Red Bull Global Rallycross Race Recap: Las Vegas At The LINQ

IN BRIEF: Ken Block won the battle, but Joni Wiman won the war at Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas at The LINQ. Block did everything he could to steal the title from the Finn, but Wiman’s runner-up finish was good enough to earn the title by five points—the equivalent of a single finishing position over the entire season.

HEAT RECAPS: The first two rounds of heats saw Scott Speed and Tanner Foust win a pair of sessions apiece in their Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetles, while Ken Block won both of his heats as well. In the semifinals, Bucky Lasek got by the field to win the first session, while Block won the second; Sverre Isachsen won the last chance qualifier over Brian Deegan, Tanner Foust, and Emma Gilmour, the first female finalist in Red Bull GRC history.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: An aggressive move by Speed into the first corner saw him get into Lasek, spinning both cars and necessitating a red flag; Speed was moved to the back of the field on the restart. The second go-around was clean, with Block, Lasek, and Speed working into the first three spots and Wiman fourth, putting Block in the championship drivers’ seat.

However, when Lasek and Speed began jostling for position, Wiman executed his joker lap to perfection and climbed to second, well ahead of the battle for the final podium spot. As such, Block’s unblemished main event and second victory of the season weren’t enough to wrest the title.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Wednesday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas at The LINQ, the final round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season:

Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST
Joni Wiman, #31 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST
Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI
Scott Speed, #77 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI
Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
Emma Gilmour, #27 Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster
Steve Arpin, #00 Royal Purple Racing/OMSE2 Ford Fiesta
Brian Deegan, #38 Rockstar Energy Drink Ford Fiesta ST
Patrik Sandell, #18 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST
Pat Moro, #59 PMR Motorsports Chevrolet Sonic
Austin Dyne, #14 Barracuda Racing Ford Fiesta
Rhys Millen, #67 Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster
Nelson Piquet Jr., #07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST

QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas at The LINQ, the final round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season:

Ken Block, Driver, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST: “Every time, coming here and needing a good finish to have a good overall season result has just put the pressure on me. The thing was, there was no other result for me here—I had to win everything I could. The team and I worked hard to make that happen, but unfortunately I won the battle and lost the war by one position. It is what it is, but it really disappointed me because it goes back to Seattle. I should have won that event, and I threw that away with a tiny mistake. I’m happy to have won, but disappointed at the same time—but that’s racing."

Joni Wiman, Driver, #31 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST: “I don’t believe it—it’s just amazing. I haven’t realized it yet. It’s like a dream come true. The first start before the red flag was my best one—actually, everything looked clear after the second corner. I was maybe third out of the first corner in the restart, and we just were pushing for it. I fell down to fourth when Scott (Speed) took the joker, but then they started to have a small fight, so I decided to take the joker. I think it was pretty tight, but I’m happy it was enough."

Bucky Lasek, Driver, #81 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI: “This was a good weekend for us. We came here with the right setup. Knowing how fast I was in DC, knowing how the car turned in LA, we put the whole package together for this last race, and we came in with a strong car right off the bat. I was running in the top three as far as pace. I got caught on some bad calls, as far as getting outside lane choice, getting stuck on the outside and banged around a bit, but today I was able to win a semi—that’s a big accomplishment for me and the team. And we showed our pace. We got crashed into, we had a restart for the green, and I was able to tuck in behind Ken and keep up and pull third, which is really solid for us right now."

Emma Gilmour, Driver, #27 Hyundai/Rhys Millen Racing Veloster Turbo: “I’m so excited! We were all a bit down, I suppose, because we got taken out a bit in the semifinal, and the boys had a lot of work to do to get it fixed. We broke the rear upright and so we were back off the back row in the LCQ. We felt we sort of needed a bit of luck to go our way for a change, which it did! It really went our way. When we got P4, I was really excited, and so was the team. It’s just been a huge buzz, it’s a lot of fun. Like I always say, it’s like a video game. It’s unreal. It’s so desperate out there, and it’s so cool."

FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas at The LINQ, the final round of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season:

Ken Block earned the third victory of his Red Bull GRC career on Wednesday, and his second consecutive win in a Las Vegas season finale. He finished the 2014 season with a series-high 16 heat victories.
Joni Wiman became the first Red Bull GRC champion to win the overall title without taking a victory. He also became the first driver to win the series’ Supercar title the year after winning a GRC Lites championship.
Bucky Lasek earned his third podium finish of the 2014 Red Bull GRC season, as well as the third of his career. Lasek also finished a career-high eighth in Red Bull GRC points.
Scott Speed’s fourth place result was his highest non-victorious finish of the season.
Sverre Isachsen’s fifth place result in the championship was the best of his Red Bull GRC career, as well as the best for Subaru Rally Team USA since joining the series in 2011.
Emma Gilmour became the first female driver to compete in the main event of a Red Bull GRC race. Her seventh place finish was the best result of her rookie campaign.
Pat Moro’s 11^th place result was tied for his best-ever finish in the Chevrolet Sonic. Moro also finished 11^th in Charlotte and Las Vegas in 2013.

UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS:

Joni Wiman, 381
Ken Block, 376
Scott Speed, 344
Nelson Piquet Jr., 307
Sverre Isachsen, 280
Patrik Sandell, 246
Steve Arpin, 224
Bucky Lasek, 215
Tanner Foust, 209
Rhys Millen, 201
Austin Dyne, 150
Brian Deegan, 140
Emma Gilmour, 62
Pat Moro, 8

UNOFFICIAL MANUFACTURER POINTS:

Ford, 946
Volkswagen, 553
Subaru, 495
Hyundai, 263
Chevrolet, 8