“I don’t know,” responds a modest Johan Kristoffersson when posed the question by Autosport prior to clinching his second Extreme E finale in Chile. “I just try to do the best that I can within the races that I do. But it is, of course, nice to be able to have won the first championship of Extreme E together with Rosberg and also the first two years of Rallycross with electric [powertrains].
“But in the end, the competition is so high and also the margins are so small, so to be able to win, you need a bit the margins on your side. I don’t think that is particularly anything to do with EV or something like that. I’ll just try to do my best and the results can speak for themselves.”
And his results do speak for themselves. In electric competition, Kristoffersson has scored four championship trophies from a possible five and enjoyed a 100% win-rate in the 2023 WRX season before the pause necessitated by investigations into a paddock fire at Lydden Hill. When the season resumed with double-headers in South Africa and Hong Kong, this dropped to 71%, with Timo Scheider and Kevin Hansen each achieving one victory to break the dominance of Kristoffersson's family-run team.
In Extreme E, Kristoffersson may not be as controlling on an event-to-event basis, but his consistency across his three campaigns to date with Rosberg X Racing highlight his class. Even in 2022, the single season in which he has not topped the standings, the 35-year-old and team-mate Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky were the only pairing to win more than one X-Prix.
Indeed, had it not been for a disqualification in the Crazy Race at the season finale in 2022 – this for having too many mechanics inside the switch area bay during a driver change – the Swede could have found himself at the summit of all three Extreme E seasons to date. Of course, that first Extreme success came alongside Molly Taylor, who was subsequently replaced by Åhlin-Kottulinsky.
Quizzed as to his yearning for further titles and whether he has a number that he sees as 'enough', Kristoffersson says: “No, not really. I just try to focus on the next season and within motorsport, everything changes so quickly. As long as I have the opportunity to be within a team that is competitive and I am still competitive as a driver, I would like to continue.
Source: Autosport