“Welcome to America!” This is all what Travis Pastrana needed to say, while the rest was said on track at ERX Motor Park during the first round of the 2022/2023 Nitro Rallycross season in the United States, with the championship mastermind and FC1-X test driver having a commanding drive to the win at Minnesota.
This round meant it was finally time for Jenson Button to debut in competitive rallycross after being subbed by Kris Meeke at Lydden Hill and Strängnäs, with the weekend being purely of adaptation to going sideways fast and closing down the pace to be merely competitive, with development appearing during each session.
It’s well known that the ERX Motor Park is quite a wild circuit and the slight mistake may have catastrophic consequences, and the damp track just raised the potential for rolls and crashes, as seen in the SxS and NRX NEXT classes, but also in Group E, specially the massive rolls that destroyed the cars of Andreas Bakkerud and Fraser McConnell in the timed practice, with McConnell’s car narrowly avoiding Bakkerud’s and ending in the lake inside the complex.
Despite the scary ride and both ending in hospital, after further checks both were released and allowed to compete on Sunday.
Pastrana was on fire at Heat 1, with the dry track being a total game changer compared to the muddy mess of Saturday’s brackets. Kevin Eriksson was hot into Pastrana’s back wing, but unfortunately that massive commitment took its toll to a recently recovered Eriksson, with his car passing into a bad bump and rolling several times in a row, which confirmed Pastrana’s win.
Robin Larsson kept the lead on Heat 2 while the field was packed behind him, with numbers being reduced as Oliver Eriksson spinning and crashing with two corners into the race. Andreas Carlson was surprisingly well in second place, but a little mistake took the opportunity of catching up the leader, with Bakkerud taking second place and keeping it safe for DRR RX Cartel.
McConnell started well the first Semifinal, with Carlsson being a threat again, fighting as hard as possible but not beating Oliver Eriksson for second place, and the broken wheel on Carlsson’s car just settled the score as McConnell dominated and Eriksson confirmed his Final spot.
Kevin Eriksson’s roll ruled him out of Semifinal 2, so the three remaining cars were on elbows out for the two spots in the Final. Bakkerud barged his way into first place, but Conner Martell countered a lap later, which made Bakkerud rethink his strategy and Joker on the second lap. Martell had the advantage and kept it to the finish, and Bakkerud played it safe to secure second place as Oliver Bennett crawled to the finish.
The Last Chance Qualifier had Oliver Bennett stealing Carlson’s lead at the line, only to see the payback come a lap later. Carlson was quite comfortable while Bennett gambled to cover the team mate, and the strategy went quite right, as Bennett sacrificed the victory to keep the spot in the Final, narrowly beating Button at the line.
In the Final, Martell, Pastrana and Larsson were all in the fight for first place but Pastrana had the edge. Pastrana couldn’t have a moment to rest with Larsson and McConnell in pursuit, so racked up fast laps to open the gap, while Martell opted for the early Joker to add variety into Vermont SportsCar strategy.
Leaving the Joker for the Final Lap, Pastrana had enough of a gap to cover Larsson, even with the Joker Lap to do, and all that was left was to cross the finish line, finally getting the win in the new model.
NRX of Minnesota - Event results
Larsson keeps the lead with 161 points while Bakkerud has 140 in second and McConnell has 114 in third, with Pastrana appearing only in fourth with 103 points. Next round of the American part of Nitro RX will be the return to California, as Glen Helen hosts round 4 of the championship on 30 October.
PHOTO: ERX Motor Park
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