Robin Larsson started the defense of his Nitrocross title with a stellar performance at the Richmond Raceway, as the DRR JC Monster Energy Dodge kept the competition in all sessions, and more importantly in the final to win the first event of the 2024/2025 season.
And yes, you have read it right, Dodge is returning to motorsport and to rallycross. It’s more than a decade since a Dodge Dart was going sideways in Global Rallycross, but now it’s more of a brand representation than official support, with all Dreyer & Reinbold entries being covered, which means Robin Larsson, Andreas Bakkerud, Fraser McConnell and Lia Block will have a Dodge Hornet R/T styled FC1-X.
Heat 1 had Andreas Bakkerud in total control of the three laps while Conner Martell was on his trail the whole time and Lia Block was getting to grips with the FirstCorner FC1-X. Heat 2 had Robin Larsson leading initially with Oliver Eriksson behind him, but problems in the second lap made Eriksson back off, opening the way for Fraser McConnell to beat Viktor Vranckx in the final lap for second place.
Semifinal 1 had Bakkerud leading with McConnell holding second place from Lia Block while Tanner Foust was trying to find his way out of fourth place, and he gambled in a late Joker to make it work to at least get third place from Block, while Bakkerud and McConnell were too fast to be on Foust’s radar.
Semifinal 2 had Larsson and Martell battling for space on Lap 1, in which the Swedish driver won, and then Oliver Eriksson capitalized in the contact between Martell and Vranckx to get second place. Larsson had a good advantage to win the race while Eriksson and Martell kept second and third places to send Vranckx to the LCQ.
With Vranckx and Block being the only drivers in LCQ, it was more a question of deciding grid positions for the Final rather than qualification. With Block stuck in the line and then moving a few seconds later, Vranckx could take it at his leisure pace to even test things for when it matters most, being the only one to cross the finish line, although Block would also qualify.
The DRR JC Monster Dodge machines were controlling the front row in the Final, and while Larsson took the lead, Bakkerud made sure no one was getting near him. Bakkerud’s Joker would leave Larsson exposed to Eriksson and McConnell, and keeping the Joker to the final lap helped them build the gap so that the order wasn’t changed, so this is how the first podium of the season was formed.
Nitrocross Richmond I - Event results
PHOTO: JC Raceteknik
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