The double header of the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Istanbul marked the last two events of these 11 years of World championship, but with only four cars present and with the Euro RX1 Championship still having things to settle, the grids were mixed while the final phase was split for both competitions. The Saturday in Turkish soil saw Johan Kristoffersson make a comeback after seeing Niclas Grönholm practically dominate the whole day, except for the Final, while in Euro RX1, Yury Belevskiy lifted the title out of the least probable scenario as Damian Litwinowicz won a fiercely contested event.
Qualifying saw both the World RX and Euro RX1 fields combined and very contrasting situations in the track depending on the surface, with wide and grippy tarmac and then tricky and slippery dirt, mostly due to watering before the heats. It was a surprisingly dominant Qualifying for Niclas Grönholm as the dirt was rewarding bravery, but too much of it could send you off the line or even in the barriers. From the Euro RX1 side, Mika Liimatainen was in command, almost all the time prevailing over his competition and clearly keeping up the pace with the World RX RX1es, in special on the launch.
Euro RX1 Semifinal 1 started with a very aggressive pass from Liimatainen while Yury Belevskiy was left behind to spend some time with Joni Turpeinen. On Lap 3, Belevskiy goes from bad to worse as he hits the barrier and stops for a while, and by hitting a tire barrier on Lap 4, the Swiss destroyed his left front wheel and made things even worse. Without any threats, Liimatainen won the race with Turpeinen settling in second place while René Münnich got third place on a mix of strategy and luck.
Euro RX1 Semifinal 2 could be decisive for Damian Litwinowicz, but it was Tamás Kárai who took advantage from the first corner, being chased by Litwinowicz and Nils Volland, but eventually the two behind the Hungarian driver lost pace while he was keeping it tidy through the whole race to not give any chance to the competition.
With only 4 cars on Saturday, World RX went straight to the Final, where Grönholm stood ahead but received a lot of pressure from Johan Kristoffersson, who went out of his way to use some brute force on Lap 3 to take the lead, rendering Grönholm completely powerless to counter as the gap just increased, with the win going for Kristoffersson by 4.3 seconds.
In the Euro RX1 Final, the last of the season, things work well for Liimatainen as he beats Kárai in turn 1, but Litwinowicz follows him as Kárai goes to the Joker with Münnich. Having Turpeinen in third could give an strategic advantage for Liimatainen, and with Kárai tangled with Münnich and Volland, he would have a certain degree of free reign. Turpeinen being behind Kárai after the Joker was a bad sign for Liimatainen, who tried to press the Hungarian but couldn’t go past third place while Litwinowicz was free to win the race, actually giving the Euro RX1 title to someone out of the Final.
Istanbul RX I - Event results
Euro RX1 - Istanbul event results
In the World RX standings, Kristoffersson ended Round 5 with 122 points against the 108 of Grönholm and 92 from Veiby, meaning that the sixth round will have an open battle for the title.
The real thriller was in the Euro RX1 standings, as Belevskiy secured the title because of Litwinowicz’s win, as the Swiss scored 97 against the 94 of both Litwinowicz and Liimatainen. The situation was so out of the predictions that Belevskiy confessed he was already out of the track waiting for a pickup outside of the track, and after the race, Liimatainen confessed to Andreas Bakkerud that he might not be back for the next season, despite the Euro RX gaining back the status of the top rallycross competition.
PHOTOS: FIA World Rallycross Championship
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