2018 was nearing an end and along with the manufacturers, Olsbergs MSE announced that it was leaving the FIA World Rallycross Championship on a full-time basis. Mid 2019, second half of the season and Olsbergs MSE is back, although with way less sponsors and only to race the Höljes RX, but Sebastian Eriksson proved that the team is still a powerhouse and took an emotional win at their home event with the latest Olsbergs Fiesta ST RX.
Although Olsbergs competed full-time until last season, they were without a win since the 2016 Estering RX, the race that transformed Sebastian’s team mate Kevin Eriksson in an internet hit with his outside move at the first corner.
The weather was a mess with rain and sunshine switching from time to time, and this also messed up the order in the qualifying, to a point where the Hansen brothers ended in the lower part of the table after Q2, recovering in Q3 and Q4. Andreas Bakkerud, Reinis Nitiss and Eriksson won in the qualifying but Bakkerud was the top qualifier.
Also, due to the packed grid of 25 supercars, tight competition and a good number of penalties due to track limits being exceeded, some regulars saw the semifinals from trackside, including strong drivers like Liam Doran, Guerlain Chicherit, Krisztian Szabo and a disastrous last place for Spa RX winner Timut Timerzyanov.
Semifinal 1 had a rocket start from Andreas Bakkerud, with the grid being split between the routes. Bakkerud was under pressure, eventually slowing down and opening the way to Kevin Hansen to lead the field, though he still had to do the Joker, being put side by side with Timmy Hansen, though some bumping did the trick for Kevin.
Kevin Abbring proved to be a threat to the Hansens, slotting in second after the Joker, but the Dutchman was relegated to third to watch Kevin Hansen win the race and Timmy Hansen be second while he finished third.
On Semifinal 2 the start was tight but Sebastian Eriksson took the lead, while the GRX TANECO Hyundais were well positioned in second and third. Niclas Grönholm was pushing hard on clear air, and this allowed him to go in front, at least until the Finnish driver missed the apex in the penultimate corner in the final lap, allowing Eriksson to win it. Grönholm still finished second and Nitiss came in third.
Half of the final grid was composed by Swedish drivers, and Sebastian Eriksson took the lead for himself before the first corner, leaving behind the mess at the Joker for the rest of the field. Timmy and Kevin Hansen were fighting for second but Timmy made an awkward line due to a puncture on Lap 3 and lost the second place, leaving Kevin Hansen alone to fight with Eriksson for the win.
Kevin Hansen imposed as much pressure as possible, with even some contact in the final turn, but none of this was enough to take the victory from Sebastian Eriksson, who held his place even when his Olsbergs Fiesta was off balance. Kevin Hansen had to settle for second and Reinis Nitiss completed the podium.
This was the first World RX win for Sebastian Eriksson, who always had one-off appearances in the competition, with the last one being the 2017 Estering RX. Also, he enters a selected group of wildcard winner in World RX, with the last one dating back from the debut season of the competition in 2014.
Mr. Olsbergs MSE Andreas Eriksson was straightforward in his explanation after the win: “All my guys work very hard, we don’t have the money, they don’t have the money, I’m doing this putting my own money because I don’t have any sponsors for this race, and I wanted to show that the car was fast. The guys decided on Monday ‘if it’s fast enough, we go, if it’s not, we stay at home’ and it was fast enough.”
Kevin Hansen capitalized on the slightest advantage he had and he’s leading the standings with 131 points while Timmy Hansen is in second with 125. Andreas Bakkerud is slightly closer to them in third, but not taking part to the final limited his progress to his 109 points. Team Hansen MJP still leads with 256 points but still has GRX TANECO on its shadow with 213 points.
The championship now goes to a one month stop to travel through the Atlantic, as the second overseas stop is Trois-Rivières in Canada on August 3rd.
PHOTO - Olsbergs MSE
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