Svend Kenneth Hansen, born 29 September 1960 and hailing from
Götene
Götene is a locality and the seat of Götene Municipality, Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden.
The county is the second most populous of Sw ...
, is a Swedish
rallycross driver with
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
roots. His late father, Svend Hansen, can be regarded as the inventor of the so-called ''Joker Lap'' for rallycross. Hansen has been part of the European rallycross elite since the late 1980s and has won an
FIA European Championships for Rallycross Drivers
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English language, English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: Peo ...
title no less than 14 times up until the year 2008. He holds most of the records for rallycross, including the amount (249) of attended European rounds.
Racing career
Hansen began his racing career with
karting in 1976 and via
folkrace
Folk racing or folkrace ( fi, jokamiesluokka; sv, folkrace; lv, folkreiss; da, folkeræs; no, bilcross) is a popular, inexpensive, and entry-level form of Nordic rallycross that originally comes from Finland, where it is also called ''jokkis ...
and
rallying made his way to national rallycross in 1983. After a few years successful national racing, crowned by his first Swedish Rallycross Championship in 1986 when he drove a
Volvo Amazon
The Volvo Amazon was a mid-sized car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars from 1956 to 1970 and introduced in the United States as the ''122S'' at the 1959 New York International Auto Show.
The Amazon shared the wheelbase, tall posture and h ...
, he entered international rallycross in 1987 with an ex-Lars Nyström
Volvo 240 Turbo. After changing to a 500+bhp Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth in 1989 Hansen instantly became the driver to beat of the former Division 1 (2WD Group A cars), claiming the FIA European titles of four consecutive years here. However, in his first year he was, for the first and only time during his ERC career, excluded from an event, after it was proven that he had been using illegal 103 octane race-fuel during the Norwegian 1989 European round.
From 1993 and onwards, Hansen competed exclusively with
Citroën cars. At the end of the 2010 season, Hansen wound down his own racing activities to be able to develop his team
Hansen Motorsport. In March 2013, Hansen was appointed to the
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
's then-newly created Driver's Commission as one of 12 driver representatives.
Personal life
Kenneth Hansen still lives in his birth town of Götene with his wife Susann Hansen (née Bergvall); herself a successful rallycross driver and winner of the 1994 European Cup for Drivers of Group N cars up to 1400cc. Together they have two sons;
Kevin
Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ).
The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...
, born in 1998, and
Timmy
Timmy, or sometimes Timmie, is a masculine name, a short form of Timothy or Tim. This variation is popular as a nickname and is commonly used when someone is young, but is often used in adulthood. It is a version of the Greek name ( Timόtheos ...
, born in 1992. Both sons have followed their parents footsteps to race in rallycross for
Hansen Motorsport.
Racing record
Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results
Division 1
Division 2
Division 1*
* ''Division 2 was rebranded as Division 1 in 1997.
Supercar
References
External links
Hansen Motorsport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Kenneth
1960 births
Living people
Swedish racing drivers
European Rallycross Championship drivers
People from Götene Municipality
Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County