Team Peugeot-Hansen score first World RX victory

 

 

 

September, 28, 2014 -  Team Peugeot-Hansen claimed their maiden FIA World Rallycross Championship victory in the tenth round of the series at Franciacorta, Italy.

Swedish driver Timmy Hansen was top of the field at the end of the event's four qualification heats. He won semi-final one and the final in emphatic fashion to score maximum points and the first ever rallycross win for the Peugeot 208WRX. The result makes it four podium finishes in succession for the team.
Double FIA European Rallycross Champion Timur Timerzyanov qualified sixth overall at the Intermediate Classification and won semi-final two to join Hansen on the front row for the final. He was second on lap one behind Hansen, but was slowed by a punctured tyre from early in the race. He finished fourth.

The new circuit at Franciacorta was a big hit with World RX drivers and enthusiastic Italian spectators alike. Richard Goransson finished second while Petter Solberg finished third. The combined result of the two Peugeot 208WRXs brings Team Peugeot-Hansen within reach of the top of the Teams Championship standings, and are just 13 points behind OlsbergsMSE and Marklund Motorsport with 120 points available from the last two rounds in Turkey and Argentina.

Red Bull Peugeot Hansen Junior Team driver Kevin Hansen finished on the podium in the RX Lites Cup division at the wheel of his 208 Lites to move into second in the championship standings behind fellow Swede Kevin Eriksson.

Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208 #3

"It's so, so fantastic to finally get a win with the the Peugeot 208 this season. We have fought so hard for this and finally we have put it all together over a whole weekend. We were consistent in the four heats and set really good lap times. I made a good start in the final and had some big, big pressure at the start but I did some crazy laps got a good gap by the end. This is just amazing, it's not only me winning here it's the whole team and I'm so proud to have put it all together for Peugeot."

Timur Timerzyanov, Peugeot 208 #1

"I had a very good semi-final, but in the final I just had bad luck. I did what I could to stay in second on the first lap but it wasn't possible. The track was very nice here, it was a bit bumpy at the end of the day, but overall the track and the jumps were a lot of fun."

Kenneth Hansen, Team Principal

"We scored the maximum points with Timmy here and Timur scored good points too so we have really closed the gap in the teams championship. It's a special feeling, we didn't expect that to happen. We have really focused on getting the first win this year and have had three races in row where we have performed very well. I think the whole team really deserved the victory today. Suddenly we have even more to fight for now there are two events left on new circuits. We need to play the cards right and if we do that I think we can so very well."

The next round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship takes place at the Istanbul Park. (11th - 12th October).

FIA World Rallycross Championship round ten, Italy: Final result

1 Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)
2 Richard Goransson (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
3 Petter Solberg (PSRX, Citroen DS3)
4 Timur Timerzyanov (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)
5 Johan Krisrtoffersson (VW Dealer Team, VW Polo)
6 Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)

 

FIA World Rallycross Championship Drivers standings (after round 10 / 12):
1 Petter Solberg (PSRX, Citroen DS3) 235
2 Toomas Heikkinen (Marklund Motorsport, VW Polo) 175
3 Reinis Nitiss (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta) 167
4 Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208) 152
5 Timur Timerzyanov (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208) 148
6 Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta) 146

 

FIA World Rallycross Championship Teams standings (after round 10 / 12):
1 OlsbergsMSE/Ford 313
2 Marklund Motorsport/Volkswagen 313
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen 300
4 PSRX 227
5 Monster Energy World RX Team 85
6 Albatec Racing 32

 

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  The Peugeot 2008 DKR’s definitive combat livery

Dakar: 11/17

With a month-and-a-half remaining until the start of the 2015 Dakar, the Peugeot 2008 DKR is getting into the swing and has traded its initial all-carbon finish for its official colour scheme. This spectacular metamorphosis is an eloquent sign that the bestial machine is now fully prepared to take on its 4x4 rivals on the most punishing cross-country rally of them all. As the event’s January 4 start approaches, the commando teams at Peugeot, Red Bull and Total have ticked practically all the boxes of their respective checklists, and the revelation of the Peugeot 2008 DKR’s definitive livery was one of them! After spending seven months robed in black, the French engineers’ creation has now swapped its carbon finish for a far racier look based on a combination of blue, white and red which confirms that its competitive debut is imminent. “It looks far more aggressive like this, ” observes Cyril Despres who is unaccustomed to such stylish colour schemes on such a big surface area of bodywork. Meanwhile, Stéphane Peterhansel was swift to note the practical side of the design for him and his co-driver. “The fact that the part around the cockpit has been finished in white is an excellent way to protect us from the heat. I’ve competed in a car with a black roof and I can tell you that it makes a big difference.”

