Spain WRX: Hansen leads after Day 1

The Swedish driver made the best start in his Q1 race to lead throughout, but had a more challenging encounter in Q2, where Petter Solberg led the final race of the day into the first corner, despite bogging slightly at the initial getaway.

Solberg led the race until taking his joker on lap three when Hansen, who had taken his extra route on lap one, returned to the lead.

The joker lap at the Catalan Formula 1 venue is on the outside of the final corner, with a higher exit speed to that of the final turn on the main lap, and provided Solberg with a sling-shot effort to make a move around the outside of Hansen.

But, the Swede stood his ground into the second corner and despite Solberg having got alongside, Hansen maintained the position to take a race win on track and set second quickest time.

Second overnight is Solberg’s main title-rival Mattias Ekstrom, who was fastest in Q2 thanks to a dominant drive in his race, in which he beat fellow Audi driver Robin Larsson.

The privateer Swede was seventh in Q2 and holds the same position overall. Solberg meanwhile sits in fourth. Two-time 2016 World RX event winner Andreas Bakkerud is third.

The Norwegian won his Q1 race to be second fastest and finished third to Hansen and Solberg on track in Q2 to record fifth fastest time.

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb was second only to team mate Hansen in the morning’s Free Practice session, but had contact with Ken Block and Guy Wilks at the start of Q1 and was then passed by Janis Baumanis and Larsson at the start of his Q2 race.

Anton Marklund, who days before the start of the Barcelona event was in hospital with suspected food poisoning is ninth overall, and Latvian Reinis Nitiss is also inside the top twelve on his return to the OlsbergsMSE team, in 11th.

Winner of the last event in France, Johan Kristoffersson, was second after the first corner in the last race of Q2 but was forced wide into turn two and dropped to fifth.

He lost further time behind contact between Timur Timerzyanov and Andreas Bakkerud and is 13th overall, ahead of Block.

Former JWRC driver Guy Wilks had a difficult return to World RX. Driving a JRM Racing Mini he spun at the first corner of Q1, involved in the contact between Loeb and Block, and had a poor getaway from the line in Q2.

The Brit is 19th overall, one place behind DTM driver Timo Scheider who hit a wall in Q2 and broke the front left suspension on his Munnich Motorsport Seat Ibiza.