Kristoffersson wins Arvika finale and the RallyX Nordic title

Johan Kristoffersson confirmed again why he is a World-class rallycross talent by ending the RallyX Nordic season with a commanding win at the Arvika finale, along with lifting the trophy of the 2021 season in the process, as only a catastrophe would dethrone the VW BAUHAUS driver at home.

The damp Q1 was a tale of two dominant runs, with Johan Kristoffersson topped the times over Kevin Eriksson, with both being miles ahead of the competition. Q2 was another story with a quick shower affecting the first heat, with the faster drivers, and while the rain wasn’t an issue later, the track condition changed for the second heat, while the third one had it all dry, favoring Enzo Ide, so the Belgian could take the top of the table.

The Q3 was entirely under dry conditions, and although Enzo Ide tried hard, no one could beat Johan Kristoffersson again in his VW Polo RX, although Anton Marklund was able to find the pace to do so in Q4, beating the triple World RX champion by 0.004 seconds. This 50% winning margin was enough for Kristoffersson to be the top qualifier.

Semifinal 1 had Kristoffersson being followed by EKS JC drivers as Ide was leading Sondre Evjen while both were chasing the VW BAUHAUS driver, and although they were keeping it under close quarters, it wasn’t enough to mount an attack on Kristoffersson. With all positions decided for the Final, it was just a case of bringing it home, with all three qualified drivers remaining in their positions.

In Semifinal 2, it was Olsbergs vs. Hedströms in a 2 vs. 2 brawl where Anton Marklund and Peter Hedström went more physical and left losing to Kevin Eriksson. With Eriksson barely in front of Marklund after the Joker, the Swede played the team game and held Marklund to offer room for maneuver to Fraser McConnell, who had enough of a gap to not only get rid of Marklund but also to win the race just ahead of Eriksson in an Olsbergs 1-2.

The Final started with Kristoffersson beating McConnell into turn 1 while a battered Marklund took third place and the EKS JC drivers opted for an early Joker. With all positions settled, Kristoffersson kept opening the gap to McConnell, and becoming out of reach, Kristoffersson just had to cross the line to see the checkered flag first, with McConnel coming home in second and Marklund completing the podium.

RallyX Nordic Arvika - Event results

With Niclas Grönholm not taking part of the Arvika finale, Johan Kristoffersson just had to complete the qualifying to become the 2021 RallyX Nordic champion, ending the season with 167 points after the mandatory discard, while Fraser McConnell conquered the highly contested runner-up place in the standings with 126 points, one point more than the third place finisher Sondre Evjen.

Now most of the grid will go into separate ways for the rest of the year, as Kristoffersson and Ide return their focus to World RX while Hedström adds to the grid numbers, Marklund, Guillerme and Michalak go to Euro RX while Eriksson prepares to compete in Nitro Rallycross along with Fraser McConnell, who also has RX2e commitments in his schedule.

PHOTOS: RallyX Nordic