JC Raceteknik aims for SM-week glory with Euro RX Champion Marklund
JC Raceteknik is aiming for glory in the annual SM-week, held this winter at Skellefteå in Northern Sweden on March 25, where the championship-winning team will run four single-make Supercar Lites cars in the winter rallycross discipline and welcomes reigning FIA European Rallycross Champion Anton Marklund to the squad.
SM-week is an annual week-long sports festival held each year, and will be the final winter-based rallycross event of the season for the JC Raceteknik team. The squad recently finished third overall in the four-round RallyX on Ice series with Norwegian driver Sondre Evjen, but is targeting overall success at Skellefteå next week.
For former FIA World Rallycross Championship driver Anton Marklund, it will be the Swede’s first ever winter event as he prepares for the summer season racing his regular Volkswagen Polo Supercar.
Joining Marklund in the JC Raceteknik line-up will be Swedish rally star Pelle Wilén and cousins Jimmie Walfridson and Jonathan Walfridsson, who all competed in the RallyX on Ice series that was held in Norway and Sweden this year.
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal:
"We are aiming only for victory in Skellefteå. The summer season begins in just over a month and it would be brilliant for the team to finish the winter on top. Pelle, Jimmie and Jonathan all drove with us in RallyX on Ice and Anton is making his Supercar Lites debut. Anton is our biggest competitor in Euro RX Supercar so it feels a little strange that he is going to drive in our team, but we are all really looking forward to working with him. The whole team is ready to fight for victory.”
Anton Marklund (SWE), Supercar Lites:
"This will be really, really fun. It's going to be my first winter race ever, and I've never driven a Supercar Lites car before, so I don’t really know what to expect. I see this more as a fun way to race close to my home for the first time in eight years. But, I know what will happen as soon as you put the helmet on, you do all you can to win. It will be a fun challenge and of course in rallycross anything can happen, but I hope to make both the semi-final and the final. We have a two-day test planned with the team before the race, the biggest challenge will be to feel at home in the car and learn what its characteristics are. Supercar Lites have less power than a Supercar, and to be quick on ice you have to drive wide and carry the speed. I’m looking forward to learning about that in the test days. When I decided to race the Supercar Lites in SM-week, I immediately knew which team to contact. JC Raceteknik has a lot of experience so they know what is needed to be fast on ice.”
Pelle Wilén (SWE), Supercar Lites:
"I’m really looking forward to SM-week and I hope we can have another fun weekend together with JC Raceteknik. Making the final is obviously the goal but everything can happen. At the last RallyX on Ice race in Gol I had some bad rallycross luck, I retired in the semi-finals because the steering wheel came off. I hope for better luck in Skellefteå."
Jimmie Walfridson (SWE), Supercar Lites:
"This is my first year in rallycross and I've struggled to find the right rhythm in both the car and the tracks. But, after finishing on the podium in Gol I have a good feeling in the car and will take the positives from there into SM-week. The goal is to get into the final and hopefully get a good result. I’m realistic though, there are many good drivers competing, all fighting for the same result.”
Jonathan Walfridsson (SWE), Supercar Lites:
"I really enjoy driving in rallycross in the winter, so I’m looking forward to competing at Skellefteå. RallyX on Ice was a bit up and down for me, I went well in the heats but had bad luck in the semi-finals. So, the goal for SM-week is to be in the top-four from the first start to score good points in the heats. That would allow me a good start position for the semi-finals and then I can hopefully finish on the podium.”
