"I’m really proud of our performance" - Andreas Bakkerud.

PHOTO: FIA World RX Media

The second round of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship, saw Andreas Bakkerud put down an impressive performance as he led the Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel into the final, only missing out on a podium spot due to a technical issue following contact in the earlier semi-final.

The Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel driver faced a number of setbacks in the opening round of the season on Saturday. It was no different for his teammate Liam Doran, who had a number of issues - prop shaft failure and driveshaft issues. 

It did not get any better on Sunday for the British Bomb who struggled with more technical gremlins as both prop shafts and the drive shaft broke leaving him without any gears or control and forced him to retire after Q3. 

Whilst Doran's weekend was plagued by issues, Bakkerud had a much better Sunday ranked third overall in the intermediate rankings after three qualifying heats. 

Despite damage in the semi-finals after contact with Timmy Hansen, Andreas showed his incredible driving skills defending and hanging onto P3 after coming under immense pressure from Hansen, Timur Timerzyanov, and Krisztian Szabo to progress to the final. 

Despite the team working hard to turn the Megane around in time for the final, the car’s broken driveshaft made a comeback in lap 2 of the final which meant Bakkerud had no chance to fight for a podium spot in Sweden, and ultimately finishing in sixth place.

"I’m really proud of our performance today," Bakkerud said. "We made massive steps and I can see where we’ll be able to go with the GCK Megane R.S. RX."

"I now hold the record for the only person having raced their way to the final in 5 different cars, so that’s not too bad either. I know we’re just a step or two away from the podium, so bring on Finland - I’m ready."

 Written By - Junaid Samodien