In what was a tight and controversial finale for RallyX Nordic, last hour wildcard Kevin Eriksson won the round at the Tierp Arena, and saw the brother and team mate Oliver Eriksson lose the title in front of him, as well Robin Larsson stay with the celebrations in what is his second title this year.
It was quite an impressive grid that was along with the title contenders Oliver Eriksson, Robin Larsson and Jere Kalliokoski, as Mattias Ekström came back to the cockpit with JC Raceteknik, Kevin Eriksson hopped into the Olsbergs Fiesta ST Mk 8 and Sebastian Eriksson continued his quest with a Eklund-prepared Volkswagen Beetle RX, only to name a few.
Weather wasn’t exactly an issue over the weekend, even with rain coming on early Sunday, and while the clouds were all around, the drying track was giving the opportunity for some good pushing.
Qualifying was basically a JC Raceteknik show as Robin Larsson led all four heats while Mattias Ekström was following him in three of them, with Oliver Eriksson trying to offer a little bit of competition, although a pace drop was seen in Q3 and Q4.
Robin Larsson was locked between an Olsbergs fleet in Semifinal 1, and along a bad start from Robin Larsson, Kevin Eriksson and Ulrik Linnemann had a coming together that sent the Dane to the wall. Kevin and Oliver Eriksson were way ahead so they swapped positions for the sake of the championship.
Larsson’s lack of pace was evident, so he never reached Andreas Carlsson, who finished in third, and with the Eriksson 1-2 and Larsson finishing in an agonizing fourth, Eriksson was a step closer to the title.
On Semifinal 2, Philip Gehrman had the advantage on the start but was touched by Jere Kalliokoski before the first turn, spinning in the process and returning immediately, with the worst outcome going down to Dan Skocdopole, who ended the race in the wall.
Kalliokoski then was on a mission to hold his lead from Mattias Ekström and Sebastian Eriksson, though after the Joker he lost the battle to Ekström, and Kalliokoski barely held up Eriksson for second place.
Some tense moments came from the stewards, as the moves of Kevin Eriksson and Jere Kalliokoski were being reviewed by them, though no penalty was issued. The surprise came from outside cabin though, with Mattias Ekström pulling off the Final, citing technical problems, which allowed Robin Larsson to get into the grid even though he finished fourth in his Semifinal.
The all-Eriksson wall was formed in Turn 1, with Oliver taking the advantage while Sebastian and Kevin were holding Larsson in fourth. Larsson went really early to the Joker while the Erikssons seems to just keep their train going.
Then in the penultimate lap the drama comes hard, as a broken steering sends Oliver’s Honda Civic RX straight to a high speed impact before Turn 1, gifting the first place and the win to wildcard Kevin Eriksson, though the worst outcome for Olsbergs MSE was seeing Robin Larsson coming to second place and finishing there, between Kevin and Sebastian Eriksson and getting the title by surprise.
The championship ends with Larsson having 169 points while Oliver Eriksson acquired 168, and Jere Kalliokoski stayed in third with 156 points.
Most of the RallyX Nordic grid can call their 2019 season ended, but Oliver Eriksson still has a title to compete for, as the final round of the RX2 International Series will be the Cape Town RX on November 9th.
PHOTO - JC Raceteknik
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