World RX aces present in RallyX Nordic list for Höljes

The second weekend of the 2021 RallyX Nordic season will be a bit more special than the season start at Nysum, with the Höljesbanan receiving not only a new spec but also new entries to boost the grid.

It's already confirmed that the Ford Fiesta ERX built by STARD will be present, but while Max Pucher was initially named as the driver, the Austrian firm revealed that Andreas Bakkerud will fill the seat, coming out of a difficult season with RX Cartel as machine problems couldn't let him justify his position as the 2019 World RX runner-up.

Bakkerud is the fifth driver with World RX mileage who will compete with one of the former Projekt E machines, following Pucher himself, Ken Block, Janis Baumanis and Cyril Raymond, but unlike most the previous competitors, he will be in similar conditions to what Pucher faced in Austria and nearby events, as he will put the electric Fiesta ERX against combustion-powered supercars in the recently renamed Open 4WD class.

Another new entry in 2021 is actually a return, with Niclas Grönholm bringing the GRX team, a pair of Hyundai i20s and Krisztián Szabó for the second car.

While Szabó is jumping in for the first time in the nordic competition following a part time spell with GRX last year, Grönholm returns with big possibility of a good result follow his third place finish last year, and while the hunger for a win is there, the Höljes weekend will be treated more like a competitive test session to see how the cars will be after some changes made by the Finnish team over the winter.

Grönholm will face off Johan Kristoffersson again after the World RX 2020, with the triple World champion confirmed for Höljes after explaining that he had only Nysum in the schedule initially, while the Swedish driver and Kristoffersson Motorsport would be evaluating the possibility of a full time effort in his Volkswagen Polo GTi RX as a mean to stay sharp for when the transition to electric power happens in World RX.

Kristoffersson is currently leading the standings despite having lost the first round of the Nysum to Fraser McConnell, and the Round 2 win proved why he will have the attention of the whole grid, specially as his target is to add a RallyX Nordic title to his resume.

Another World RX talent going to Höljes is Anton Marklund, set to drive a Volkswagen Polo GTi RX for Hedströms Motorsport, with the team having another car for Euro RX driver Peter Hedström. Marklund is returning to known machinery, as it will be his first competitive drive in a Polo RX since 2018, when he did double duty between the World RX and Euro RX.

Marklund jumps in a Polo RX again after having driven the GCK Bilstein Megane R.S. RX last year, going to a new start as the French company left combustion-powered rallycross once the 2020 season was over. Along his RallyX Nordic duties, Marklund and Hedström are also confirmed for the Euro RX season with Dan Öberg as the team's third entry, while Lars Andersson and Anders Michalak stay with the team after competing at Nysum, making the Hedström operation the biggest of the grid.

The double header that will mark the second weekend of RallyX Nordic 2021 will be held on 15 and 16 May, with all sessions of a respective event being held in the same day.

PHOTO: RallyX Nordic