The championship leader exerts his dominance, with Robin Larsson doing the right moves at the right time to conquer the second Nitro Rallycross event of the Wild Horse Pass double header, stretching even more his lead in the standings.
Heat 1 had championship leader and championship contender in the first row, but Kris Meeke was keen to meddle into Robin Larsson and Fraser McConnell’s affairs, but they split strategies by Lap 2 when the top two went for the Joker. Meeke lost pace Conner Martell went into the mix, but it was too late to offer a battle to winner Larsson and second placed McConnell.
Friday winner Travis Pastrana was second in the Heat 2 grid, and Olsbergs MSE tactics prevented him to go further as Oliver Eriksson kept the lead while Kevin Eriksson shielded him from the opposition, nullifying all moves from Andreas Bakkerud. Despite Kevin being faster in the final laps, Oliver kept the win with him, but they clearly prevailed over Bakkerud, Pastrana and Chase Elliott.
Bakkerud and McConnell were in front of Semifinal 1 grid with the guests behind them, and while Elliott made no reservations to attack the leaders, he overcooked in Turn 1 and was left trying to defend third place from Meeke. Elliott tried hard to fit himself into the leading pack, but McConnell was too fast and Bakkerud had all bases covered, with the race ending like it started.
On Semifinal 2, Kevin Eriksson would have to do it on his own while dealing with some quick guys behind him, and at the of Lap 1 the four drivers were split into two packs with different straitegies. Going to Joker early didn’t help neither Martell not Oliver Bennett, with the only thing happening being Pastrana overtaking Kevin Eriksson for first place, but since both were in the Final, there was no further changes of position.
The LCQ was key for the guest starters to not pack home earlier, and Elliott protected the lead from the go, but he would have to deal with the XITE Racing machines in pursuit mode, in special a pretty daring Oliver Bennett. A broken suspension ruled Elliott out and gifted the lead to Meeke, who saw his life get easier as one of Bennett’s tires got off due to a puncture, but despite the spin caused by it, the Brit could keep going to take second place and beat Austin Cindric.
The Final started with Oliver Eriksson preserving his lead but lots of bumping in the back, which sent Andreas Bakkerud into a bad sideways landing after the gap jump and then into a multiple roll, from which he got out unscathed, being this his second of the kind in the season. The race was immediately red flagged to assist Bakkerud and clean the track.
With the seven remaining cars realigned in the grid, Eriksson was able to repeat his move and take the lead again, leaving Larsson to deal with Pastrana and McConnell. Larsson was able to move away from Pastrana and prepare an attack on Oliver Eriksson, closing down more and more until he surprised Oliver on the inside of the hairpin after the gap jump.
Despite having a battered car, Oliver kept following Larsson but the pace wasn’t coming, so Larsson’s job was to keep it steady until the finish line, which he clearly delivered to take the win, while Oliver Eriksson had to settle for second and Kris Meeke completed the podium.
NRX of Phoenix II - Event results
After being under threat of losing the lead due to Friday’s results, Larsson opens the gap again in the standings, as he has 299 points against 254 from Bakkerud and 233 from McConnell. The season will only be resumed next year, with Quebec starting the Canadian journey on 22 January, being probably one of the snowy rounds promised before the season started.
PHOTO: Robin Larsson
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