Championship leader PSRX Volkswagen Sweden ready to rocket into the second half
What’s coming?
The first long haul and the first street circuit of the season. It’s Canada. And yes, for the 14th time in 16 races, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden is looking to bring home the bacon. Sorry, best get the Canadian bacon line in early…
The journey to the Circuit Trois-Rivières in the Quebec town of
Trois-Rivières also marks the start of the season’s second half. We go
there with Johan 40 points clear in the drivers’ championship and PSRX
Volkswagen Sweden 45 ahead in the teams’ standings; we go there happy,
but aware that Canada can make a Goose out of anybody (other clothing
brands are available).
Johan and Petter tested the Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R Supercar in
Latvia earlier this month and both arrive on the Atlantic’s far side
looking to beat the streets and secure a second win at World RX of
Canada.
Oh yeah, and Petter’s going to space.
Seriously. Hollywood heads to Houston’s world-famous Space Centre to
find out about life on Mars. He’s on a mission to control round seven…
Pernilla, logistically, how much of a challenge is this first event outside of Europe?
PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team principal Pernilla Solberg
“The second half of the season is generally more complicated than the
first half. After six races in Europe – the last two of which were in
Norway and Sweden and really quite close to the team’s base in Torsby –
two trips to North America and one to South Africa in the next six
definitely involve a bit more planning.
“Our freight left for Canada the day after the last round in Sweden,
literally, we packed everything down on Sunday night and on Monday
morning it had to be in the container, on the truck and heading for the
boat. So much of this side of the job is in the planning – and I’m not
just talking about making sure you’ve got the right bits in the right
place at the right time, but also planning for the best and worst-case
scenarios. You have to think of everything – once that door’s shut and
the container’s away, it’s too late…
“Canada’s slightly different to the other events, the schedule tends to
be a bit more compact and runs later into the evening. It’s always a
place with a great atmosphere and the people are lovely; it’s an event
which always seems to have a bit of a holiday feel about it – Petter,
Oliver and I like to take a few days break here, it’s such a fantastic
part of the world.”
Johan, 40 points up going into the second half. What are your thoughts?
Johan Kristoffersson, defending FIA World Rallycross Champion
“Nothing changes. The feeling is the same for me like it is at every
race: I start again from zero. I go to Canada and I want to score the
best points possible. Yes, we have this lead and I’m really happy that
the lead is bigger than it was after round six last season, but it
doesn’t mean anything. No job is done yet.
“One bad weekend and everything is completely open again.
“The plan is the same: to push as hard as possible and to look to
control the weekend as much as possible. I like Canada, it’s a fun place
and an interesting track. Driving on a street circuit is always really
demanding, there’s zero room to make a mistake. We won here last year
and a repeat of that result would be really special for me.
“People have been talking about the potential for beating records [for
event victories in a single season – Johan currently has five, the
record (his record) stands at seven from last year] but I’m really not
thinking about that at all. I know people probably don’t believe me when
I say that, but it’s true. OK, you wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t
think to it a little bit, but it’s a very small bit. The focus is on the
championships, that’s what the season is all about for me and for the
team.”
Petter, you’ve been testing, you’re gone up a hill and now you’re going into space?
Petter Solberg, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team owner/driver and triple FIA world champion
“It’s been a really good time since the last race in Sweden. The test
went really well in Riga, we found more small steps with the car that
will help us from Canada. Did you see the car at the test? We ran it in
all-black livery, it looked so cool – it was black beauty.
“I don’t think there are any big steps forward in development with the
Polo R Supercar now, but what we did at the test is try different
solutions for the tracks we have coming in the second half of the year,
they’re all quite different in their nature and we need to make sure
we’ve maximised the potential from the set-up.
“The hillclimb I did a couple of weeks ago – the Norges Råeste Bakkeløp –
was fantastic. I was competing against Oliver for the first time and he
beat me. He set the new hill record in the [Citroen] Xsara. I was in my
[Ford] Escort [RS1800], so I’m not going to get too stressed about him
telling me how much quicker he was. I was definitely more fun to watch!
“But the holiday’s over now. It’s time for business again. But just
before we get down to business, I will be going to the Space Centre –
that will be a lot of fun to have a look at what’s going on in Houston.
We have a lot of technology involved in our Polo R Supercar, but I’m
hoping NASA will let me into some secrets – be good to make our car even
more of a rocket!”
Driver data
Petter Solberg (NOR)
World RX starts: 55
World RX wins: 10
World RX titles: 2
Johan Kristoffersson (SWE)
World RX starts: 46
World RX wins: 14
World RX titles: 1
World RX of Canada data
Last year’s winner: Johan Kristoffersson (SWE)
Fastest lap: Johan, 2017 48.009s
Circuit length: 1.351km
Asphalt/gravel: 59% – 41%
Estamos sempre na busca da melhor informação, tentamos sempre prevalecer a imagem e a informação escrita, tornando a leitura mais rápida e acessível a todos os leitores.
João Raposo
+351 913 353 070
jraposo-air@portugalmail.pt
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