JC Raceteknik scores dream Supercar Lites podium lock-out in Arvika, Bryntesson second in Supercar
JC Raceteknik Supercar Lites drivers William Nilsson, Sondre Evjen and Henrik M Krogstad scored a dream triple-podium for the Swedish team in the second round of the RallyX Nordic Championship in Arvika (June 3), as Thomas Bryntesson and Ola Froshaug finished second and fourth in Supercar.
The four podium positions for the team mean that Nilsson and Evjen now share the lead in the Supercar Lites championship, while Bryntesson is just three points behind the leader in the Supercar standings.
Racing his JC Raceteknik Ford Fiesta Supercar, Bryntesson qualified top at the Intermediate Classification, but the dry conditions of the qualifying races gave way to wet and slippery conditions for the semi-finals and final. The reigning RallyX Nordic Supercar Lites champion won semi-final one ahead of team mate Froshaug, who gave a much improved performance in Arvika to be consistently fighting for top six positions.
Starting from pole position in the final, Bryntesson was beaten away from the start line by eventual winner Oliver Solberg and Froshaug, but passed his team mate and closed the gap on Solberg. However, when taking his joker lap to try and leap-frog the race leader, Bryntessson spun his car in the challenging conditions, but hung onto second place, while an accomplished drive for Froshaug was rewarded with fourth at the finish.
In Supercar Lites, the trio of JC Raceteknik drivers put testing and preparation to good use from the offset, immediately quick in Free Practice. Nilsson was fastest in Q1, but both he and Krogstad got caught up in a big turn one accident in Q2, causing significant damage to both cars. Quick work from the JC Raceteknik team meant that both drivers made Q3, where the trio were able to qualify second (Evjen), third (Nilsson) and seventh (Krogstad) in the Intermediate Classification.
Evjen’s semi-final was forced to be re-started three times, but on each occasion he led into the first corner, until a small mistake dropped him to second, while Krogstad and Nilsson survived the difficult conditions in their semi-final to line up on the final grid.
In the final, Nilsson dominated from the front to claim his first Supercar Lites victory, despite a mistake in the joker on the last lap. Evjen suffered from a broken alternator and poor visibility from the mud kicked up by Nilsson and settled for second and the joint championship lead, while Krogstad also starred with a maiden podium finish.
The team’s next event is the third round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship supporting RX2 International Series, next weekend at Hell in Norway (June 9 – 11).
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
“What a fantastic weekend. I’m very happy. In Lites, we had the speed from the beginning, all the hard work we have done in testing has paid off. There was a huge incident into the first corner in Q2 and both William and Henrik lost both front wheels. The guys worked so hard to get everything together for Q3, they did an amazing job. Evjen did a great job in the semi-final to take the start in all three starts. All of the guys did such a brilliant job in the final, it’s almost difficult to find the words when you have a one-two-three on the podium. We didn’t get there with luck, we had the speed. William’s had a lot of ups and downs in the last couple of years but here he showed he’s really fast, the final was very impressive from him. There is such a good team spirit, the guys were all so happy for each other.
In Supercar, Thomas had good speed all through the qualifying races and won the semi-final with a really good drive. He missed the start a little bit in the final and had to pass Ola on the first lap. There was quite a big gap up to Oliver (Solberg) but he closed it, then went to the joker and was too fast and went off. He lost four or five seconds there. To finish second even with that is great. Ola was very strong all race, he got a good result for himself and we proved that we have two quick cars and two quick drivers.”
Supercar: Thomas Bryntesson (NOR)
"Second place feels good. Me and Oliver Solberg had a hard fight for first place all day, and he has been really fast. Of course, I feel a bit sour to have spun in the final, but that's happened and despite that, I got a good finish. Being second in the championship feels really good. There are several races left and it will be a tough fight all the way to the end, but the team and I have shown that we are doing well. The speed has been there from the first race and now the starts are also coming good. I can’t wait for the next RallyX Nordic race in Solvalla. It's a really fun track that suits me well. There I will fight for victory and try to pass Oliver in the championship.”
Supercar: Ola Froshaug (NOR) :
"I am very pleased with a fourth place. The pace is starting to come and the effort that has been put in is paying off. The whole team does a great job with everything they do, to get four drivers on the podium and one in fourth place more than proves that. I have not driven at the track for the next round in Solvalla before, but I have seen a lot of incar videos from there. The aim is get to the semi-finals, then the final and there anything can happen. Of course I’m desperate to get onto the podium, because it’s even closer now, especially now I’m got more experience of driving a Supercar in wet and dry conditions.”
Supercar Lites: William Nilsson (SWE) :
“There’s a stink of sweat and champagne about me now, the smell of a rallycross victory. Winning feels completely indescribable. For the whole event I’ve performed on the top level, so I really feel that I deserve this victory. It feels awesome to share the lead of the championship, that is the best outcome from this victory. I worked a lot on the mental side of things before the event, focusing on keeping calm and staying focused during a whole weekend. I did that well, so for the next race I’ll try to keep that feeling.”
Supercar Lites: Sondre Evjen (NOR) :
“In the three starts we did in the semi-final, the first one was in okay conditions, but by the time the third one happened it was crazily wet. I’m very satisfied with the weekend. I dropped to second in the semi-final and was second behind William in the final – I just couldn’t see anything because of the mud, I didn’t dare to push as hard as I could but I’m very happy to finish second. My battery was dying in the final, I had no power steering and no connection with my spotter, so I just did everything the old way. To be leading the championship with William after two races is just fantastic. I’m really looking forward to racing in RX2 in Hell next week.”
Supercar Lites: Henrik M Krogstad (NOR) :
“The day was really hard. The goal was to fight for victory but in Q2 we had a big crash, so I’m very happy with third place. I don’t really know exactly what happened in Q2, almost all of the cars were really badly damaged. I’m happy to have the pace, but for the next event I really hope to fight for victory. It was almost impossible to see in the final, there was so much dirt on the windscreen. Working with JC Raceteknik is really good, they’re a team with a lot of experience.”
RallyX Nordic Championship, Arvika Supercar Result:
1 Oliver Solberg (LAT)
2 Thomas Bryntesson (NOR)
3 Mats Ohman (SWE)
4 Ola Froshaug (NOR)
5 Alexander Hvaal (NOR)
6 Christer Dalmans (SWE)
RallyX Nordic Championship, Supercar Points:
1 Oliver Solberg (LAT) 54
2 Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) 51
3 Alexander Hvaal (NOR) 40
4 Mats Ohman (SWE) 37
5 Peter Hedstrom (SWE) 30
6 Joachim Hvaal (NOR) 28
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8 Ola Froshaug (NOR) 27
RallyX Nordic Championship, Arvika Supercar Lites Result:
1 William Nilsson (SWE)
2 Sondre Evjen (NOR)
3 Henrik Krogstad (NOR)
4 Vasily Gryazon (RUS)
5 Stein Frederic Akre (NOR)
6 Hampus Radstrom (SWE)
RallyX Nordic Championship, Arvika Supercar Lites Points:
1 William Nilsson (SWE) 49
= Sondre Evjen (NOR) 49
3 Simon Olofsson (SWE) 47
4 Henrik Krogstad (NOR) 42
5 Viktor Johansson (SWE) 35
6 Thomas Holmen (NOR) 29
