Bryntesson starts RallyX Nordic title defense in style at Holjes
Reigning RallyX Nordic Champion Thomas Bryntesson got the defense of his 2017 title with JC Raceteknik off to the best possible start by claiming victory at the Holjes season-opener in Sweden (May 6).
Fastest from the opening Free Practice sessions of the weekend, Bryntesson survived a dramatic off-track excursion in the qualifying stages of the event to win both his semi-final and the final to take his first victory of the season and the points lead, fighting back from a difficult first Supercar event of the year for JC Raceteknik in Barcelona last month.
In the team’s sister Ford Fiesta Supercar, Ola Froshaug finished third in his semi-final and only missed the chance of fighting for a podium finish in the final by a single place.
JC Raceteknik entered no less than nine cars for the Holjes event. In Supercar Lites, Sondre Evjen was the highest placed finisher for the team in fourth, joined in the final by Jimmie Walfridson, who finished the first summer race of the season in fifth.
Reigning champion William Nilsson just missed out on a place in the final. He was classified seventh overall, while Marcus Höglund was eighth with Ben-Philip Gundersen tenth and Jonathan Walfridsson 19th.
14-year old Isak Reiersen raced in the RX Academy category and despite showing he had the pace to challenge for a top result, missed out on a place in the final due to a puncture in the final corners of his semi-final.
Find full results and championship standings here.
RallyX Nordic is held over six rounds in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Round two takes place at Arvika in Sweden (June 3), while JC Raceteknik will return to action for the second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship and the first round of the RX2 International Series at Mettet in Belgium this weekend (May 11 – 13).
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
"This victory really was for the whole team. We had real problems in Barcelona with the Supercars and since then, the mechanics have worked really hard both in the workshop and in testing to solve the problem. Today they delivered top-quality cars in both Supercar and Supercar Lites, shown by having three cars in the finals. This result also gives us confidence heading to the next round of Euro RX and RX2 in Belgium this weekend.”
Supercar: Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) :
"After the weekend we had in Barcelona the mechanics worked so hard to get the cars back on track, which makes it extra special to win here. We had good speed already from the first practice. In Q2 I was pushed into a bank and gravel trap at the first corner and got a puncture, but otherwise it’s been a very good event overall. I’m looking forward to Belgium next weekend and hope to fight against the drivers at the top.”
Supercar Lites: Sondre Evjen (NOR) :
"It was so close that it could have gone either way, but it was a bad finish for me. In the first corner of the final I got hit in the rear wheel which damaged the suspension. That meant I lost a lot of time. Apart from that the event went well, I had good pace and when I was able to drive in free air I set good times in Q3 and the semi-final. I’ve shown that I can be as quick as the fastest drivers, so the feeling for Belgium next weekend is good.”
Supercar Lites: Jimmie Walfridson (SWE) :
"I didn’t expect the event to go so well, as my first ever rallycross event on gravel. During Sunday’s warm-up, I found a good rhythm and in Q1 I won my race. I had a good overall time which increased my confidence. The speed was there, but I still have some work to do. In general this really has been a positive event for me to have under my belt and I’m confident of having the same feeling for Arvika.”
RX Academy: Isak Reiersen (SWE) :
"In the semi-final I ended up stuck in traffic but I pushed hard to try and get into the final. But, I got contact from another car which caused me to have a puncture. I'm just so disappointed. Apart from that, it’s been a learning event for me. I had good speed and raced with the other drivers. It’s been very equal, I was third in every qualifying session and in the Intermediate Classification. The next round will be in Finland, where the goal will be to maintain good pace and achieve good results.”