The thousands of kilometres the Peugeot 2008 DKR has covered in Morocco in recent months have boosted the morale of all those involved in this bold project. “The results of our test programme show that our technical concept is well founded, ” notes Peugeot Sport director Bruno Famin. “That said, this car is at a very early stage of its development, so it is important to remain cautious. Although we have big ambitions for this adventure, we are still tackling it with a great deal of humility. By deciding to kick off our cross-country rally programme with the toughest event imaginable, we will no doubt come across unforeseen obstacles and problems. It is consequently important to take things one step at a time. For our first attempt, our main objective is to get as many cars as possible as far as we possibly can.”

Carlos Sainz, whose development skills are widely acclaimed, and who has driven every type of car, is fully behind the Peugeot 2008 DKR’s technical concept: “The team has come up with a unique, innovative car which promises to be extremely versatile for the different types of terrain we are likely to come across. The concept works well. The test programme has shown that it is a very fast machine, although it is obviously difficult to be 100 percent sure of its reliability at this early stage.”

With just 48 days to go until the start of January’s Dakar, the team faces a busy final countdown. On November 20, the service trucks carrying all the necessary equipment and spares will be loaded onto the ship that will take them to Argentina. After that, the three rally cars will be built in readiness for their journey to South America by airfreight after one final test in Morocco, at the beginning of December. Meanwhile, the crews are due to undergo an intensive mechanical training course in order to prepare them for any emergency work they may need to carry out during the rally’s marathon leg when third-party servicing is prohibited.

 

 

 

 

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15 April 2014 : - PEUGEOT RETURNS TO DAKAR -

The 2008 DKR : the latest Lion with a voracious appetite for the challenges that await it !

The muscular, thoroughbred yet beastlike forms of the Peugeot 2008 DKR provide a vivid indication of the new car’s serious desire for success. It is behind the wheel of this purpose-designed machine that Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres will defend the colours of Team Peugeot Total on next January’s Dakar. Three weeks after the exciting news that Peugeot, Red Bull and Total have decided to join forces to contest the 2015 Dakar, the car that will spearhead the team’s challenge has finally broken cover. The 2008 DKR shares an unmistakable family resemblance with Peugeot’s road-going crossover, albeit with more muscular forms and more imposing overall proportions that have been honed to meet the challenge that lays ahead. Its spectacular lines are the fruit of close cooperation between the experts at Peugeot’s Style Centre and their colleagues at Peugeot Sport’s Design Department, and the newcomer’s likeness with the production version is quite astonishing !
Far more than just another styling exercise, the 2008 DKR features an aggressive stance dictated by the technical constraints associated with its mission. “We provided Peugeot’s Style Centre with a very precise brief, ” explains the Project Leader at Peugeot Sport, Jean-Christophe Pailler. “We supplied them with the basic key dimensions, as well as other information such as the cabin space we required, plus the wheel size and the suspension travel. They also had aerodynamic data resulting from our early simulation work.”
Indeed, Peugeot Sport’s design team had to answer one particularly fundamental question at a very early stage concerning the new beast’s transmission: four-wheel or two-wheel drive? The decision effectively influenced the car’s design in two key areas: “We carried out an in-depth analysis of what already existed in the world of cross-country rallying and weighed up the benefits of the different solutions. In the end, we opted for an approach that was quite different to that of the competition. Given the off-road capability of two-wheel drive transmission and its ability to run on sand, that’s the choice we ultimately went for. It enabled us to fit bigger wheels and also to benefit from more suspension travel.” The 2008 DKR consequently sits on 37-inch diameter Michelin tyres ( almost 94cm ) !
These considerations naturally had a significant knock-on effect with regard to the work of Peugeot’s stylists, but the four-strong design team rose enthusiastically to the challenge to pen the new Lion that will very soon take on the unique challenges posed by cross-country rallying. “The chief difficulty resided in adapting the model’s styling cues to the different technical constraints dictated by the hostile terrains visited by the discipline, ” notes Giovanni Rizzo, the 2008’s exterior designer. “There were two ways we could have approached this task: either by taking a standard 2008 and grafting on bespoke parts, or else by drawing inspiration from the 2008’s defining overall forms to design a car that covered the constraints inherent in its mission. We eventually decided to go down the second path to produce a fresh take on the 2008! For example, the 2008 DKR doesn’t have rear doors, so it’s more like what a coupé version of the model might be.”

Carrying over the road car’s styling cues to the rear of the new Dakar challenger turned out to be relatively straightforward, but the front proved more taxing for the design team, as Michaël Trouvé, Peugeot Design Manager, relates: “Due to the off-road capability needed, the approach angle had to be very high. This meant a very short overhang, which in turn resulted in a front-end design that was quite different to that of the production version. Happily, the technical team didn’t hesitate to listen to our arguments and accepted to reposition certain parts which could have been a problem for us. That gave us a little freedom to design a front end that resembled the look of the road car as closely as possible.”

