KymiRing debut in RallyX had the Maiko Tamm show

KymiRing is finally ready to host rallycross, and the first visit from RallyX North proved it despite the frequent track maintenance that was part of the weekend. While local stars like Anton Seppa and Joni Turpeinen were in strong runs for the win, it was Maiko Tamm’s Ford Fiesta ST RX that took honors at the Finnish circuit, with the TT Motorsports carprobably having the cleanest front bumper of the grid.
 
Track condition was a key point in the Qualifying heats, with it getting into an awful state once the Saturday runs ended, with some more maintenance being needed on Sunday, although the state on day 2 can be considered a bit more consistent, offering more conditions for close fights. The home drivers actually had the upper hand despite how all over the place the results were, with current champion Joni Turpeinen being the top qualifier without a single top time, but with consistency that didn’t let the Finnish driver go lower than fourth over the four runs.
 
Anton Seppa followed him while Maiko Tamm was third, while the ups and downs of Ulrik Linnemann gave him a fourth place, with Casper Jansson being the best with an FC2 in fifth. The fight was so close and so unpredictable that Simon Olofsson and Filip Martinsson surprised by not making the cut to the 12 in the Semifinals, along with IMSA GTD and Super Trofeo North America racer Jake Walker, who was actually working on getting used to rallycross in his debut weekend, while Filip Thorén and Pasi Penttinen had mechanical issues taking the best of their cars, missing more sessions than actually racing.
 
Semifinal 1 had Tamm outpacing Turpeinen for the lead while Viktor Vranckx was leading the chasing group. Fraser McConnell opted for the early Joker lap while Vranckx did part of the job for McConnell as he lost time clashing with Jansson. Tamm eventually had an easy race win, while Turpeinen barely finished in second as a fed up McConnell pressed him to not fall victim of Vranckx and lose the spot in the Final.
 
Semifinal 2 had Seppa keeping the top spot after a drag race with Oliver Eriksson, who boxed most of the field and eventually retired with problems while most Final slots were up for grabs. Seppa was benefited with the compactation of the pack and won with large margin, while Linnemann had an incident-filled race to second and Jari Turri sneaked into third place.
 
In the Final, there would no margin for error, and Linnemann learned it the hard way first by stalling at the line, while Turpeinen and Seppa were thrown off the line and McConnell became second, only behind of Tamm. With McConnell trying to settle his differences with Seppa, both lost time, allowing Tamm to take a calm and measured Joker lap to go straight to the checkered while the battling cars behind the Estonian completed the poium.
 
RallyX North - KymiRing event results
 
Tamm takes the lead from Janis Baumanis as he now has 78 points against Baumanis’ 59 and Seppa’s 58. Other strong title contenders are Turpeinen with 57 and Vranckx and Linnemann with 53 each.
 
Anton Seppa won the Open 4WD Pro-Am Final and Casper Jansson won the Open 4WD FC2 Final.
 
In nearly 15 days the action is back as the competitors move to Sweden, with the Älvsbyn double being held on 28 and 29 June.
 
PHOTO: Tamm Racing