After a near miss on Saturday at Richmond Raceway, Oliver Eriksson didn’t take much time in the 2024/2025 Nitrocross season to score the first win, overcoming pressure from Fraser McConnell to bring it home for Team OMSE.
Heat 1 had Oliver Eriksson defending well the lead from Viktor Vranckx and more importantly, boxing Robin Larsson in third. From Lap 2, Larsson and Foust went for an early Joker. I looked like Larsson would have the second place once Vranckx went to the Joker, but the Belgian did a last hout dash to stay behind Oliver Eriksson.
Heat 2 had Fraser McConnell winning the initial run against Andreas Bakkerud, with the Norwegian going to the Joker while Conner Martell continued the pressure on McConnell. Martell left the Joker to the final lap, but while he was able to pass Bakkerud, he couldn’t beat McConnell.
Semifinal 1 had the strongest grid out there but Oliver Eriksson continued his good run by fendding off Martell by a close margin while Robin Larsson opted to keep the third position as his ticket to the Final was secure in that position.
Semifinal 2 had McConnell defending the inside from Vranckx but Bakkerud made the pressure count to take second place as no one would like to be prey for Tanner Foust. With the pace being similar across the field, no position changes happened so McConnell won the race with Bakkerud in second and Vranckx sending Foust to the LCQ.
It was Block vs. Foust for who will lead the last row in the Final, and the LCQ started with Block having the advantage, so Foust opted for a Lap 1 joker and her task was to open the gap to stay ahead at the finish line on Lap 3, and with an aggressive line in the Joker, Block has beaten the GRC and ARX ace by 0.187 seconds.
It was just the Final to go and end the whole weekend at Richmond, and McConnell got the initial lead but Eriksson just needed to throw the Jamaican out of his line to take the first place. McConnell kept pursuiting Eriksson fiercely but Vranckx was keeping a good view of two cars ahead. Eventually, the top two left the Belgian behind and kept their personal battle for the win, but with the deadlock being there until the line, Oliver Eriksson kept the first place.
Nitrocross - Richmond II event results
With the Sunday win, Oliver Eriksson also takes the lead of the championship with 118 points against 107 from McConnell and 103 from Saturday winner Robin Larsson. Next in the calendar will be the rounds 3 and 4 at the Utah Motorsport Campus where it all started for the championship, set to be held on 5 and 6 October.
PHOTO: Oliver Eriksson
Comments
Post a Comment
Do you have an opinion? Feel free to comment.