Barcelona World Rallycross: Timmy Hansen leads again for Peugeot

The Swede was fastest in the first heat, taking the joker on the first lap of his race to leapfrog teammate Davy Jeanney when the Frenchman took his extra route.

Hansen was again fastest in the second heat, bettering the time set by Petter Solberg, but was demoted to sixth by a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits in the first corner.

Regardless, Hansen remains top with compatriots Mattias Ekstrom and Johan Kristoffersson next up, the latter tied on points with the Norwegian Solberg.

While Hansen ahead won the last heat two race, Ekstrom passed Kristoffersson on the final lap.

Championship leader Solberg made a fantastic start in his second heat race to lead throughout and set the fastest time once Hansen's penalty was taken into account. Solberg's tenth fastest time while caught in traffic in heat one leaves him fourth at the end of day one.

Reinis Nitiss ends the first day fifth overall, fighting back from missing the semi-finals altogether at the last round in France, compounding his recent run of poor fortune.

Nitiss' OlsbergsMSE team mate Andreas Bakkerud lies in sixth ahead of Toomas Heikkinen and Robin Larsson.

Double 2015 winner Jeanney was pushed wide in the first lap battle for position in heat two and dropped to the back of the pack, ending the day ninth.

Two-time European champion Timur Timerzyanov was again on form and had a close race in heat two with Heikkinen from which he came out on top and is 11th at the end of day one, currently inside the semi-final qualifying positions.

Just outside the top 12 are Tanner Foust, who retired from his heat one race on his fourth start of the year, and Henning Solberg, who received a track limits penalty in heat one.

Behind them in 15th is Liam Doran, the British driver having led SDRX team mate Petter Solberg in the first heat before being slowed by a broken driveshaft.

DTM driver and rallycross debutant Timo Scheider was 14th fastest in free practice but failed to finish heat one.

He returned for heat two, set the 11th fastest time and is 18th overall, one place ahead of teammate Alx Danielsson, who broke his Audi S3's suspension on the jump in heat two.