Trois-Rivieres World Rallycross: Petter Solberg takes dominant win

Norwegian former World Rally Championship star Solberg had been fastest in heats three and four and earned pole for his semi final and then the final.

He was joined on the front row of the grid by Swede Anton Marklund, who was second at the Intermediate stage, as he continued his emergence as a top rallycross driver.

It was Marklund who made the best start in the final, but by the time the pack had made it to Turn 1, Solberg's Citroen had outdragged Marklund's VW Polo.

Timur Timerzyanov slotted into third ahead of home hero Patrick Carpentier, with Reinis Nitiss and Toomas Heikkinen completing the field.

Carpentier was the first to take his joker on the opening lap, but spun at the end of the second tour, putting him out of contention for a podium finish.

Up front Marklund took his joker on the third lap, coming out in third behind Timerzyanov, the positions exchanging again when the Russian driver took his joker on lap five.

Much to the dismay of the vocal crowd, Carpentier crashed out on the fourth lap on the loose section, leaving his car stranded for the rest of the race.

Solberg continued to put in consistent fast laps and was able to take his joker and return to the lead.

He even backed off on the final lap as he comfortably won the World Rallycross event outside Europe.

Marklund finished second, his first Supercar podium, while reigning European champion Timerzyanov scored his first podium of the season.

Nitiss was the last starter in the semi finals, but worked his way into the final. Despite pushing hard, he was not a match for the top three. Heikkinen finished fifth.

Jacques Villeneuve had his best run of the season in the first two heats in Canada, and was sixth overall going into heat three, only to damage the fuel tank in his Peugeot, putting him out.

Tanner Foust retired from the first heat with driveshaft issues that had plagued him through practice. With no spares left, he was out of the event.

Final results - 6 laps:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car         Time/Gap
 1.  Petter Solberg      PS Citroen      5m22.550s
 2.  Anton Marklund      Marklund VW       +2.673s
 3.  Timur Timerzyanov   Hansen Peugeot    +4.614s
 4.  Reinis Nitiss       Olsbergs Ford     +5.141s
 5.  Toomas Heikkinen    Marklund VW       +6.843s

Retirements:

     Patrick Carpentier  Marklund VW        3 laps