didn’t make it out of semi final one, but that’s racing. We are still developing this car! I just tried to stay positive and help Ken as much as I could once my day was done. We are fighting together; we have one team and one goal. The result is really good for Ken’s confidence too especially after Portugal. We had fourth in Portugal, third place here, I think we’ll try and do both positions in Belgium and go for the 1-2!”