Gundersen second in Arvika, Bryntesson robbed by puncture
Former FIA European Rallycross Champion Ben-Philip Gundersen scored a Supercar Lites podium with JC Raceteknik at RallyX Nordic round two in Arvika, as Supercar points leader Thomas Bryntesson was robbed by a puncture in the final (June 3).
Norwegian Gundersen used strong pace throughout the weekend to score his second podium with the team in three races and move to second in the championship, but for reigning Nordic Supercar Lites champion William Nilsson, the prospect of a solid result having shown his speed in qualifying was ended by an engine fire in the final, while running in third position.
In Supercar, reigning RallyX Nordic champion and round one winner Bryntesson was fastest in each of the three qualifiers to secure pole position in semi-final one, which he won to start on pole in the final.
Leading the race from the first corner, Bryntesson picked up a puncture and lost the lead to Oliver Solberg, before dropping down to fourth. Regardless, he collected solid points and continues to lead the standings.
Competing in his first full season of Supercar Lites competition with the experienced JC Raceteknik team, Marcus Hoglund continued to improve every time he hit the circuit and impressed with a fifth place finish in the final, He is now eighth in the points.
The team’s second Ford Fiesta Supercar, driven by Ola Froshaug, finished the event seventh overall, while in Supercars Lites, Jonathan Walfridsson was seventh, Sondre Evjen 13th and Jimmie Walfridson in 15th completed the list of JC Raceteknik finishers.
Find full results and championship standings here.
The Kil-based team will now head to Hell in Norway for the third round of the RX2 International Series next weekend (June 8 – 10), before round three of RallyX Nordic in Grenland, Norway on June 24.
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
“It’s been a really good weekend for the team, with all drivers qualifying for the semi-finals. We were very close to being on the top step of the podium in both classes, but unfortunately things were out of our control in the finals. Ben-Philip made a small mistake but he drove very well overall and has developed a lot in his first few events. Thomas also had a great event, he was fastest all weekend. Had it not been for the puncture, he would have been fighting for victory.
For our other drivers it was quite hard, especially when there are three semi-finals and only two drivers can progress to the final. William really had good pace but had problems in the final, Marcus just gets better and better and it’s great that he got into the final. Now we’re recharging ahead of RX2 in Hell this weekend, where we want to be on the podium again.”
Supercar Lites: Ben-Philip Gundersen (NOR) :
“I’m really happy with the result. The mechanics did a great job with the car, it was 100% reliable and worked well for the whole race. This was a totally new circuit for me and I didn’t have high hopes coming here. The track is a lot of fun, quite demanding and technical. In the semi-final I ran at my own pace and made it through to the final, then in the final I had a good start and was side-by-side with Guillaume De Ridder, but he got out of the first corner first. I made a mistake and lost some time, otherwise it would have been a very close fight for victory.”
Supercar: Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) :
"It was a really good weekend, everything from the starts to the car worked fine. I was fastest in every heat and won the semi-final. I took the lead of the final at the start but felt a bang at the jump on lap one and got a puncture. After that I just had to drive on the wheel rim. I tried to hold it together but I ended up fourth. Apart from that it was a good event, and I’m still leading the championship. I’d like to thank all of the sponsors and fans that sat in the crowd and supported me, that makes everything so enjoyable.”
Supercar Lites: Marcus Hoglund (SWE) :
“The weekend started terribly for me, with really bad times in Saturday’s practice. So in the evening I sat down with the team and analysed where I was going wrong. We found a lot, and in Sunday’s morning warm up I improved my times by almost two seconds, and also won a race in the heats. The semi-final was tough, but I pushed hard and was able to get into the final. In the final I was sixth, and from there it’s hard to get a top position. The visibility was very bad, but I climbed to fifth. It’s my first full season and now I’ve shown I have the speed, I just need to be more consistent in the future.”
Supercar Lites: William Nilsson (SWE) :
“I’m really, really disappointed. I was able to set the fastest laps, so that it ended how it did feels really bad. In the final, I was third after the first corner, but already on the second lap I was starting to feel that something was wrong and the engine was losing power. I did my best and kept going, but when I had half a lap to go the engine started to leak, it lost its oil and caught fire. We still don’t know why that happened. It was a very hard weekend, but it’s now important to re-focus for Hell next weekend. That’s a track I like and have been fast at in the past, so I’m looking forward to it.”
