The first season of the FIA RX2e Championship ended this weekend at a snowy and cold Nürburgring, with Guillaume De Ridder not only winning at the German circuit’s rallycross debut, but it also showed how much talent the former GCK Academy driver has, which can possibly secure him a return to the FIA World Rallycross Championship.
The first qualifying saw Guillaume De Ridder showing his full potential, but Jesse Kallio was quick to return the favor and top the Q2, showing to the Belgian that he was on the run for the title. Tactics worked for Kallio to beat De Ridder with some room to breathe in Q3, and with the title rivals too concentrated on each other, Patrick O’Donovan took the spotlight and led the Q4 and became third in the intermediate ranking, only behind top qualifier Kallio and runner-up De Ridder.
Semifinal 1 had Kallio monopolizing the top spot and staying away from the first corner rubbing, but despite being clean from the panel bashing, Pepe Arqué was hot on the Finn’s back, so Kallio had to keep it really tidy to not let the Spanish newcomer get close, and with Arqué staying within two seconds of Kallio, the Finn was supreme in his victory, while behind the first two, Isak Sjökvist beaten a desperate Patrick O’Donovan for third, as the British driver saw his slim chances go away with his right rear wheel as he hit a kerb on full power.
On Semifinal 2 the start was a bit more peaceful, where Guillaume De Ridder kept the lead going while Kobe Pauwels didn’t take any risks and just pushed enough to keep his second place all the way, while Pablo Suarez actually had to make the most of different tactics to beat Klara Andersson for third place, something he succeeded to conclude with two laps to go.
On the Final, while De Ridder kept it stable in first place, Kallio was all over the place and struggled to keep the car straight until between turns 1 and 2. Kallio’s bet was in an early Joker to use clean air ahead, leaving the two on their particular battle for the final 2 laps, but while Kallio had the pace to challenge De Ridder, his stability was far from ideal, and with the contact in the outside barriers in the Final Lap, he had to settle for second and see De Ridder win the race, the event and the RX2e Championship title.
FIA RX2e Nürburgring - Event results
De Ridder conquered the first RX2e title with 134 points against 123 from Kallio, and De Ridder only failed to win at two rounds, being them Höljes and Lohéac, where Kallio and Dorian Deslandes got their triumphs. Only four drivers made the full season campaign, with a total of 24 names driving the 10 examples of the Olsbergs MSE QEV RX2e, representing 19 teams or independent entries with experience levels ranging from karting to cross country rallying and World RX.
PHOTO: FIA RX2e Championship
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