The 7th and 8th rounds were held at Cape Town’s cherished Killarney International racetrack. Here’s a recap of the World Rallycross event.
Looking for your next new or used car? Find it here with CARmag.
The Cape Town World Rallycross event is the first instance in World Rallycross history where the entire grid raced using the same car, which essentially served to level the mechanical playing field and have everything rest on the driver’s ability. Gates opened at 08h00, and within 30 minutes, the 300 kW Zeroid RX2 rally cars were whirring around the Killarney rallycross circuit. Contrary to the silent electric road cars that we’ve seen on public roads, these electrified race cars are anything but. A sharp whining noise accompanies each car as they bolt from the start line, through various corners and finally across the finish line.
Throughout the day, strategies evolved, and so did the attitudes of the drivers. By the finals, the desire for victory was palpable and through each corner, often sideways and stacked atop one another, neither gave an inch, resulting in a brawl for the lead into turn 1, on the first lap. In the end, it was Johan Kristoffersson who secured first overall, netting his 39th career win and securing a 36-point gap between him and championship standings runner-up, Kevin Hansen. Second on the podium in round 7 was Kevin Hansen, while Timo Scheider rounded off the podium.
Thankfully, day two afforded higher temperatures and minimal wind. A welcome surprise for spectators was the arrival of two new drift cars that had not been there the day before and made up for that absence with egregious amounts of smoke and deranged ICE powerplants.
Timo Scheider suffered from a rear motor failure in the single-lap SuperPole shootout and a puncture in the first heat. Despite this, he managed to reverse the previous day’s podium standings and secured first. Kevin Hansen’s podium position remained undisturbed, with Kristoffersson rounding off the podium.
