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PSRX Volkswagen Sweden signs off on perfect season with a
win
- South African success
seals Johan’s 11th win in 12 races
- PSRX Volkswagen Sweden
ends incredible season on a high
- Petter frustrated in his
efforts to steal silver
- Last-minute arrival of
cars and kit fails to derail champions
Not the wind, not the waves, not the weather, not the competition.
Nothing could stop Johan Kristoffersson and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden
clinching a quite incredible 11th win from 12 races at
this weekend’s World RX of South Africa.
Johan and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden being crowned 2018 champions is already
history. This weekend’s World Rallycross finale was about the potential
for a victory parade and a silver medal for Petter Solberg.
Johan and Petter were, once again, a class above their rivals, locking out
the front row of the final. As has been the case all year, Johan then
went on and sealed the deal with his 11th win.
As has been the case all year, Petter ran out of luck. A first-lap
incident forced him into retirement. Scant reward for an outstanding
effort from the three-time FIA World Champion.
Just 48 hours before signing off on a record-breaking 2018, there was a
question mark over whether PSRX Volkswagen Sweden would even make the
start of the Q1. The cargo ship transporting the pair of perfect Polo R
Supercars was two days late docking due to bad weather. In a dramatic
race against time, the team got the cars prepared and on the grid with
just hours to spare.
Once there, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden did what PSRX Volkswagen Sweden does:
win.
Driver Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 INTER SF F
Johan
Kristoffersson 16 1
1 1
1 1 1
Petter Solberg
4 2
4 4
4 1 R
Johan
Kristoffersson (SWE) #1
“What can I say? Winning is what we are here for, but this win really
means a lot – and I know I said that every time I won a race, but it’s
really true! When you come to the last race of the season, it’s really
important to go to the winter with a win. We all know you’re only as good
as your last result, so to start round one in 2019 off the back of this
is nice.
“This team is so special. Everything I have achieved this year has come
because of the hard work all of the guys, everybody has put in – all the
team in Torsby; everybody in Volkswagen Motorsport in Hannover and, of
course, with the great support from Volkswagen Sweden. Talking now, I
actually feel really quite emotional – the title has sunk in a little bit
and this win is such a nice way to end a fantastic, fantastic season.
“Winning 11 from 12 is really nice – makes me a little bit frustrated
about [World RX of] Belgium where [Sébastien] Loeb won – but that 100 per
cent record gives us something to work towards next year! I’m just
joking… But to make nine wins in nine races is also something special for
me; I remember watching Sebastian Vettel winning the last nine races of
the 2013 [Formula 1] season and just thinking how incredible that feeling
must be, to have so much success in one season.
“And now I did that. Unbelievable. I will never forget this season, it’s
such a special one.”
Petter Solberg
(NOR) #11
“It was quite a long shot for me to make the silver medal this weekend
and in the end it wasn’t possible. That’s kind of the way the season has
gone for me.
“I’m really happy that I’ve been able to show such good speed through
this weekend. It’s true that the start of the event was a little bit
difficult, not having the cars here on time made it quite stressful, but
Pernilla and the rest of the team did a fantastic job in getting
everything ready in such a quick time.
“It was a bit like a rally from the old days, we had to make everything
ready in really quick time – and we have good experience and a lot of
success in rallying to help us through this situation.
“I really wanted the win here this weekend. Like Johan says, to go to the
winter with the win is a special feeling. Like the rest of my season, it
just didn’t work out as I wanted it to. But, I must say, when I think
back to the middle of the year, when I was struggling to get fit – I am
coming back so much stronger now.
“I want next year to start next week!”
Pernilla
Solberg (PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team principal)
“I think it would be fair to say this has been one of the most stressful
race weekends we’ve had. Arriving in Cape Town and not knowing when or
even if the cars would be coming was a nightmare. All the time we were
talking to everybody and all the time looking at the weather; would the
weather help us?
“In the end, it did. The team was just incredible to get the cars out of
the container and on the track in such a small time. I know PSRX
Volkswagen Sweden is the best team in the world – but now I really know
this!
“And, when we’ve had a season like this, a season where we have won every
race except for one, there was only one way we could say goodbye to 2018
– and that was from the top step of the podium.
“This has been a beautiful year for PSRX, for Monster, Volkswagen Sweden
and Volkswagen Motorsport and all of our fantastic partners. I still find
it so incredible to believe this team didn’t even exist two years ago –
and now we’ve won four titles and 19 out of 24 races.
“I have one thing to say to all the amazing people who have helped us
make this incredible story, this history-making story, possible.
“Thank you.”
Result:
1 Johan
Kristoffersson 4m12.787s
2 Mattias
Ekström 4m15.487s
3 Sébastien
Loeb 4m16.382s
4 Kevin
Hansen 4m19.017s
5 Petter
Solberg
DNF
6 Timmy Hansen
DNF
Drivers’
championship positions:
1
Kristoffersson 341pts
2 Ekström
248pts
3
Bakkerud 237pts
4
Loeb 229pts
5 Solberg
227pts
6 T
Hansen 192pts
Teams’
championship positions:
1 PSRX
Volkswagen
Sweden 568pts
2 EKS Audi
Sport 485pts
3 Team Peugeot Total
421pts
*subject to
confirmation from the FIA
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