Grönholm and McConnell share overnight TQ honors in Höljes.

PHOTO CREDIT: RallyX Nordic.

Niclas Grönholm and Fraser McConnell draw level on points midway through qualifying for Round 4 of the RallyX Nordic championship in Höljes.

Both drivers picked up 90 points from their two qualifying heats, both claiming a win and the fourth-best time, which see them on equal points at the top of the Supercar class intermediate standings. 

Changeable conditions did not impact the on-track action, as McConnell stamped his authority on Q1, with a mighty strong start out of blocks with Grönholm and Anton Marklund slotting in behind. Thereafter, the Jamaican showed blistering pace in his Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta Supercar to win by a margin of 3.055 seconds in Q1.

Having set the fourth-fastest time in Q1. Niclas Grönholm launched a fightback in Q2, and despite not getting the perfect start. He drew level with Fraser and squeeze Marklund and Kristoffersson to back off and slot in behind. On the run into turn 2, the Finn took the joker lap with an aim to benefit in clear air. 

Marklund, who was right on the bumper of McConnell spun off from second-place, dropping to the rear of the field on the first lap clearing the way for Szabo, Grönholm, and Kristoffersson behind. 

With a clear pace advantage, Niclas latched onto the rear of Krisztian Szabo who strategically jokered on lap 2 to make life easier for his team-mate. The ice-cool Finn started chipping away at Fraser's lead in the wet conditions, and as McConnell jokered. Who emerged in the lead? None other than Niclas Grönholm who won Q2. 

Three-time World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson had a day to forget after suffering from a turbo hose issue, which slowed him down quite considerably in Q1. After two qualifying sessions, Johan is six points behind Grönholm and McConnell in the intermediate standings, with his immediate championship Sondre Evjen a point further back in fourth. 

What will happen on day 2 is anyone guess? But it's all to play for tomorrow! 

Eriksson returns to defend hard-fought World RX Höljes crown – in a Honda.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media.

Sebastian Eriksson, the defending race winner from the 2019 World RX of Sweden will return to the FIA World Rallycross Championship with his eyes firmly set on back to back victories in  Höljes.

The 27-year-old Swede had made only three starts at World RX level prior to his appearance at Höljes last summer, but in a high-caliber, 25-strong field, he was unbeatable from Q4 onwards. 

 

This year, he will return to the field in defense of that hard-fought triumph behind the wheel of Olsbergs MSE’s Honda Civic with which he claimed six podium finishes – including a race win – in GRC in 2016/17. 

As he prepares to return to the scene of his breakthrough World Championship achievement, it is clear that he has more silverware firmly in his sights.

 

"It felt like everything just went our way at Höljes last year. It was the race I wanted to win more than any other and the biggest result of my career, and it was nice to see the reaction of everybody in the paddock – that meant a lot," Eriksson said.

 

"I’m really excited to be going back again. Höljes is the most iconic rallycross track in the world, and this year, we get double the chances to win and double the fun. It’s the first time the World Championship has staged a double-header so the regular drivers might not be so used to that format, but I did a lot of it in GRC back in the day so hopefully, that might give me a little bit of an advantage."

 

Whilst the Ford Fiesta that Eriksson used to triumph in Höljes last year was in its development stage and suffered from overheating issues, he was able to keep a charging Kevin Hansen behind, but this year, the Swede will return in a machine that he is quite familiar with. 

The Swede is keen to see how the Honda Civic will perform at the World Championship level and admits that OMSE has been hard at work updating the car over the recent months. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Olsbergs MSE. 

"It will be interesting to see how the Honda shapes up on the World Championship stage. It’s obviously a completely different shape and has different characteristics to the Fiesta, but in testing, we’ve achieved very similar lap times with the two cars," he said. "We’ve worked hard to update the Civic in recent months, which should make it a bit more competitive so I’m positive we can be up at the sharp end again – and how cool would it be to win back-to-back in two different cars?!"

 

"I might be the guy with the target on my back as the defending race winner, but I actually don’t feel under any pressure. For me, this is a one-off event so I can just go all-out. The drivers entered for the full season need to be a bit more conservative and think about the points situation, but for me, points don’t matter."

Eriksson is also aware of the challenge that awaits him in Höljes with an extremely competitive field filled with RX race winners and champions targeting victory at the season-opener and admits that he's ready for the fight.

 

"I haven’t seen the full entry list yet, but there’s no question that it’s going to be fiercely-contested – this is the pinnacle, after all," he adds. "Johan Kristoffersson is back in the game, we saw how quick Niclas Grönholm and Robin Larsson were at Höljes in RallyX Nordic earlier this month and then, of course, you’ve got the likes of the Hansen brothers and Andreas Bakkerud so it’s clearly going to be an extremely tough field – but I’m definitely up for the fight!"

Written By - Junaid Samodien