The second WRX weekend at Riga was not an easy one for Klara Andersson and the whole CE Dealer team. But on the very technical track, the Swedish driver gained a lot of experience and made it to the semi-finals on both days, adding good points with a second place in one of her heats.
The second round of the 2022 World Rallycross season saw a double header in Riga, Latvia, with a heated battle between the Hansen brothers and Johan Kristofferson at the top.
At her second event as full-time World RX driver - a first for a female athlete - Klara Andersson aimed for more experience and points, after she had made it to the final in Hell, Norway.
While it was a difficult weekend for Klara and the whole CE Dealer Team, one driver was unreachable at Riga: Johan Kristoffersson showed an incredible pace to score two more victories and continued to be unbeaten so far in this season. He extended his world record of 31 victories in the top class of rallycross, adding two more at Riga.
As Kristoffersson made his way easily into the final, there were also no major surprises among the other finalists. Kevin and Timmy Hansen, as well as Ole Christian Veiby, confirmed their good performance from Hell, while newcomer Gustav Bergström showed great driving skills at his second appearance in the WRX series.
Timmy Hansen was on pole for the final heat and was able to initially keep the lead, while Kristoffersson followed his usual strategy: the Swede went into the Joker Lap at the beginning. While the Hansen brothers stayed out, he made enough gap on track to keep the lead and won preceding Kevin and Timmy Hansen, Veiby and Bergström.
"Challenging day, working to find a good momentum in the car, and we ultimately ended up P4 in the semifinal." - wrote Klara Andersson.
Day 2 of the double header saw another victorious march for Kristoffersson, with the Hansen brothers on his tail. Bergström had another impressive drive in the semi finals but dropped out of the finals as Niclas Grönholm saved the weekend for CE Dealer by reaching the final.
His teammate Klara Andersson was way better on the second day, but couldn't reach the final. But a second place in one of the heats - alongside great battles during the races - were further proof her the right steps forward for the fast Swede.
Kristofferson started the final from pole but lost first place to both Hansen brothers - with Kevin in the lead and Timmy behind him. This time, it would be Timmy to go into the Joker Lap soon, as Kristoffersson stayed on track in free air and then had a good gap to handle his Joker Lap untroubled. He finished once again on the top step of the podium, preceding Kevin Hansen and Veiby. Timmy dropped down to P4 and finished just ahead of Grönholm.
"It has been a challenging weekend", said Klara Andersson. "We tried a lot of things during the weekend, both in wet and dry conditions."
"And this has been valuable for our development, although we hoped for better results this weekend. The Riga circuit is a technically tough circuit, but I am overall happy with the development I have made regarding my driving and I'm looking forward to the next round," she concluded.
The FIA World Rallycross Championship returns to action for the third round of the 2022 season in Montalegre, Portugal, on 17-18 September.
