THE KING OF RALLYCROSS GRILLED
Kenneth Hansen answers your questions,
Aquiet, consummate professional outside a race car, it’s hard to imagine Swede Kenneth Hansen ever being riled enough, once strapped into the cockpit, to go bumper-to-bumper, door-to-door in the intensity of a rallycross race and come out top.
But that he did, more times than any other – and by some margin too – as he scooped a record number of 14 FIA European Rallycross Championship titles, 10 of which were in the discipline’s top category, during his career. Through his time driving, internationally from 1987 to 2011, he beat some of the very best the discipline has ever seen, from Will Gollop to Martin Schanche, Per Eklund and Bjorn Skogstad.
Since calling time at the wheel, he has run his team for other drivers and secured Peugeot backing for his World Rallycross Championship programme from 2014. That returned the teams’ championship title in 2015, before the squad signed Sebastien Loeb into the fold. However, it wasn’t until after Peugeot had unexpectedly left rallycross again in 2018 that Hansen’s squad, running again as a private effort, won the World RX Drivers’ crown with son Timmy, and netted another teams’ title, after a dramatic final- round decider in South Africa last year.
As the Hansen team prepares to undertake testing ahead of the postponed 2020 season getting started later this month, Hansen took time to answer Motorsport News readers’ questions.
Question: “How did you get into motorsport?”
Johannes Schiller Via Instagram
Question: “What age did you start racing?”
Adam Alderton
Via Instagram
Kenneth Hansen: “There was a karting circuit built near my home, and then one of my best friends got a go-kart as a present from his uncle for Christmas. To start with we used to just look at it in his bedroom. That was like a dream, then of course it was then my dream to get one. I managed to find one eventually together with my brother when I was 15 and I started karting in Sweden. Then later went into folkrace [a low-cost form of rallycross in Scandinavia] then I started to do rallycross in a Volvo Amazon in 1983.”
Question: “What has been your favourite moment in your motorsport career?”
Elis Walker
Via Instagram
KH: “To win the World Championship drivers’ title with my son Timmy last year was a big thing for me and the family, but personally for me on the circuit, it was winning at Loheac in 200. We were stuck in a tyre contract with Michelin: it’s a long story, but it was the first race of the season and we were really in a bad position. But overnight we were able to change to
Avon tyres and we won in front of 40,000 spectators. There was some question whether it was actually the tyres that was making the difference, but it was and it was brilliant to win. When you win there, it’s like you’re the king of Rennes and Loheac for some days. Things had been so bad, and then they went so right, that was very special.”
Question: “What went through your mind last year in Cape Town when you saw Timmy spin in the final?” [in the season-finale battle for the title, when rivals Timmy Hansen and Andreas Bakkerud clashed on the opening lap of the final].
Jarrod Klopper
Via Instagram
KH: “Just at that moment I didn’t understand, there was quite a lot of dust and it was difficult to see, but when Timmy came out of the dust, and I then saw Andreas Bakkerud was in the place he was, and Timmy was where he was, it took maybe half a lap to work it out and to do the points calculations in the head. Timmy couldn’t do any incredible things from where he was, it was just to keep focused and do the best we could. I have always been like that, never give up, fight until the last centimetre. Of course, it was not what you wish to happen, it was not a good position to be in but it was still possible to win the championship and we know the end result.”
Question: “What do you think of the RX Cartel?”
Rasmus Winberg
Via Instagram
KH: “Haha! I don’t think you want to know [what I think].”
Question: “Would you ever start a Dakar Rally team?
Niel Vandermerwe
Via Instagram
KH: “I will not do it now, but if I was a little younger then yeah it could have been interesting. It would be a completely new challenge, it’s always been something I’d like to have worked with but it never happened. When the Peugeot Sport guys were working with us in rallycross, they were also doing Dakar. They said ‘when you have done Dakar, you never want to see it again and then one month goes by and you dream to go back’. It’s a poison, that’s a little like motorsport in general. After the race you have Monday and Tuesday and you don’t want to see the race car. Maybe you had a shit result, it was raining, everything in the truck is dirty blah blah blah, and you don’t want to see it again. But then your head starts to make things more positive and you are back to do it all again.”
