Peugeot joins forces with Hansen Motorsport in World Rallycross Championship

MANILA, Philippines - The Peugeot 208—making its mark in the world of motorsports

In such a short period of time, the Peugeot 208, the direct descendant of the legendary champion Peugeot 205 rally car, has made its mark in the world of motorsports. Peugeot takes this success story further by announcing its involvement in another popular motorsport discipline – rallycross.

The popularity and excitement inherent in rallycross has seen the discipline grow tremendously in recent years, and the process has been given a further lift by the creation of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2014. All the ingredients were consequently in place for Peugeot to join forces with one of the sport’s leading teams, Hansen Motorsport.

Peugeot’s involvement in motorsport has undoubtedly been one of the broadest ever seen over the decades. The make has claimed titles in the World Rally Championship and Sportscar World Championship, while its ventures into such celebrated competitions as the Dakar, Pikes Peak, Le Mans and Indianapolis have all been crowned with success. Rallycross is another competition in which Peugeot has been active over the years, and the introduction of a new World Rallycross Championship in 2014 will provide the discipline with a tremendous springboard to expand beyond its traditional European boundaries. This in turn will permit a new generation of fans to discover the sport. Peugeot wanted to be a part of this process from the outset and, as a consequence, has joined forces with one of rallycross’s most prominent operators, Hansen Motorsport.

The official name of the resulting team is Team Peugeot-Hansen and, in association with Peugeot’s longstanding partner Total, it will compete with a Peugeot 208 T16 silhouette version of the Peugeot 208. The program will cover all 12 rounds of the championship, which is due to kick off in May.

Swede Kenneth Hansen boasts one of the most successful records in rallycross history, both as a driver and as manager of his own operation. The decision to strike up a partnership with someone who figures among the discipline’s elite was an especially straightforward one given that the series promises to be extremely fierce in light of the field that is taking shape.