Ulrik Linnemann cemented his place as the number one favorite for the RallyX North title, barely beating Viktor Vranckx in a highly contested Sunday event at Nysum while Maiko Tamm had a day to forget as he became the best of the outsiders due to a bad performance and a chunk of bad luck.
The track was mostly dry on Sunday, which allowed more consistent drives to shine, and with the heats 1 and 3 in the pocket, Ulrik Linnemann was the top qualifier while Fraser McConnell was showing remarkable pace to appear in second, and Viktor Vranckx didn’t let the Saturday Semifinal struggle affect him, appearing in third, just ahead of Oliver Eriksson, Casper Jansson and Filip Martinsson.
The downside of the Qualifying was for Maiko Tamm, as he never got it going and even missed the third heat, eventually being at the bottom of the table, which would hurt his title chances pretty badly as Linnemann was on top.
Semifinal 1 had Linnemann protecting the lead as he left the outside for Vranckx, which threw the Belgian to third as Jansson found a way past. With Hans-Jorran Ostreng keeping a close watch on the top 3, Vranckx had to Joker in order to undercut Jansson, but with Ostreng not going to the Joker, Vranckx got boxed until they had a contact and Ostreng’s Hyundai i20 RX rolled and stopped. In the final lap, Linnemann and Jansson went to the Joker and secured the first and second positions, while the damaged Peugeot 208 WRX of Vranckx finished in third, just ahead of Tamm.
Filip Thorén was absent from Semifinal 2, which meant four cars fighting for three spots in the Final. McConnell and Martinsson led the way and took some distance from Tom Andre Tanevik and Oliver Eriksson, who chose to Joker early in hopes of an undercut. With Tanevik having not only lack of pace but also a broken car, the top three was decided before the line, with McConnell, Martinsson and Eriksson not changing positions.
Linnemann would have McConnell as a tough challenge in the Final, but a chaotic start that eliminated Martinsson and Eriksson threw McConnell off the line, making him opt for an early Joker to compensate the lost time. With a Joker at the penultimate lap, Linnemann made himself vulnerable to Vranckx as he got stuck behind Jansson, who had a Joker lap pending, but with the final sector of the track offering no room for a late maneuver, Linnemann secured victory as Vranckx was 0.224 seconds away from it.
RallyX North - Nysum II event results
With two rounds remaining, Linnemann leads the standings with 154 points over the 143 from Tamm, 124 from Martinsson, 121 from Vranckx and 116 from McConnell, and with Jansson having 108 points, the title race has six potential candidates for the crown.
The RallyX North season and the RallyX season in general conclude business in 2025 at Estering, with the double header scheduled for 9 and 10 August.
PHOTO: RallyX
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