Topi is no stranger to victory of course – having clinched last year’s Global Rallycross Championship in the United States with an unprecedented run of five straight wins. But this triumph means something special: the first one as part of the fastest-growing motorsport championship in the world, and the first win with his new Marklund Motorsport team, which is officially supported by Volkswagen.
”I’m absolutely stoked,” said Heikkinen. ”This is my first win in world rallycross but it means a lot more to me than just that: I hope it’s the beginning of a really successful second half to the season,” he said. ”Ever since I joined the team, I knew that we were in a winning situation. OK, it’s taken a little while to happen – which is only to be expected with a brand new team and brand new car – but now we’ve finally got there and it feels absolutely fantastic. This is a car that allows me to drive comfortably and get the best out of it. We came to Belgium with no specific plan, just wanting to do our best as always, and in the end we had a thrilling battle in the final that allowed us to win.”
Topi had to work hard for this latest victory to add to his illustrious CV. Such was the closeness of the competition that in the second heat on Saturday, he crossed the line side-by-side with his team mate Anton Marklund, before it was judged that Anton had won by only a tenth of a second.
On Sunday, Topi was the hero of a spectacular final. The Finn took his joker lap on lap two, handing the lead to former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg. But then Topi closed right up to his Norwegian rival, and claimed the win after Solberg went for his own joker on the final lap, with Timmy Hansen in hot pursuit.
”What a final!” said Topi at the finish. ”It was a really close battle and I had to push as hard as I could: maximum attack, like we say in Finland! I knew that literally every second counted and I tried to find the usual compromise between taking every opportunity at every corner and driving as neatly and efficiently as I could. When you’re in these high-pressure situations, you always find something extra even if you don’t realise it is happening and that’s what happened today. I’d like to thank the team and everyone at Marklund for helping me to get this great result. It means so much. Now we’re off to Canada in about a month’s time and I’m really looking forward to it, because we’ve got some real momentum behind us now. America – wherever in America – is like a second home to me, so we’re going to be aiming to make it two on the trot. See you there!”
Provisional World RX drivers’ standings (after round six of 12):
1 Petter Solberg 125 points
2 Reinis Nittis 122
3 Toomas Heikkinen 117
4 Andreas Bakkerud 99
5 Anton Marklund 85
6 Timmy Hansen 78
