A single digit grid was present for the fifth round of the 2022 RallyX Nordic season at Bikernieki, in Riga, Latvia, and with championship leader Johan Kristoffersson absent, it was an open fight for the win, with Thomas Bryntesson capitalizing on the misfortunes of Yury Belevskiy and Niclas Grönholm, who was the favorite of the Friday (8) that couldn’t complete the sweep.
Niclas Grönholm had the Qualifying for himself, winning all three heats and improving time as he was benefited by the clean air he had. The fight for second was basically no mans land, with Thomas Bryntesson coming behind Grönholm while Ole Christian Veiby was third, but Yury Belevskiy, Philip Gehrman, Enzo Ide and Sondre Evjen were fast enough to be at the top end, only lacking more consistency to beat those in the top-3.
With only nine entries in the list, there was no Semifinals and the event proceeded directly to the Final with light rain a damp track. Grönholm asserted dominance by doing a wide defense before turn 1, only to get collected by Belevskiy two corners later while also catching Veiby in the chaos, but despite the stranded No. 68 Hyundai i20 RX just aside the road, only a local yellow was called and the race carried on.
With the rain getting harder and the track getting more slippery, which made it difficult to mount some speed to attack whoever is in front. Despite having the lead on track, Belevskiy was already disqualified as he was held responsible for Grönholm’s crash, so Bryntesson just had to wait for Ide’s Joker Lap in the Final Lap, close the door and get the checkered flag to celebrate the win.
RallyX Nordic - Riga I Results
Due to Johan Kristoffersson’s absence, he is tied in the lead with Grönholm as both have 113 points, and Bryntesson is third in the standings with 96 while Evjen has 85 in fourth.
PHOTO: TBRX
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