Team KMS has claimed the opening medal of the first-ever FIA Extreme H World Cup, emerging victorious in a closely fought Time Trial battle where a mere 0.591 seconds separated the top two teams.
The Swedish pairing of Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky delivered a commanding performance throughout both the morning and afternoon sessions. In the morning run, the margin between KMS and Jameel Motorsport’s Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor was razor-thin — just 0.139 seconds.
Having set the pace earlier in the day, Team KMS was the last to run in the afternoon, with pressure mounting as Jameel Motorsport produced a strong final effort that threatened to overturn the standings.
Taking over the car from Åhlin-Kottulinsky, Kristoffersson launched an aggressive drive, immediately closing the gap to Jameel in the opening sector. Despite clipping a bank at Gate 10 and rotating slightly too early at Gate 15 — both costing valuable time — he managed to cross the finish line 0.452 seconds ahead of Jameel, securing victory in the afternoon session and overall honours.
Johan Kristoffersson, driver for Team KMS, said: “It was a very tight battle today with Team Jameel. After the first round there was only a tenth between us. Also, I saw Kevin [Hansen] had a very quick run on his drive, so I knew that I had to have a very good run and maybe I overpushed a little bit in a few places.”
“Mikaela did a great job, and I managed to be fast enough to beat them overall. So we are very happy with that, we take the 10 points and try and enjoy the moment, but also switch focus to the Head-to-Head battle.”
Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, driver for Team KMS, said: “We are super happy to take the win in the Time Trial. It was very close in the end, so that really shows that there is some really good competition here in the FIA Extreme H World Cup. When you combine the two times from this morning and the afternoon, we only won by half a second.
“Now we’re focused on the Head-to-Heads.”
Team Hansen’s Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings wound up third behind Jameel, despite Munnings running deep into the tight right hander at Gate 15 which cost the team, leaving it only fifth in the afternoon session.
The Team EVEN duo of Ole Christian Veiby and Hedda Hosås ended the day fourth, less than a second off the top three, while JBX’s Tommi Hallman – who set the fastest single lap time of the day – and Christine GZ were fifth.
Carl Cox Motorsport’s Timo Scheider and Klara Andersson finished sixth after being hampered by a puncture in the morning session, then receiving a five-second penalty in the afternoon after Andersson dropped a chevron marker on track.
The results were completed by ZEROID Motorsport’s Fraser McConnell and Gray Leadbetter – who had to contend with a sensor issue in the morning, and a 14-second penalty in the afternoon session for a Switch Zone infringement – and STARD’s Patrick O’Donovan and Amanda Sorensen.
STARD also had issues in the morning with a rear inverter failure, but recovered for a trouble-free run in the afternoon.
James Taylor, Chief Championship Officer, Extreme H, said: “We’ve had an incredible first day of racing here at the FIA Extreme H World Cup, with all drivers pushing the car to its limits. The gap between first and last car was so close, it’s been incredibly exciting to watch. We couldn’t have asked for more.”
The FIA Extreme H World Cup continues today with the Head-to-Head competition.