One thing that defines Johan Kristoffersson and Kristoffersson Motorsport in general is that they appear in their best when it matters the most, and despite the starting issues that plagued the Qualifying heats in the FIA European Rallycross Championship opener at Riga, the proper form came back when Semifinals and in the Final, leading the team’s 1-2 finish with Ole Christian Veiby against strong opposition, in special Joni Turpeinen, who got his first podium at 17 years old.
The first Quarter-final had saw Kristofferson still having difficulty with the start, staying behind Joni Turpeinen while Janis Baumanis was turned around in front of the home crowd. Turpeinen was closing the door on Kristoffersson so hard that Casper Jansson was watching them from behind until the Joker on Lap 3. On Lap 4, Turpeinen feinted and Kristoffersson bit the dummy, going to the Joker but countering on clean air in the final lap to win the race right in front of the young Finn, with Jansson finishing in third.
The second race saw Juha Rytkönen and Andor Trepák shutting the door in the competition, only for it to backfire on them, especially for Rytkönen, who was threw to the back. Trepák got away with his mistake and dispatched Nils Volland quickly as the German was left to take care of the chasing pack, eventually conceding to Zoltán Koncseg. While Trepák won it with ease, not all Hungarians behind him made it, as Koncseg finished in second and a smoking Hyundai i20 RX helped Rytkönen to be third, right in front of Kárai.
The third race saw returning characters in the front row, and Andreas Bakkerud has a rocket start to not give room to Rokas Baciuska, and the two were way ahead of the third placed Maiko Tamm, who had a decent gap to Kjetil Larsen. With Larsen oversteering into the barriers and Damian Litwinowicz too far behind, the top three was unchanged until the finish line.
The last Quarter-final saw Ole Christian Veiby launching well and Patrick O’Donovan chasing him hard while Johannes Rafoss was turned around and retired. Ulrik Linnemann had to worry about an attacking Anton Seppä than trying to reach O’Donovan, and while Veiby and O’Donovan were comfortable in first and second, Linnemann was only allowed to breathe after the line when he was certain he has beaten Seppä.
In the first Semifinal, Kristoffersson got boxed in the first moment and barged his way past Turpeinen to stay behind Bakkerud, while Baciuska got ahead of everyone with his first lap Joker. Clean air was in favor of Kristoffersson again as he passed Bakkerud in the fifth lap, clocking fastest laps to stay outside Bakkerud’s striking zone until the line, while Turpeinen defended himself well from Jansson and got his place in the Final.
Semifinal 2 saw Trepák choose to combat Veiby but having his race ended by contact with Rytkönen, who came from fifth to second while O’Donovan was slotted behind the SET Promotion driver. From there one, Veiby’s consistency spoke louder as the positions remained unchanged, with Rytkönen in second and O’Donovan in third.
It was just in the Final that the two Kristoffersson Motorsport cars were together in the front row, with SET Promotion cars behind them. Bakkerud’ pendulum into turn 1 failed and he went down to sixth as Veiby protected his place, naturally keeping Kristoffersson in first. Having Kristoffersson in front and Veiby in second was detrimental for Turpeinen and Bakkerud, with the KMS Polos going away to get first and second, while Turpeinen was left holding his third place from a hungry Bakkerud, and despite Bakkerud’s best efforts to find room to overtake, Turpeinen countered well until the line to stay in the podium.
Riga RX - Event results
Kristoffersson leads the points table with 40 points, while Veiby has 33, Turpeinen and Bakkerud have 25 each and Patrick O’Donovan has 19 in fifth place. The next round is set for Nyirád, in Hungary, on 31 May.
PHOTO: Kristoffersson Motorsport
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