Bakkerud and Bennett to take on RallyX on Ice Festival.

Andreas Bakkerud
PHOTO CREDIT: RallyX on Ice

Norwegian Rallycross ace Andreas Bakkerud and fellow World RX driver Oliver Bennett are set to compete in the final round of the RallyX on Ice festival on Sweden’s frozen Lake Åre on 18-23 March.

The 2019 RallyX on Ice festival will comprise of three events held over six days. Each round will feature a different track layout – including a high-speed oval – with fans encouraged to enjoy the high-quality racing amongst the excellent local facilities on offer.

Bakkerud will make the return to the ice next Saturday (23 March) with Swedish Team Färén. The Norwegian has form on frozen surfaces, having previously participated in RallyX on Ice in 2015 and more recently teamed up with circuit racing ace Nicolas Prost in France’s Andros Trophy.

“First and foremost, I love racing!” said Bakkerud. “There hasn’t been much driving for me since the final round of the 2018 World Championship in Cape Town last November, so I see this as a chance to get some good practice in ahead of the upcoming season!"

“Racing on ice isn’t that different to normal rallycross – you have to perfect your reaction times, sliding and rotations, all of which are crucial in a long RX season," the Norwegian said. 

"Finally, it will be fun to race against the new generation of young talents, so I’m sure I will have a hard time if I want to end up on top – but I will do my very best and of course, I will enjoy it.”

Xite Racing's Oliver Bennett
PHOTO CREDIT: RallyX on Ice.

Britians Oliver Bennett will drive for Team Färén in Monday’s curtain-raiser, with Wednesday’s driver still to be announced. Bennett competed in the Östersund and Höljes rounds of RallyX on Ice in the RX Academy class last year, reaching the final on both occasions, and the Brit is now eager to test his mettle in the headlining Supercar Lites category.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Oliver Bennett. “I’ve never driven the Supercar Lites car before, so that will be a good experience and it’ll be interesting to see what it’s like on the ice with four-wheel-drive."

“It looks pretty comparable to a Supercar in those conditions from what I’ve seen, and it will be great to get some seat time before World RX kicks off next month," he adds. "The atmosphere in Åre looks set to be brilliant, so hopefully we can go out there and have some fun – and I’ll try not to break anything before Andreas gets in the car…”

TEXT - Junaid Samodien
Source - RallyX on Ice