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 the weekend’s World RX of South Africa. Johan and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden being crowned 2018 champions is already history. Last 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.
“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!”, Kristoffersson said
“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 was happy despite the bad luck
“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!”
As one event ends, another one is about to start! Really excited for @GymkhanaGRID this Saturday in Johannesburg – I’ve won it before and want to win it again ?? pic.twitter.com/778OCSZqNB
— Petter Solberg RX (@Petter_Solberg) November 26, 2018
