Niclas Grönholm and Johan Kristoffersson are certainly the two major forces in the current RallyX Nordic season, and they were responsible for the battle that eventually gave the win to the GRX driver to end the activities at the OuluZone, in Finland.
Q1 had Niclas Grönholm in front by beating Johan Kristoffersson on track, but looking at the times, Juha Rytkönen was the biggest worry, as the Finn finally found pace after a troubled Saturday. As in the Saturday, Kristoffersson restored the order with the Q2 top time in the strongest race of the heat, with the top guys still hot in his rear bumper.
Q3 was a contrast to the weekend up to this point as localized rain hit the OuluZone with intensity, and with the track getting progressively wetter, it prevailed the earliest run, giving the top spot again to Niclas Grönholm, as he was also crowned the top qualifier, having Kristoffersson and Rytkönen just behind the GRX driver.
RallyX Nordic - OuluZone II Intermediate results
Semifinal 1 had a rocket start from Rytkönen, which made Grönholm change his thought and do a first lap Joker to get clean air and chase Rytkönen and Carlsson, which paid off on Lap 2 when the top two at the time went for the Joker.
While Grönholm and Rytkönen looked settled in first and second, the battle for third changed a lot as Carlsson got problems and slowed down, leaving Haapamäki and Evjen in the dogfight, eventually winning on track with some sturdy defence, but losing on the stewards’ booth due to unsportsmanlike maneuver, and with Rytkönen also penalized, Evjen jumped to second while Rytkönen barely made it to the Final.
RallyX Nordic - OuluZone II Semifinal 1 results
On Semifinal 2 it was Kristoffersson defending his turf against McConnell and Enzo Ide, but with Ide losing ground on the Joker and McConnell having a game breaking off with a wheel failure, Kalliokoski jumped to second, busier defeding himself from Enzo Ide than actually trying to attack Kristoffersson.
With the top 3 more than secure, no one in the pack made a move, letting Kristoffersson do a more conservative run to save tires for the Final while still winning the race.
RallyX Nordic - OuluZone II Semifinal 2 results
The Final couldn’t be stronger at the first two rows as everybody from first to fourth had some sort of World RX experience, from regular entry to World titles, and a more composed start from Grönholm gave him the lead while Kristoffersson was on the chase.
While Kristoffersson was opting to trail Grönholm to a Final Lap Joker, this approach actually hurt his chances of a win while keeping second place by holding Rytkönen, so the Volkswagen BAUHAUS driver got a full view of Grönholm’s Hyundai i20 RX winning the race and the event.
RallyX Nordic - OuluZone II Final results
Kristoffersson extends his lead and gives him an extra privileged position to get the title with his 137 points, while Grönholm arrives late to the party as his nearest threat with 110, and Sondre Evjen having some sort of hope with his 108 points.
Unlike the other venues that had double headers, the finale at Arvika will be a single event, to be held on 15 August, a week before the World RX visit to Höljes, so it’s unknown if the Arvika entry list will suffer some sort of hit as the World championship would be already running.
Another thing that may prevent extra entries of joining the RallyX Nordic finale is that the Rallicross-SM will have two rounds immediately before and after the Arvika showdown, to be held at Kouvola and the OuluZone.
PHOTO: RallyX Nordic
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