Question: “What do you think of rallycross going electric?”
Jack Vincent
Via Instagram
KH: “I think it’s one of the best disciplines for electric technology to fit into, because you can have very powerful cars, it can be more extreme than today, and its short distances, there’s no problems with the charging. It can also be really environmentally friendly with the charging systems in the correct way, and not using diesel generators. The noise I believe can be a good thing because we have these other noises with the gravel and tyres and so on, so I think that could also work. But we don’t know in the real world yet how it is. At the first race of World RX in Sweden the new Projekt E electric class should be there and finally we should see how electric cars will be on the track together, and how the smell and noise will be, the things we know from the petrol cars.”
Question: “Do you miss racing at the Estering in Buxtehude?” [the long-time host of the German round of European and World RX].
Hamburg1985
Via Instagram
KH: “Yes and no. I have many memories from Estering that are not brilliant, but I must say that the organisation there now has worked hard and they’ve done a very good job. The track itself is a nice one, special to drive on your own, but it’s a bit love-hate for me, I think it has become better than it was in the past, many times I went into that difficult first corner first and came out in sixth. But I have had some good results there also.”
Question: “Do you get a chance to drive the Peugeot 208 WRX? If so, how does it compare to the cars you have raced?”
James Haigh
Via Instagram
KH: “Yes I have done it sometimes, recently not so much but some small shakedowns and tests. I would say when I’m on a rallycross track, the difference to compare with my time is that you don’t have so much pain anymore when you drive, the suspension is brilliant and the chassis and engines are so precise. In my time the throttle was either on or off and the cars were quite understeering and not so balanced. It’s very different now, I think it’s the same for all of the top cars in World RX.”
Question: “What, in your opinion, changed most from European to World RX?”
Eduardo Ferreira Via Instagram
KH:“That we had someone taking care of the sport [of rallycross]. Before, it was a union of the organisers but with 10 different organisers it was not possible to make progress. Now we have one company in charge of everything more or less. Of course they want to earn money from it, but they have lifted it a lot, the television is very different and the teams can focus on what they should do more. One thing, if you look at old videos and you see the dust, now we have dust still, but it was crazy back then sometimes. And the TV, the packaging and marketing is much, much better. But of course there are also negative things also and I would say more can be done.”
Question: “Who was your greatest racing rival? Martin Schanche, Bjorn Skogstad, Sverre Isachsen, or anyone else?”
Adam Walker
Via Instagram
KH: “Martin Schanche would be the greatest because he was in my position before, he was many times European champion. He was the guy to beat. I remember my first race against him in Supercar in Austria in 1993, we started at the front of the A final together and I was happy just to be racing with him, but then he made a mistake and I overtook and was able to win. That was amazing. But on the circuit also I had many hard and incredible fights with Ludvig Hunsbedt, we could race together close and hard but fair.”
Question: “Which driver was the hardest competition of all time?”
Marius Johansen
Via Instagram
KH: “The roughest on the circuit, that was
Per Eklund. He was rough, I mean you knew there would be contact when you were together with him in a race. That’s how he saw rallycross, that it should be like that. He saw it in a different way to me, but when I raced him I needed to become a little more like him also to fight back.”
Question: “Will the liveries on your Peugeot 208s be the same as last season?”
Woody
Via Instagram
KH: “Nope. You’ll have to wait and see.”
Question: “Is Peugeot Sport going to return as a factory team to the World Rallycross Championship?”
