Kevin Hansen on Extreme E, Nitro RX, Legacy Projects & More!

If you know anything about off-road racing, then you’ve probably heard of Kevin Hansen.

With Four Championships to his name across three categories as well as a host of other podium finishes so far, he’s fast becoming one of the best drivers in this part of the motorsport sandbox.

This year, he’s been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship and Extreme E but his ambitions don’t stop there. I caught up with him recently to chat all about this and as you’ll see, as long as the opportunity is good, Kevin will be game to race anything!

What first got you into Motorsport?

Well obviously it was my family! I grew up in a Rallycross Paddock running around Europe with my family and you know, that really got me hooked into our sport. It’s such an amazing sport and I’ve always dreamt of being a Rallycross driver, so I’m very pleased that I’m able to do that. When I was just four or five years old, I wanted to start and my parents were so amazing as they put me in a go kart and I never could stop from that moment – so that’s really how I got into it.

Image: Extreme E

How did you come to join JBXE in Extreme E and why did you want to join this series?

Well first of all, I wanted to join this series because it’s such an amazing series! It has a purpose that is so much bigger than any other series I’ve been in and we go to these amazing locations, racing with a bigger purpose, raising awareness and also the cars and the tracks are very fun and challenging to drive. On top of that, we have some amazing teams and especially amazing drivers which I think is the strongest and most famous line-up in motorsport!

As for how I joined JBXE, I got a call from Extreme E and the team and they asked me if I wanted to replace Jenson (Button) for the second round in Senegal in 2021 and I said ‘Yeah sure, let’s do it!’ So it was basically quite straightforward. I was working with Andretti before as their reserve driver and I was helping them out with the first race and in pre-season testing so I had the opportunity in the car before and I think that helped me to get the opportunity to get a drive full time.

Tell us what it’s been like getting involved with the legacy projects for Extreme E.

It’s been absolutely fantastic! I really enjoy the Legacy Programmes. As I said, it’s driving with a bigger purpose in Extreme E and the Legacy Programmes are really fantastic because you can go on these extra trips, it’s very focused on just the sustainability and raising awareness of things and I really enjoy that we can get to these places for the purpose of raising awareness through this racing series. Also, when you’re at these events and you go to these projects, it’s very nice to get away from the racing a bit and see something the place actually and what they’re struggling with and raise awareness from that.

Image: Extreme E

You’re currently fourth in the Championship in World Rallycross – can you still win this season or are you already looking ahead to 2023?

It’s very difficult to say! I mean things can turn around and we’re almost halfway through the season so I will try to win every race from here on which I think we can do. We have a great car, we’re getting closer to being in the right window and the team is working so hard so I think we have a good chance of getting some good results. Obviously what everyone else does, I cannot affect so if I do my best and try to aim as high as possible then we’ll see where we end up. World Rallycross is growing and I would just like to see it go on a global scale again and go to more and more countries and race also there with a bigger purpose and to become the most sustainable Championship would be fantastic and then we can see what we can do for the future.

Will we see you back in Nitro RX at some point in the near future?

Well I’m open to it! As I record the answers for this interview, I’m actually at the Nitro RX event in Minnesota helping our junior team with George Megennis so I’m here and I’m enjoying this series. It’s got fun tracks and it’s a good Championship so if I get the opportunity and if someone would like to have me then I would be happy to come back and do it! I don’t think at the moment we have any of our own plans to get back into Nitro on the Hansen side. We believe in the World Championship on the company side and what we can do there with the opportunities. But from a driver’s side, I’ll do anything that’s fun and challenging so I’m happy to come back.

Where would you love to go racing that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

Great question! I still haven’t been in Asia at any point. I would really like to go there and do some races. China and Japan especially I would like to race in. I think it would be fantastic to get the experience of racing there and also I love South America – I think World Rallycross should go back there as well. We were just in Chile with Extreme E and the fans are so passionate there. I also love the States and racing there, it’s really great.

Image: Extreme E

Which form of motorsport would you love to try?

I would love to try the Dakar. It would be such an amazing experience. It’s so challenging on the athlete’s side of things and there’s so much driving so it would be an absolute joy for me to try that.

What advice would you give to those looking to establish themselves in the world of rallying/off-road motorsport?

Another great question! Try to drive as much as you can and get a good opportunity. Don’t just take the first and the cheapest. Try and get in a good team which can help you to really progress because if you have the right tools in the beginning then you can really go much further. If you start on the wrong foot, then it’s very difficult so I would say get yourself a good team initially and let them help you get off onto a great path.

Image: Extreme E

Is it more satisfying beating Timmy in a race or Johan Kristoffersson?

For me it doesn’t matter, any of those are good for me. I just want to win the race, do my best and both Timmy and Johan are World Champions and great drivers so beating both of them is always the target and something that’s been happening more lately so that’s of course great!

If you could race any rally stage in any rally car from history, what would you choose?

I think I would race the Citroen XR of Sebastien Loeb. Argh it’s a great question, I don’t know which rally stage to be honest! Probably Värmland which is the stage in Rally Sweden with Colin’s Crest so I think that would be my preference.

While Extreme E and World RX are great places to catch Kevin racing, I do hope we get to see him back in Nitro RX in the not too distant future too. Kevin next gets back on track for Extreme E at the season finale at the end of November over in Uruguay.

Thanks again to Kevin for taking the time to chat.

Author: Thiemo Albers-Daly