The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy made an emphatic mark at Silverstone this past weekend, with the Dayinsure World RX of Great Britain headlining the hugely popular SpeedMachine Festival.
As has been the case in previous years, the British Automobile Racing Club played its part in the event as it appointed marshals and officials, as well as ensuring the meeting ran as smoothly as possible.
In what proved to be a pulsating two days of adrenaline-fuelled sideways thrills and spills, Timmy Hanse came to the fore to claim victory in a gripping final ahead of Andreas Bakkerud and Anton Marklund.
Having emerged as the man to beat across the weekend’s four qualifying heats, Hansen was in fine form as he made his way through the semi-finals. The Team Hansen MJP Peugeot 208 driver then became embroiled in a titanic battle with Bakkerud before coming out on top.
Virtue of his success on British soil, Hansen became the first double winner of the current season and moved to the summit of the championship standings after his brother, Kevin Hansen, found himself in strife during his own semi-final.
“Today Andreas (Bakkerud) found some more pace and he was able to win both qualifying sessions,” Hansen said. “In the final, he had about a half a car better launch than me, it was tight going in to the first corner.
“Coming out second I knew I had to stay super close. I was absolutely on his bumper just before my joker lap which was a perfect lap.
“I kept on pushing, he went in to the joker a lap later, and when we merged I saw that I had a bit more speed and seeing him behind as we hit the finish line was a great feeling. I definitely had to work very hard to day to get this result.”
British fans would see Liam Doran make the final but the Audi driver was unable to make an impression whilst Oliver Bennett provided plenty to cheer about as he made his first FIA World RX semi-final in his Mini.
Elsewhere, Mark Higgins made his first rallycross appearance since winning the British title late last year to star with Albatec Racing.
Aside from the FIA World Rallycross Championship there was also action from the RX2 Series and FIA European Rallycross Championship, won by Oliver Ericsson and Robin Larsson respectively.
Alongside the edge-of-the-seat rallycross entertainment, SpeedMachine Festival also played host to plenty of high-speed demonstrations from a variety of disciplines including the MV Commercial BTRA Championship.
Live music, street food and car displays were also encompassed throughout the weekend, making it an event to remember at the home of British motorsport.
