Kevin Hansen takes first podium of the season in Finland

Hansen Motorsport added a fourth podium to its tally with third place for Kevin Hansen at the World RX of Finland (23-24 August), while the team’s streak of attending every round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship also remains intact.

In a great show of sportsmanship, rivals CE Dealer Team – powered by Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) and PWR Group – enabled the Hansen outfit to return for the fourth round of the 2025 season.

The rollercoaster week filtered into the weekend. A fifth place in Q1 was followed up by two Heat wins as Kevin secured fourth in the Qualifying standings. The Swede then went on to finish fourth on track in the Final, but a two-second penalty for home hero Juha Rytkönen promoted Kevin to the podium.

In the #21 car – newly decked out in CE Dealer Team’s yellow livery – Timmy Hansen looked in position for a podium himself, before damage forced him down the order for a fourth-place finish following Rytkönen’s penalty.

A shared passion to support the future of rallycross brought the partnership with CE Dealer Team to life just in time for the action at KymiRing, but this left the Hansen World RX Team with a lot of catching up to do.

This became even more apparent in the first qualifying session of the weekend, as Kevin and Timmy finished fifth and sixth in the standings, respectively. A race win for Kevin in Q2 marked a step in the right direction, and the Swedish squad ended the day with Kevin in third ahead of Timmy in sixth.

Sunday morning marked a key turning point, as a spectacular Q3 race saw Kevin fend off Niclas Grönholm for the win. In true rallycross style, the pair tussled in the opening corners. Grönholm attempted a bold move on the outside, but Kevin held his nerve and found the gap needed to take the lead.

A nail-biting race ensued, and it looked as though Kevin was not far enough ahead as he entered the joker lap. Launching his electric car down the hill, the Hansen driver defied the odds and came out ahead of Grönholm to secure the victory.

The difficulties of Saturday continued to haunt Timmy as he struggled to find traction in his RX1e machine, ending Q3 in last place despite a clean run. Demonstrating the grit that helped him take the 2019 World RX crown, Timmy took second place in the last qualifying session to secure a spot on the back row of the Final.

The wide opening corner at KymiRing delivered amazing race starts all weekend, and the World RX Final was no exception. As the world’s best fought for position, Timmy looked to have secured second by keeping to the inside of the pack. Damage to the rear of his Peugeot 208, however, saw the Swede drop down the order to finish fifth.

Meanwhile Kevin worked his way up to fourth place thanks to an early joker strategy and was hot on the heels of Rytkönen throughout. The 27-year-old nearly achieved the overtake with his first lunge, but in the end would follow Rytkönen to the finish line. A post-race penalty, however, handed Kevin his first silverware of the season, and promoted Timmy into fourth.

Kenneth Hansen, Team Principal at Hansen World RX Team, said: “We would have been happy whatever the result. It was a last-minute call up so it was an achievement just to make it to the Final let alone show some pace with so little preparation.

“A big thank you to CE Dealer Team and Volvo Construction Equipment for making our attendance possible, and to the FIA and our fellow World RX teams for allowing us back on to the entry list. We are here and that is a victory to us. To have enough speed to challenge for the podium is also a great result. Hopefully we will be back in Türkiye to fight for some more silverware.”

Kevin Hansen, Hansen World RX Team driver, said: “Finally some silverware for me this season. A shame that it came about from a penalty for Juha [Rytkönen] but after what we’ve been through we can’t help but feel great about a podium. The team really deserve it after such a rollercoaster of a week. A massive thank you to the CE Dealer Team and Volvo Construction Equipment. Without them we wouldn’t have been here fighting for a podium in the first place and we really appreciate their support.”

Timmy Hansen, Hansen World RX Team driver, said: “Fourth place for me today. I finished fifth on track but a penalty for Juha Rytkönen handed me another place, which was a shame for him as it was his first podium of the season. For me my podium run comes to an end, but all that mattered to the team this week was that we were here, and we were competing. To come away with a podium for Kevin is a well-deserved reward, and we’re very grateful to CE Dealer Team and Volvo Construction Equipment for giving us this opportunity.”

For more news from the paddock and deeper insights throughout the year, subscribe to the Hansen Motorsport YouTube, where Kevin and Timmy will share exclusives from behind-the-scenes, discussing the action both on-track and back in the garages!

World RX returns for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2025 season next month (20-21 September), as the championship heads to Istanbul Park for a double-header season showdown.