Riga World Rallycross: Ekstrom beats Kristofferson to second Latvia WRX win
In a battle between two multi-discipline experts, Mattias Ekstrom came out on top to win the second instalment of the World Rallycross' Latvian double-header, his second win of the campaign
Ekstrom set a pair of fastest times in qualifying to top the Intermediate Classification, then won semi-final one ahead of KYB Team JC team mate Robin Larsson to secure pole for the final.
He then controlled the main event from the front to net victory, and close the points gap to Johan Kristoffersson.
Series-leader Kristoffersson had used a superior tyre strategy on Saturday, the first of the two Latvian rounds to claim victory, but he didn't set a single fastest time through qualifying in round six on Sunday and ended up second to Ekstrom in the overall qualifying order.
Kristoffersson won semi-final two to join Ekstrom on the front row of the final, and despite broken front bodywork on the Volkswagen Polo showing just how close he'd been to the eventual winner's Audi in the opening corners, Kristoffersson was unable to better Ekstrom's pace by anything more than a few hundredths of a second at any point during the encounter.
Kristoffersson took his joker on lap five in a bid to leap-frog Ekstrom, but the double-DTM champion had done enough to take the win after he too took his compulsory extra route on the final lap.
Larsson meanwhile claimed his first World RX podium since the opening round of the 2016 campaign in Portugal, and made it a maiden double-rostrum appearance for the KYB Team JC squad.
A lap three joker in the final kept Larsson just ahead of reigning champion Timmy Hansen on track, where he kept the door shut in the final corner at the joker merge to ensure there was no way through for Hansen's Peugeot 208.
Larsson had fended off pressure from a fast-starting Niclas Gronholm in the opening stages of the race, Gronholm later hassling Kristoffersson when the Swede took his joker, but Gronholm dropped to fifth at the finish, behind Hansen in fourth, when the Finn took his joker on the final tour.
Kevin Hansen finished sixth, having been elevated into the final when Timo Scheider, who had initially finished in the top three of his semi-final, was disqualified from the race for contact with Andreas Bakkerud.
The incident, which forced Bakkerud into the wall on the inside of the turn-four breaking ahead, ripped the left-front corner off the Norwegian's Renault Megane and he retired from the race on the spot.
Riga World Rallycross: Kristoffersson flawless for victory in Latvian opener
World Rallycross promoter IMG to end tenure as commercial rights holder
From Lebanon to cross-category world titles - a rally legend's top 10
Petter Solberg has called time on his top-flight career after winning titles in two FIA world championships. Here, the 2003 rally and '14/15 rallycross king recalls his 10 best events - including the moment where all his success began
How to make an F1 venue fit for World RX
World Rallycross makes its first appearance at Silverstone this year as part of the 'Speedmachine' festival in May. We take a look at how the new rallycross track fared in its debut event
Volkswagen hasn't disappeared completely
Volkswagen's abrupt departure from the World Rally Championship it was dominating was one of the winter's biggest shocks. Now 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg's World Rallycross team has VW support. What does that mean for World RX and what remains of Volkswagen Motorsport?
Why rallycross is becoming irresistible
Sebastien Loeb started a new journey in his motorsport career last weekend, but he wasn't the only attraction in Portugal. DAVID EVANS examines why the World Rallycross product works so well
The entries are strong, the cars are powerful and it can teach the WRC a thing or two about promotion. But after visiting the Lydden Hill round, DAVID EVANS still has his doubts
New rallycross golden age comes to Britain
The sport began at Lydden in the late 1960s and this weekend the new-look World Rallycross Championship will strut its stuff at the Kent venue. HAL RIDGE explains why it will be unmissable
Solberg: why rallycross is my future
PETTER SOLBERG had a rough first season back in rallycross, but that hasn't deterred him from signing up for the first year of its new era in 2014, as he explains in his AUTOSPORT column
Petter Solberg says that there's still lots to learn about running a successful rallycross campaign, but he's really enjoying getting back to his roots