They did everything they had to in a totally perfect weekend, but Cristina Gutiérrez and Loeb could not give consolation to Hamilton in such a frustrating end of the year for the Briton. Classification, semifinal, Super Sector and career, they won everything possible in the Dorset quagmire, but not the title. It was worth it for Rosberg’s team to reach the final and finish fourth, and that’s just what Molly Taylor and Kristofferson did. Suffering to the end and tied at 155 points, but they emerged victorious, emulating their boss with Lewis in 2016.
The struggles to win one of the five tickets to contest the final were resolved in a thick morning fog, which complicated the already delicate visibility. With that atmosphere that made the battle even more epic, the cars of Hamilton, Button and Veloce went out to a first semifinal that It was in a handkerchief and that decided in favor of the X44 a great maneuver by Cristina Gutiérrez, who surprised Ahlin-Kottulinsky in the relay zone to get ahead to the finish line. Both made sure of the pass.
For the second semi-final, with Rosberg, Acciona and Cupra in contention, the fog closed a bit more. It was still possible. And as a consequence, there was hardly any waiting to see a contact, just a few meters after the start in which Ekstrom hit his Audi Dakar teammate Sainz from behind. The touch made both lose half a car, one ahead and one behind, and showed their shame, but the Cupra was more damaged and could do nothing to qualify. RXR and Acciona advanced, also Andretti from the Crazy Race.
We already had the five candidates for victory in the Jurassic X-Prix, including the two contenders for the title. Hamilton against Rosberg, just like the old days. They reached the final with everything to play for, separated by 15 points and with five more at stake, those awarded to the fastest of the weekend in the Super Sector (a delimited area of the route) and that could seem decisive. The women, as the new form stipulated, opened fire and for them it would be two of the three laps of the race.
Cristina did not miss, took the lead at the start, made a stint impeccable and gave the X44 to Loeb with four seconds of advantage and the victory on a layup. Behind, Taylor suffered, falling from second to fourth position, which ensured the RXR championship. They were on the verge of disaster when Laia, just behind, had a problem and dropped from the group before the relief. Loeb secured victory at the finish line, but the celebration was three places behind. Rosberg was saved by his three previous wins, but Cristina proudly waved the Spanish flag alongside the Button and Andretti riders on the podium. He deserved it.