Hockenheim World Rallycross: Mattias Ekstrom claims third 2017 win

Ekstrom had not featured at the head of the order on either of the first two days but hit the front when it mattered most, winning both his semi-final and the final on Sunday to remain unbeaten in 2017.

Fine rain fell ahead of the day's three races and having started on the front row of semi-final two, Ekstrom pressured polesitter and race leader Timmy Hansen throughout to claim the race win when Hansen made a mistake on the final lap and ran wide into the Sachs Kurve gravel trap.

That meant Ekstrom lined up on the front row for the final alongside Johan Kristoffersson, who had earlier beaten semi-final one poleman Sebastien Loeb.

In the main race, Ekstrom seized the lead as Kristoffersson's Volkswagen Polo bogged down at the start.

Taking his joker on lap four of the race, Ekstrom remained at the head of the order to continue his winning run at the start of the season, and was shadowed to the finish by Kristoffersson.

Timmy Hansen claimed his first podium of 2017 in third in his Hansen-Peugeot 208, having used the dryer inside line to overtake Petter Solberg into the first corner at the start of lap three after he had briefly been passed by World Rally champion Solberg.

Norwegian Solberg was briefly jumped by Loeb when he served his joker on lap three, but moved back ahead when the Frenchman took his own joker on the final tour.

The pair finished fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Ekstrom's team-mate Toomas Heikkinen.

The result means Ekstrom extends his lead in the drivers' standings over Kristoffersson by two points, as the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team extended its margin in the teams championship by virtue of both Kristoffersson and Solberg making it into the final for the third event in a row.