Marklund closes Euro RX1 season with win at Spa

There was just one event left in the FIA Euro RX1 Championship, and for 2022 champion Anton Marklund, it couldn’t have been more ceremonial than that at Spa-Francorchamps, having the pace to avoid the messy battles behind and secure and 50% winning rate in the season, with three wins out of six events.

With so many fast competitors, there was a lot of argy bargy for positions in a Qualifying section where time is the most important, and this clearly halted some of the favorites, be either for slow runs of for retirements. 2022 champion Anton Marklund capitalized the most with the ex-GRX Hyundai i20 RXs in general giving a great show, as Juha Rytkönen stood in third behind Janis Baumanis and the second Betomik Racing entry of owner Mikko Ikonen had the fifth place behind Enzo Ide.

Marklund kept the good momentum in the Progression by winning race 1 and bringing Tamás Kárai and Stefan Kristensson with him, while Enzo Ide saw his Audi S1 EKS RX stall at the start, and when the Belgian was able to fire it up and race, he got stuck behind Paulius Pleskovas for the whole race. Baumanis was equally dominant in the second race, bringing along Mikko Ikonen and his Betomik Racing team mate Mika Liimatainen, while a problematic end of race kept Ulrik Linnemann out of the direct spots. A fast paced Race 3 saw Juha Rytkönen battle his way to the win with Peter Hedström, who also fell to Sivert Svardal but still got a ticket to the Semifinal, while Mandie August’s fourth place was the fastest time of the rest, meaning she would take the tenth slot.

Semifinal 1 had Marklund securing the lead from Turn 1 and Liimatainen smashing it into the outside wall due to lack of grip. Baumanis and Hedström were hot on Marklund’s heels, but different Joker strategies were used to undercut Marklund, but positions stood on a status quo as the chasers never had the extra pace to counter the leader.

Semifinal 2 had Ikonen being turned to the side by Svardal and tagging August in the process, with the two going back too far behind from the competition. Rytkönen kept Kárai at bay by delaying his Joker, and on Lap 3 the Finnish driver had all bases covered, leaving the Hungarian and Svardal to battle for second. Rytkönen calmly brought his car to the win while Kárai was able to hold Svardal for second place.

The Final had a pretty strong grid, so any advantage would mean a lot, and having the inside counted for Marklund in the Turn 1 mess, with Rytkönen leading the chasing pack that tried to close the gap to the leader. Kárai and Svardal had nothing to lose so the early Joker was the alternative. Baumanis could have made the Joker for second, but the ruts in the final corner threw him off the line, and with a considerable gap separating first and second, Marklund easily beat Rytkönen for the win.

Euro RX1 - Spa RX event results

Marklund already had the title, so the battle was for the runner-up spot, which ultimately went for Baumanis, while Ide ended the season in third and Svardal in fourth. The Euro RX1 will only return in 2023, with a calednar still to be announced.

PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool