Winning is a great feeling, but doing it at home makes it many times more special, and that’s what happened to Sivert Svardal, as the Norwegian aced in the moment it mattered the most and took an emotional win at Hell for the FIA Euro RX1 Championship driving his Volkswagen Polo RX.
Anton Marklund made the consistency work when the attrition was on a high during Qualifying, winning three out of the four heats to secure the top spot, with Heat 2 winner Patrick O’Donovan settling for second while Enzo Ide and Mate Benyó followed the consistenct bandwagon without a top time.
Semifinal 1 had Ide and Marklund going physical until Marklund could get the lead, but instead of battling more, they opted for a close follow to lose Támas Kárai as the Hungarian was dealing with René Münnich for third place. Nothing changed in the top two and also for Kárai as he shut all doors possible into Münnich’s face to secure the spot in the Final.
Semifinal 2 had Peugeots all over the place until Benyó was bullied out of the road by Bumanis, who then prepared to attack the leader O’Donovan while he had Svardal right at his back wing. The status quo was a saving grace for all of them but specially for Svardal, as he was on Mandie August’s radar despite her not having the pace to close down on the Norwegian, but positions remained unchanged until the line, so August’s attack never came to action.
The Final was a hectic one as Ide had suspension issues and parked, and O’Donovan followed with wheel damage, which meant that Sivert Svardal was leading the race while being protected by August as Kárai and Marklund went to the Joker early. Once the Joker laps were done at halfway mark, Svardal’s job was to protect territory, and it worked once Kárai and Marklund decided to trade paint for second place, though Marklund kept a close following of the local guy, but he was unable to shake off Svardal, who celebrated immediately in tears a historic victory at home.
Euro RX1 - Hell event results
As things stand, it will be an all out battle for the title as the championship hit the halfway mark, with Ide leading with 48 points, Marklund being second with 47, Baumanis down to third with 44 points, O’Donovan in fourth with 37, and don’t count out Münnich with 34 and Kárai with 30. Svardal is only eighth with 23 points, sitting behind Benyó’s 26, needing a string of good results to be able to fight for a title.
The Euro RX1 moves to Sweden, as the Meca of Rallycross, Höljes, hosts the Magic Weekend on 2 July, with the fourth round of the season being part of massive schedule in Swedish territory that will have the return of champions Andreas Bakkerud and Robin Larsson, racing in RX Cartel Audi S1 RXs.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool
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