Timmy Hansen is facing a completely new challenge this weekend at Tierp. Arriving without any prior testing and adapting to an FC2 car radically different from the Peugeot he had been driving until now, the Swede admits he has a huge amount to learn in a very short space of time.
“This is a completely different car compared to the Peugeot we’re used to, so I have a lot to learn very, very quickly,” Hansen explained after free practice.
“Now that we’ve done some laps, I’m starting to feel a bit more comfortable, but I’m still being too cautious. The walls are very close here and I just need to brake a bit later and gradually raise the pace.”
On a Tierp layout known for its technical nature and lack of margin for error, Hansen admits he is still far from extracting the car’s full potential.
“It’s a very unusual car to drive. There’s a lot of weight over the rear and the gearbox is extremely short. There are many different things to understand. I still don’t really have the rhythm yet, even though the car clearly has a lot of potential. Right now, the main issue is that I’m not fully using what the car is capable of.”
The FIA RX1e world champion also knows he will need to adapt quickly, with qualifying beginning immediately after free practice.
“I still haven’t found my race rhythm or my normal level yet. Now qualifying starts and I’m going to have to learn directly in race conditions. I still need a few more laps to understand exactly where to brake and how to drive this car efficiently. It’s going to be interesting.”
Although Hansen competed in a handful of rally events earlier this spring and also took part in several offshore racing competitions in recent months, he admits he is still lacking references behind the wheel of a rallycross car at this level. His last appearance in top-level competition came last summer at Finland’s KymiRing circuit.
“I did some rallying this spring, but it’s completely different. The last time I really drove a high-performance rallycross car was probably in Finland last year. I also need to get some of those instincts back.”
Despite the adaptation process, the Swede is clearly enjoying being back behind the wheel of a rallycross car.
“Driving these cars is fantastic and I’m having a lot of fun. Obviously, it’ll be even more fun once I’m really fast again.”
With three days of racing scheduled this weekend, Hansen is choosing to take a gradual approach before targeting stronger results.
“We have three days of racing ahead of us, so I’m actually quite happy about that. Today, the goal is mainly to stay calm, avoid mistakes and keep learning. Hopefully I can gradually find the speed and maybe be genuinely competitive by Sunday. But no matter what, I still want to go fast.”