Although the Beetle could rightly be called dominant in the Red Bull Global Rallycross series, its sister car, the Polo RX, could not be called the same. Its luck might be changing, though, as Volkswagen RX Sweden driver Johan Kristoffersson won his first rallycross of the 2016 season this weekend.

Racing took place in Loheac, France this weekend for the eighth round of the FIA rallycross championship.

The win is a testament to the value of a strong weekend, as racing in the main pack was messy and slow. It could be said that Kristoffersson earned his win in qualifying, when he put himself in pole position for the weekend’s final race.

Leading from beginning to end, Kristoffersson just kept building a bigger and bigger lead as the cars behind bumped and jostled for position, knocking one another out of contention.



“The Volkswagen Polo RX and my driving style suit the wet conditions well, and to be fastest in Q3 and Q4 was fantastic,“ said Kristoffersson. "I heard on the radio I was clear behind so I was just trying to stay away from the kerbs and push hard, but not too hard. I have to say a really big thanks to the team, we made some positive changes to the car overnight and it was a pleasure to drive. This is just fantastic!”

Kristoffersson’s masterful performance marks not only Volkswagen RX Sweden’s first win of the 2016 season, but also the team’s first ever victory since merging with Marklund Motorsport.

With the win, Kristoffersson moves into third place in the driver’s championship, behind Mattias Ekstrom (Audi S1) and Petter Solberg (Citroen DS3).

Volkswagen RX Sweden will be back to win another rallycross on September 16, in Barcelona, Spain. After that there are only three rallycrosses left this season. They will take place in Latvia, Germany, and Argentina.