Some good weeks before the first races of the new RX1e cars in World RX, the FIA Euro RX1 Championship is keeping the combustion engine torch alight as Nyirád, in Hungary, became the host of the season opener, with Anton Marklund enjoying an excellent weekend and his first win in 2022.
Qualifying had total domination from Anton Marklund, as he came hot from a near win in RallyX Nordic, winning all three heats to not give a hint of a chance to Enzo Ide and Janis Baumanis, while the fourth place of Patrick O’Donovan came as the surprise of the session.
Progression race 1 had Marklund carrying his Hyundai i20 RX in the lead from the go while Sivert Svardal and Jean-Baptiste Dubourg were in the fight for second. Marklund’s clean run kept him out of trouble, getting first place easily, while Dubourg had to work his way in the Joker Lap to pass Svardal, eventually dealing with Ulrik Linnemann for second place.
The second race had Enzo Ide in control while Ollie O’Donovan was having the race of his life to defend his Proton Iriz RX from Anders Michalak, only to get beaten when he did his Joker Lap. While Ide had acres of advantage, Michalak couldn’t rest with Mandie August right there in third and O’Donovan in close pursuit, but in the end the order wasn’t disturbed from first to fourth.
Race 3 also proved how important was to start in front, as Janis Baumanis was quick to clear the field while still having the attentions of Laszló Kiss. The Hungarian tried to keep it closer to Baumanis, but in the end it was too much to handle for Kiss, which confirmed Baumanis’ victory.
Last race of the Progression had two stalls and a monster start from Patrick O’Donovan, which outpaced Dariusz Topolewski at the start and built up the gap to not get bothered by Márk Mózer, catching the checkered flag in dominant fashion.
Semifinal 1 was up for grabs for Marklund at the start as Patrick O’Donovan had to barge his way to keep second place. Once the British driver had clear way ahead, he was hot on pursuit to Marklund until a puncture on Lap 3 crushed his chances, allowing Svardal to get second place. Marklund cruised to victory while Svardal settled for second, while August capitalized on O’Donovan’s rough but unsuccessful resistance to concede places.
The second Semifinal had Enzo Ide placing his Audi S1 EKS RX correctly to avoid losing the lead and possible damages. Dubourg was on the chase but a puncture on Lap left him stranded on track while Ide had the top spot all for himself, while Márk Mózer dropped off after getting second place due to suspension damage, leaving Ales Fucik getting away with it while avoiding the attacks of Támas Kárai.
A third Semifinal was held due to the high number of competitors, and Baumanis had to get used to the back of Linnemann’s Ford Fiesta RX due to his poor start. Baumanis wouldn’t attack if the chance didn’t present itself, but Linnemann was firm in front despite Baumanis abusing of his tactical creativity to carve an opening. What turned the table was Baumanis’ pace on clean air one Linnemann went to the Joker, and with the right placing to avoid a turnaround, Baumanis held the first place in the final corners.
At the Final, Marklund would probably face the biggest opposition in the event, but his relief was that Ide, Baumanis and Linnemann were evenly matched, with Ide keeping second place to chase Marklund. Ide tried bravely to outpace Marklund, but the SET Promotion Hyundai i20 RX was simply unbeatable at speed and in the corners, with Marklund just having to follow the best line to secure the win.
The Euro RX1 competitors move to one of the crown jewels of rallycross, as Höljes hosts the second round on 3 July, with Oliver Solberg already confirmed in a Hedströms Motorsport Hyundai i20 RX and Andreas Bakkerud finalizing a deal to possibly appear there, according to his latest announcements on his BakkerudLIFE YouTube channel.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
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