Eriksson excited by World Rallycross Supercar prize drive

As reward for winning the inaugural RX Lites Cup this season, a support category to the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Swedish driver Kevin Eriksson will make his World RX debut at the final round of the series in Argentina next month. Eriksson, who alongside namesake Sebastien, did most of the development driving in the RX Lites machines last winter, claimed his first rallycross title with a second place finish at the penultimate round of the RX Lites Cup at Franciacortia, Italy, last week. He will finish the RX Lites season this weekend in Turkey before he steps aboard an OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta in Argentina.

“This is a dream come true. It has been my goal all season to win the championship and it will be so awesome to compete in one of these [Supercar] monsters in Argentina. It feels awesome to have won the championship. I’ve won quite a lot of different races in folkrace and rallycross but never a championship or a cup, so to have won my first one feels like it has released the pressure of thinking about never winning a championship. Hopefully I can win a few more too. Italy was the hardest race ever for me. All the time I was thinking that I could secure the championship. Usually I take it heat by heat, I told myself that is what I needed to do but it was not easy.”

Son of OMSE boss Andreas, Eriksson has previously driven a Supercar on two occasions, and hopes to be able to test again before making his competition debut in one of his father’s machines. “I’ve driven a Supercar before, twice actually, the first time was a prize last year and the second time was on a test at Strangnas in Sweden. But never really on full throttle if you know what I mean. Hopefully I can test again, but it’s hard when the OlsbergsMSE cars are all around the globe and winter is fast approaching in Sweden. Maybe we will be able to test after Turkey, I’m pretty sure they will sort something out.”

While excited to be given the opportunity to race a Supercar, especially one from his family’s own stable, Eriksson knows that he faces an uphill challenge in Argentina. “I’ve grown up together with a lot of the guys working in the team, and OMSE is one of the most professional teams in World RX. If I could of chosen who to drive with it would have been OMSE, but I would not have said no to drive with someone else if that had been the option. I think the biggest thing to get used to will be the power, and everything that comes with that from the starts to racing on the track will be quicker and more aggressive than anything else I’ve ever driven. I just want to do my best, learn as much as possible and we see where I end up. It will be cool to be racing against the first ever double FIA champion in different disciplines [Petter Solberg], but all the drivers in World RX are really good.”

In the mean time, Eriksson is focusing on his next event, the finale of the RX Lites Cup in Turkey this weekend. “I will be pushing to win this weekend. I think it will be an awesome race, and after Daniel Holten won in Italy, we have had five different winners in RX Lites in as many events. Of course I want to be the one that takes two victories.”

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