Here’s another questionable passing maneuver, although it doesn’t really compare to the one we recently showcased. That one deserves a pedestal in the “dirty moves hall of fame”.
RallyCross is one of the most blood boiling, adrenaline pumping motorsport discipline of all time. If you don’t believe me, I urge you to watch the video below. Even before the actual pass happening, gazing at how the cars get inches of each other whilst jumping and drifting is enough to give you heart palpitations.
Right from the beginning, thanks to the camera mounted on Timmy Hansen’s car, we can see the young Swedish racing-driver charging for victory in his Peugeot 208 WRX. The footage captured is amazing and it perfectly depicts the brutal and exciting experience of RallyCross. That said, in the final lap, after the joker, Hansen went full throttle after Mattias Ekstrom’s Audi S1, which he eventually passed in the last corner before the finish line, thanks to a questionable, aggressive and outrageous tactic.
He basically made his way through the inside of the corner, pushing his opponent out of his way. But can it be considered a dirty move? Well, objectively speaking, no. At least from my personal point of view. The driver wasn’t looking to take out his opponent, he didn’t do it deliberately, but instead he saw a gap and went for it. Sure, the outcome wasn’t fair, but racing rarely is. As the great Ayrton Senna said: “if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver”
Mind you, that’s not an excuse and that’s exactly why Timmy Hansen’s action didn’t go unpunished as he was given a 5 second penalty. Needless to say, that was enough to strip him of his victory. This happened about a month ago.
Hansen didn’t seem to think he got caught on the wrong foot, stating:
“I’ve seen the images and I think it was just part of rallycross. I have the feeling that my victory was taken from me. Mattias thought he had won the race and lifted, as he said at the press conference. I closed the gap and tried my luck. It was according to the rulebook but the stewards thought otherwise. I am very proud of our weekend in Holjes.”
So, what have you learned? I’ll tell you what – the fact that rallycross is the most awesome motorsport discipline since the invention of the 2nd car.