Between September 2013 and January 2014, it was this close working relationship that inspired the 2008 DKR’s spectacular final design which represents a move away from the cues traditionally associated with cross-country rallying. Having already contested the Dakar seven times in the colours of Red Bull, in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive cars, Carlos Sainz is perfectly aware of the technical constraints that go hand-in-hand with the exacting South American stages, and he was immediately won over by the new car’s design. “The philosophy behind the 2008 DKR marks a radical break and packs a high number of new ideas, ” remarks the Spaniard. “The end result is like no other two-wheel drive car. It is very compact and that’s good. Having done the last two Dakars in a two-wheel drive car, I am convinced it is a solution that can win the event. Okay, it calls for a carefully-designed car which is at ease on all the different types of terrain visited by the event, but I know that Peugeot Sport has the necessary know-how, technology and means to pull off what is a unique and stimulating challenge for everyone in the team.”

What lies beneath the bodywork remains a secret for the moment, but the 2008 DKR’s breath-taking forms are sure to cause a stir even before the new car starts to kick up dust as it begins to be put through its paces in the colours of Red Bull and Total.

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Third in World RX Teams Championship for Team Peugeot-Hansen

 

29th november 2014

 

At the final round of the first ever FIA World Rallycross Championship in San Luis, Argentina, Team Peugeot-Hansen secured a strong third place overall in the Teams Championship standings. Swedish driver Timmy Hansen finished fourth in Argentina after a tough semi-final and final. Hansen completes his second season as a rallycross Supercar driver fourth in the drivers championship standings. Double FIA European Rallycross Champion, Timur Timerzyanov, retired from his semi-final race after a strong showing on day one in Argentina.

In the first season with the new-for-2014 Peugeot 208WRX, Team Peugeot-Hansen scored a total of five podium finishes including one victory. The squad were the in form team in the latter part of the year, and qualified on pole position four times in the last five races. The team have worked hard to collect and analyse data from the new car and the five new circuits to the championship ahead of 2015. Team Peugeot-Hansen plan to be right on the pace from the word go at Montalegre, Portugal next April. We look forward to continued growth of the World RX series next year together with teams, FIA, IMG, local promotors and fans.

Timmy Hansen (Swe)

"The Peugeot and me are at our best on tarmac and there is a lot of gravel here, so we worked hard on my driving and the car set-up to find good pace. Towards the final we got the car much closer to where we want to be and finished fourth in the final, which is very good. In the semi-final I had a really tough battle with Manfred
Stohl, he pushed me and I almost spun a few times, but when I finally got to the joker lap I got some breathing room and I came out in third. I had so much
adrenaline from that race, so I used that for the final. I didn't make a great start but we took an early joker and were able to finish fourth."

Timur Timerzyanov (Rus)

"I had quite a tough weekend, I couldn't find the speed myself and in some races on the first day the dust was quite bad. I had a strange problem with the car in the semi-final on the first lap then the car stopped at the start of lap two. The track here in Argentina is really different to the other circuits we have been to this year, it takes a different style. It has been interesting."

Kenneth Hansen, Team Principle

"We are pleased to have finished third in the first Teams Championship. We struggled from the start this weekend with pace here, which is strange because the second half of the season has been really good. Since Loheac in September we have been really good at finding the speed straight away, but we have learnt a lot this weekend and that will really help us in our preparation for next year. We will take all the information we have and can lay a path to being on the pace next season straight away.

FIA World Rallycross Championship round twelve, Argentina: Final result

1 Petter Solberg (PSRX, Citroen DS3)
2 Reinis Nitiss (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
3 Kevin Eriksson (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
4 Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)
5 Toomas Heikkinen (Marklund Motorsport, VW Polo)
6 Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)

FIA World Rallycross Championship Drivers standings (after round 12/12):

1 Petter Solberg (PSRX, Citroen DS3)
2 Toomas Heikkinen (Marklund Motorsport, VW Polo)
3 Reinis Nitiss (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
4 Timmy Hansen (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)
5 Andreas Bakkerud (OlsbergsMSE, Ford Fiesta)
6 Anton Marklund (Marklund Motorsport, VW Polo)
7 Timur Timerzyanov (Team Peugeot-Hansen, Peugeot 208)

FIA World Rallycross Championship Teams standings (after round 12/12):

1 OlsbergsMSE/Ford
2 Marklund Motorsport/Volkswagen
3 Team Peugeot-Hansen
4 PSRX
5 Monster Energy World RX Team
6 Albatec Racing

 

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