FIA World Rallycross Championship Press Office

EKS driver Mattias Ekstrom continued his form from Q1 into Q2 to stop the clocks first and top the Intermediate Classification at the end of the opening day in Loheac.

Round eight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in France marks the first time that Ekstrom has twice been fastest on the first day of a round of World RX, putting him in a strong position heading into Q3 and Q4 on Sunday morning.

Ekstrom said, "The plan for day two is easy, everybody wants to try to win the race here. It’s one of those events, together with Holjes, which is the highlight of the year.

"I think there are more fans than ever here, because out little fan area in our little team is exploding. We have a lot of nice French fans visiting us. I have to say it’s the most extreme fan feeling I have had in modern motorsport. How much attention they give to what we do is really great."

Double 2016 World RX winner Andreas Bakkerud is second after Q2, the Norwegian passing rally legend Sebastien Loeb in Q2 on track and in the overall standings, while Loeb remains in the top three overall in third.

Loeb’s Peugeot-Hansen team mate Timmy Hansen was fourth fastest behind younger brother Kevin Hansen in Q2 and is fourth overall, ahead of Hoonigan Racing Division driver Ken Block in fifth, using experienced gained from racing at Loheac in 2014, where he finished fourth.

Ekstrom’s EKS team mate Topi Heikkinen is sixth, one place ahead of Norway’s Petter Solberg in seventh. Like Heikkinen, Robin Larsson beat Solberg in Q2 and is eighth, with France’s Davy Jeanney, Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson, Latvia’s Reinis Nitiss and Sweden’s Kevin Hansen all currently inside the qualifying positions for the semi-finals.