Recent Desert X-Prix winner Johan Kristoffersson has told DirtFish his chances of returning to the World Rallycross Championship in a bid to win a fourth title in 2021 “look dark”.
Kristoffersson has missed just one World RX season since the series’ inception in 2014 – in 2019 when both Volkswagen and PSRX pulled out of the championship.
He is the most successful driver in World RX history with 23 wins from 61 appearances and three titles in 2017, ’18 and ’20 – including an unprecedented sweep of 11 of the 12 events in 2018.
However, the 32-year-old has admitted the chances of him lining up on the grid in Hell, Norway on June 12/13 are looking increasingly slim.
“It looks dark at the moment. But yeah, let’s see,” he said to DirtFish before confessing he was trying to put a program together.
“But at the same time, it’s not even something that I can try [that’s] like reachable so I need someone to give me a big hand.
“For sure if it is the right moment, the right team, right car, right decision you know everything would be right, but you know if it’s not 100% comfortable and right I won’t do it, then I’d rather sit out.
“Because I’ve nothing to prove if I’m not in the position to win.”
Kristoffersson has continued to show his racing prowess in the rallycross off-season, most notably in the inaugural Extreme E event where he executed a wily cutback maneuver to win both the semi-final and final for Rosberg X Racing.
He and his team-mate Molly Taylor have therefore established an early championship lead and cemented their place in history as the first ever winners of an X-Prix.
When asked by DirtFish how this success compared to all of his other accomplishments – including a pair of Scandinavian Touring Car Championship titles in touring cars and three race wins in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) as well as class podiums in rallying – Kristoffersson said “it’s a little bit different” as XE “is a new place”.
“It felt a little bit special because it’s the first one,” he said.
“And yeah, it’s like a little bit of making history with the equality with Molly and the environment and the whole show is new.
“It’s a new place to me, I’d never been in Saudi Arabia so that is also quite fun but of course the full championship in rallycross, winning 11 out of the 12, this doesn’t beat that but still the victory really means a lot.”