Thiago Grillo
Via Instagram
KH: “I think it is possible, yes. But manufacturers are always going in different directions, sometimes racing, sometimes rally, or rallycross. That changes depending on which people are involved and the circumstances at the time. I think it’s possible, but when, I don’t know. Perhaps it would be after their new Le Mans period for Peugeot, maybe that’s five or eight years, or maybe it could be more quickly. You never know.”
Question: “Who would you choose from the past or present to race against?”
Bruno Pereira
Via Instagram
KH: “In rallycross, it would be nice to race against Alain Prost. He did a lot of Andros Trophy, and that was not the answer you expected I suppose!”
Question: “When will we see you race in World RX against your sons?”
Steffen Spies
Via Instagram
KH: “If I raced against them like that, it would be a little more of a fun event. In a rallycross car I don’t think it will happen. Time goes, now it’s their time and I have done it, but if the opportunity came up, something would be fun. We actually did a Peugeot 208 Cup circuit race a together in France a few years ago, sharing the car. That was enjoyable. I like to drive.”
Question: “Do you miss racing yourself or do you prefer working with your sons?”
Macaully Willis
Via Instragam
KH: “When you have been in a race car, you always want to drive. I like to drive, but I know also what it takes to be competing at a top level. That I have done, so I enjoy a lot now to work with the team and the sport in a different. It’s difficult to compare, but it’s fun to try and do this as good as I did as a driver. I would also love to be in the car sometimes, but it’s not just to jump in, it takes a lot.”
Question: “You recently had a book written about you, did you enjoy going back over your career?”
Dan Thomas
Via Instagram
KH: “Absolutely. There were even things that came up that I didn’t know, and things that needed to be aired again and to be discussed. It was a very enjoyable process.”
Question: “If one of your sons left the team to do something else, do you have anyone in mind who you would like to have in the team?”
Jake Edmunds
Via Twitter
KH: “I would like to have someone who is similar to them, not only as a driver but also on the side of the circuit. There were some interesting questions that came up about Shane van Gisbergen [Australian Supercars star], when he was doing so well in the World RX Esports series. Everyone was surprised by his speed in a virtual rallycross car. I spoke with him sometimes when he was chatting with Kevin online, so that would be interesting. I think I would look a little outside the box to have someone new in the team.”
Question: “What are your hopes for the 2020 season?”
Johan Dall
Via Instagram
KH: “That we can go back racing like it’s planned, and we can do it in a safe and good way and nobody is affected just because we are going to events. And for the results, we had good competition last year and Johan Kristoffersson is coming back with his old car, the factory Volkswagen Polo. It will be tough, but it’s two very different things. The main aim is for everyone to stay healthy during this Covid-19 situation, but of course we want to be on the top again as well.”
Question: “You came close to running Andrew Jordan in 2015. How do you think he would’ve got on during a full campaign in the 208?”
Dan Wright
Via Twitter
KH: “I think Andrew would have done
well. He’s such a brilliant guy, he’s very good to work with and he has what it takes, that’s for sure. I think it would have been successful. That’s a pity it didn’t happen but I wish him the best in what he’s doing this year and I hope he can still come back to rallycross. I had the opportunity to work with him a little again in the
Titans RX series last year, and that was definitely nice again.”
Question: “Now I have some time on my hands, how do I get a drive with you in World RX for a full season?”
Andrew Jordan
Via Email
KH: “A good start would be to call me, Andrew.”
Question: “Who are the best drivers you’ve seen in World RX since 2014, apart from your sons?”
Vincent Haas
Via Twitter
KH: “Petter Solberg is very good, but the best drivers can be different things. If you mean as a driver and a complete person, Johan Kristoffersson is very good. We know he’s talented, we saw what he did against Petter in the same team to win two World Championship titles, but he’s also a very good person. It’s enjoyable to talk to him and spend some time with him, so I would say all round it’s Johan.”
Question: “Who’s your favourite driver in Team Hansen?”
Kevin Hansen
Via Twitter
KH: “That’s a good question. Maybe I need to think about it a little before I give an answer to that!”