For a 30 years old Andreas Bakkerud, the FIA Euro RX1 Championship finale at Spa-Francorchamps would be special for three things - his birthday, the opportunity to get the so much awaited title as a present, and the redemption for what the 2019 World RX season finale turned out. Driving like the ace he is all weekend, the man from Bergen finally got a crown to honor his skill, again with a touch of drama in it.
Qualifying was definitely a fight for survival, as several contenders suffered at least severe bodywork damage, with names like Andrea Dubourg, Jonathan Pailler and Janis Baumanis included in the carnage. This practically left open way for a precise Andreas Bakkerud, who dominated Q1 and Q2. Bakkerud kept the form in Q3 with another win, but even being beaten by Jonathan Pailler in Q4 wouldn’t take his top qualifier spot.
Anything can go wrong in the first two corners as proven in the Qualifying, but Bakkerud managed to outpace the field to avoid contact in Semifinal 1, leaving the body charge for Janis Baumanis as he passed Marcin Gagacki for second. Out of reach for Baumanis, Bakkerud carefully brought his Skoda Fabia to the line for the win, with Paulius Pleskovas coming in third as René Münnich pulled off the race out of concern for Mandie August, who suffered a massive crash and roll on Lap 4.
The Pailler Competition Peugeots were in control of the front row in Semifinal 2, but Jonathan Pailler jumped too early and had a bothersome double Joker added to him. When the green light came for real, both Paillers were outsmarted by a rocket start from Tamás Karái, but waltzing into Pailler territory meant he would have Peugeots on his back for the whole race, until Karái made a mistake by going to an extra Joker while Jonathan Pailler didn’t do his penalty Joker, so Fabien got a perfect scenario by winning the race.
Championship contenders side by side in the Final, followed by their team mates in the second row, this would indicate that sparks will fly, and at the green, Bakkerud muscled out Pailler to claim first place, but with the Frenchman still in his back, he would have to keep his top level pace shown over the weekend. Fabien Pailler saw that wouldn’t be able to attack Bakkerud and went for the Joker on Lap 4, but this actually hurt Pailler’s chances, as Bakkerud left it to the final lap, nailed the line and rushed to the win, and the Euro RX1 title on his birthday.
The dramatic title decision put Bakkerud with 90 points against the 86 of Fabien Pailler, with Janis Baumanis getting third place in the standings with 69 points. While the competitors will go to a break, Bakkerud said earlier in the season that he would fancy some World RX participations in the final three events, so it’s sit and wait for what ESMotorsport decides.
PHOTO: Andreas Bakkerud
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