IN BRIEF: The Ford Fiesta ST fleet of Patrik Sandell, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Joni Wiman proved to be the class of the field at Volkswagen Rallycross DC, the third round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season. All three drivers won both of their points-paying heats before finishing 1-2-3 in Sunday's main event, with Sandell taking his first victory and Wiman his first podium.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: After putting 11 cars onto the line for the first time in series history (due to a penalty administration error in a semifinal), no participating driver failed to finish Sunday's main event. The clean start was marred only by a jump start from Isachsen, who quickly yielded to the entire pack in self-correction to avoid a stop and go penalty. Piquet Jr. staked his claim to the holeshot, but Sandell managed to get by on the first lap to facilitate an intense battle for the lead all race long.

Foust seemed set to rebound from two difficult races, but a sick motor dropped the two-time series champion from third to fifth behind Wiman and Arpin, who rebounded after falling from the front row on the start to sixth. Behind them, Speed led Lasek cleanly through most of the race, until the Maryland native clipped an obstacle and damaged his drivetrain, sending the car into rear wheel drive and causing a spin that put him to the back.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Sunday's Volkswagen Rallycross DC, the third round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season:

1.Patrik Sandell, #18 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST

2.Nelson Piquet Jr., #75 SH Racing Rallycross Ford, Fiesta ST

3.Joni Wiman, #31 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST

5.Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Polo

6.Scott Speed, #77 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Polo

7.Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST

8.Austin Dyne, #14 Barracuda Racing Ford Fiesta

9.Rhys Millen, #67 Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing Veloster Turbo

10.Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI

11.Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI

12.Emma Gilmour, #27 Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing Veloster Turbo

QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Sunday's Volkswagen Rallycross DC, the third round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season:

Patrik Sandell, Driver, #18 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST: 'It's absolutely perfect. I felt when we came here that if I could just be smart and not make any mistakes, I could fight for the top. And I knew that the start at the final was so important, so I just tried to focus on that as much as I could. I think I took the start directly on the light, and that made me come off the line so good. That was the key to everything.'

Nelson Piquet Jr., Driver, #75 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST: 'This is my first season, and there will be a few mistakes here and there, but we're getting better every weekend. Patrik is my Ford teammate—I didn't want to risk that one or two Fords would lose positions. If it wasn't my teammate, maybe I would have tried a little bit harder or tried to force something, but because he's my teammate, I had to be extra careful. I'm sure he's going to pay me back next time.'

Joni Wiman, Driver, #31 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST: 'Of course I am really happy. I was on the second row because I false started in the semifinal, but I got quite a good start and got around Tanner. But I am really happy to have my first podium, that's what I was aiming for in this race. We've definitely got the speed—all the cars are really good and we couldn't ask for a better result for Ford and Olsbergs MSE this weekend.'

Tanner Foust, Driver, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Polo: 'This was an unbelievable weekend for the team. We had two cars that had random engine issues within an hour of each other—one had a bolt back out into the flywheel, and the other one had a bearing go bad—and we had one spare engine. So we changed both engines, but they also had to manufacture a bearing out of a piece of a hammer, organize some CNC work, and rebuild a gearbox. It's unbelievable that they put it all back together. They were here until 2:30, and we didn't think we were going to be on the track today. Instead, we were able to get there in the final and have potential for a good result. We were still suffering some engine problems in the final, so we couldn't really hold on to third place, but I'm still unbelievably proud and amazed by the capabilities of this team.

FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Sunday's Volkswagen Rallycross DC, the third round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season:

◾This was Patrik Sandell's first career Red Bull Global Rallycross victory and his third career podium finish, as well as his first since New Hampshire last July. Sandell's two heat wins marked the sixth and seventh heat victories of his career, putting him sixth on the all-time list.

◾Nelson Piquet Jr. earned his second consecutive podium finish on Sunday after appearing in his third consecutive main event. By also finishing third in the GRC Lites category, Piquet Jr. became the first driver in Red Bull GRC history to earn a medal in both the Supercars and GRC Lites classes in the same event.

◾Joni Wiman earned his first career podium on Sunday, becoming the first driver to graduate from GRC Lites and earn a medal in a Supercars event.

◾Tanner Foust's fifth place finish marked his first appearance in a main event since finishing second in Las Vegas last November, a gap of 227 days. It also marked the first time that he was the highest-scoring driver for Volkswagen in a Red Bull GRC event.

◾Despite missing both of his heat races, Scott Speed's sixth place finish was enough to maintain the points lead over Piquet Jr. by a single point. His six heat victories this season still lead all Supercars drivers.

◾Ken Block's seventh place finish is his best result of the 2014 Red Bull GRC season so far.

◾Emma Gilmour has finished 12th in all three of her 2014 Red Bull GRC appearances.

◾Four drivers have made all three main events so far this season: Patrik Sandell, Nelson Piquet Jr., Scott Speed, and Austin Dyne.

UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS:

1.Scott Speed, 135 points

2.Nelson Piquet Jr., 134

3.Patrik Sandell, 108

4.Steve Arpin, 108

5.Joni Wiman, 85

6.Brian Deegan, 70

7.Austin Dyne, 67

8.Bucky Lasek, 54

9.Ken Block, 53

10.Rhys Millen, 42

11.Tanner Foust, 41

12.Sverre Isachsen, 41

13.Emma Gilmour, 18

14.Pat Moro, 3

UNOFFICIAL MANUFACTURER POINTS:

1.Ford, 277

2.Volkswagen, 176

3.Subaru, 95

4.Hyundai, 60

5.Chevrolet, 3

Photo credit: Global RallyCross Championship
posted on conceptcarz.com

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