Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
A fortnight on from the World Rally Championship’s annual visit to Lousada, the noise returned to the circuit north-east of Porto. But this time the passion and fervour were reserved for rallycross and Niclas Grönholm.
The 28-year-old, running an RX1e with the CE Dealer Team for a fourth season in succession, scored his third win at World RX of Portugal. Starting the final from pole, he controlled the race superbly.
Seeing off a first corner challenge from defending World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson brought the Finn a nano-second of breathing space. It was all he needed.
Grönholm said: “From Q2 on [this weekend] we had the inside line, we had good launches and we were able to control the races. Maybe I was too careful some places, but on the radio they told me it was fine. It was the perfect rallycross weekend execution.”
One of only two internal combustion-engined cars in the final, Kristoffersson never recovered from losing position on that first right-hander. Equipped with a pair of electric Peugeot 208s, the Hansen brothers – Timmy and Kevin – bundled the petrol-powered Polo aside and set off in what would be a fruitless pursuit of the leader.
Tangling at the final hairpin on the final lap cost a double podium for the Red Bull cars and allowed Kristoffersson’s team-mate Ole Christian Veiby to steal the bottom step ahead of Kevin. Timmy took second.
Timmy said: “I felt faster than Niclas. I tried to play with my lines to have a better exit than him to try to do something in the braking for the next corner, but I couldn’t quite get to him.”
Talking about that sibling rivalry, he admitted he’d tried to open the gap in the final corner to help his brother out – but they were both in danger from the lurking Veiby.
“He really tried to close the door on me, so I had to come out of the throttle, but I was always there and I knew coming into the corner that the only way we could get two and three as a team is if I back down, but at the same time you’ve got to race! I stayed in the gap. I hope he doesn’t feel too bad.”
Kristoffersson passed Klara Andersson for fifth place late in the race, but the opening skirmish in the ‘Battle of Technologies’ was all electric.
Much to the delight of the packed crowd, it was Portuguese Joao Ribeiro (Audi) who won Euro RX3 with his countryman Andre Sousa (Audi) second. It was another Audi one-two for Yury Belevskiy and Damian Litwinowicz in Euro RX1.
Electric cars beat ICE at the opening round in Portugal
After months of waiting, the opening round of the FIA’s new-look World Rallycross Championship truly delivered. From the stunning atmosphere in Lousada town center on Thursday night all the way through three days of action-packed racing, the appreciation from fans both at the track and watching live was obvious.
FIA road sport director Emilia Abel was central to the decision to offer the pinnacle of rallycross for free.
“So much of what we are doing here is a new frontier for the championship and for the FIA,” said Abel. “World RX has always been full of potential, but perhaps we haven’t always been able to maximise it. Now, we are taking it step-by-step by putting the fans first.
“They wanted to be able to watch it online without any restrictions, this is what we’ve delivered. They wanted to have tight competition, we have made several changes in the regulations to make the races more exciting.
“Rallycross is about being accessible, exciting and fun, and we hope people join us on this journey to grow the sport once again.”
Words:David Evans
Tags: Johan Kristoffersson, Niclas Gronholm, World RX, World RX 2025
Publish Date June 1, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/06/tprUFJyD-85b0dd60-3a53-bc4e-5fe7-15b95fceb4d1-780x520.jpg June 1, 2025
Up Next
Facebook Conversations