PoloDriver

At the first round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship in Portugal, Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen and Anton Marklund drove their Polo RX Supercars into the final, taking fourth and fifth places respectively. The Marklund Motorsport drivers are third and sixth in the overall drivers’ standings after the season’s opener at the Pista Internacional de Montalegre in Montalegre. Marklund Motorsport is second in the manufacturer points table. Former World Rally Championship ace Petter Solberg took overall victory in the Supercar class.

After the first and second heats, Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timur Timerzyanov lead the pack in his Peugeot 208. Heikinnen finished fourth in heat one, while the no 92 Polo of Marklund was in eighth place. Solberg finished second. Heat two saw Heikinnen’s no 57 Polo in third and Marklund fifth.

In the third of the four heats, Heikinnen finished two rankings ahead of sixth-placed Marklund. In the final heat, Marklund reversed the order staying in sixth, once place higher than Heikinnen. The first semi-final saw Marklund third out of six drivers. Heikinnen meanwhile, finished second in the second sem-final, meaning both young 560bhp Polo drivers lined up on the grid for the final six laps of the 0.945-metre track.

The next round is the World Rallycross of Great Britain, at Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Kent, UK on Saturday and Sunday 24-25 May.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
PORTUGAL: FINAL RESULTS
1 Petter Solberg, PS 100% AB, Citroën DS3: 4m 02.081s
2 Andreas Bakkerud, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:02.358s
3 Renis Nitiss, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:03.048s
4 Toomas Heikinnen, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.025s
5 Anton Marklund, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.901s
6 Koen Pauwels, Koen Pauwels, Ford Focus: +0:10.790s

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, 29
2 Renis Nitiss, 24
3 Toomas Heikinnen, 21
4 Andreas Bakkerud, 20
5 Timur Timerzyanov, 19
6 Anton Marklund, 18

[Images: www.rallycrossrx.com, Tom Banks Photography]