"We need to put it all on the line in Cape Town" - Andreas Bakkerud.

Three drivers have a chance to claim the FIA World Rallycross Championship crown in 2019, and Andreas Bakkerud is one of them. 


The Monster Energy RX Cartel team principal and driver Andreas Bakkerud has had a lot on his plate to contend with this season, including the dramatic season opener in Abu Dhabi that cost him over 60,000 euros worth of damage after colliding with Timmy Hansen in Q3. But despite that setback, the Norwegian fought back and claimed victory in Canada.

The pressure is certainly on, but the ice-cool Norweigan sees the title showdown at the Killarney International Raceway like any other race weekend. 

"I think it's just like every other race weekend, you need to go in there and perform," he said. "You need to do your best and not have any thoughts of anything else. That is the hardest part sometimes."

"You need four good starts in all the qualifying sessions, you need two good starts in the semi-final and the final. And you need "four times, four laps" in qualifying and "two times, six laps" without any mistakes."

While quietly confident, Bakkerud is aware of the challenges he faces at the Killarney, because recent history has shown that the Peugeots have strong pace around the Cape Town circuit, and he hopes that the changes they have made to his Audi S1 Quattro will aid in beating the Hansen brothers. 

"We’ve seen that the Peugeots have been very fast at Killarney the last couple of years, but we’ve made some changes to the car and hopefully we can give them a good run for their money," he said. "If I get good starts and limit my mistakes, I’ll be in good shape to win."

“For sure, the Hansens will both be fighting at the front. As for us, Liam (Doran) will be on my side. We are racing as a team and we win and lose together. It’s an important race for both of us. The Monster Energy RX Cartel needs a good end to the season.

"It's going to be an interesting and exciting race weekend and we need to put everything on the line."

Written By - Junaid Samodien