Eriksson, Speed, Jansen and August seal rallycross titles

Kevin Eriksson sealed the defence of his RallyX Nordic Championship title by winning the final round of the series at Grenland in Norway. Eriksson overcame transmission problems during the qualifying races to finish second to former Swedish champion Peter Hedstrom in the semi-finals and pass his compatriot with a committed first corner move in the final to take the lead and win the event. Hedstrom finished second, while third for Alexander Hvaal (Volkswagen Beetle) earned him the Norwegian Rallycross Championship title and third in the Nordic standings. Eriksson’s season-long title rival Lukas Walfridson (Renault Clio) finished third on track in the final but hadn’t taken his joker lap and was disqualified from the final as a result. Thomas Bryntesson also won, to secure the Supercars Lites title. He beat Thomas Holmen and Simon Olofsson in the last final of the year, while sixth place for Tobias Brink meant the reigning champion dropped from second to third in the overall order, behind Olofsson.

Fabien Chanoine (Renault Clio) won the penultimate round of the French Rallycross Championship at Dreux, his fourth victory of the season, ahead of points leader Firmin Cadeddu (Citroen C4), who finished top at the Intermediate Classification and won semi-final one, but had to settle for second position in the final to set up a last round decider between the two drivers later this month. Christophe Jouet (Citroen DS3) completed the podium, while Andrea Dubourg (Citroen DS3) remains third in the championship despite not making it into the final at Dreux. Samuel Peu (Citroen Saxo) won again in the Super1600 category to further extend his points lead over Jimmy Terpereau (Citroen C2), but it was Enzo Libner (Renault Twingo) who finished second in the final with Yvonnick Jagu (Audi A1) completing the podium. Christophe Saunois (Toyota Corolla) fought back from mechanical troubles on day one to win Q3 and Q4 on Sunday morning, his semi-final and final in Division Three to score his sixth win of the year and further extended his lead in the points race. The Dreux podium replicated the top three in the standings, with Marc Morize (Peugeot 208) second and Mathieu Trevian (VW Sirocco) third. In Division Four, Stephane Hameau (Peugeot 306) won to close the gap on points leader Sebastien Le Ferrand (Peugeot 306), who finished second, while in the Twingo R1 Cup final it was Julien Hardonniere who claimed victory.

Scott Speed (Volkswagen Beetle) retained his Global Rallycross Championship crown by coming out on top of season-long points rival Tanner Foust (Volkswagen Beetle) at the final double-header of the year in Los Angeles. The Andretti Autosport pair shared the front row for the final on Saturday, and it was Speed to led throughout to score victory while Foust finished second and Steve Arpin (Ford Fiesta) came out on top of a three-way fight for third with Brian Deegan (Ford Fiesta) and David Higgins (Subaru Impreza). On Sunday, Speed was confirmed as champion by finishing second in the final to Deegan, while Patrik Sandell (Ford Fiesta) followed with fifth on Saturday with a podium finish on Sunday. Foust was fourth in Sunday’s finale and just missed out on the title, while Joni Wiman (Honda Civic) score the best result of the weekend for the OlsbergsMSE Honda team in fifth. In the GRC Lites category, victories were claimed by Alex Keyes on Saturday and Cabot Bigham on Sunday. With title favourite Oliver Eriksson having an off colour weekend in LA, it was Bigham who claimed the title from Eriksson, while Finn Miki Weckstrom ended the season third overall.

The final round of the Belgian Rallycross Championship was joined at Maasmechelen by the final round of the Rallycross Challenge Europe, where competitors raced together in the qualifying races but split for the finals. Just two drivers qualified for the Belgian Supercar final, with Jos Jansen (Ford Focus) securing the title. The race was not run, as Michael De Keersmaecker (Ford Ford) instead focused on the RCE final, which he won, while Mandie August (Audi S3) finished second and claimed the RCE title as a result. Paulius Pleskovas (Ford Focus) completed the podium while Mark Flaherty (Ford Focus) was fourth and last of the Supercar finishers. The event lost Johnny Veruringen (Subaru Impreza) and Jochen Coox (Volkswagen Polo) before the finals with technical troubles. In the Belgian Super1600 final, Dennis Remans (Ford Fiesta) beat title rival Davy Van Den Branden (Citroen DS3) to win the category crown. In Supernational -2000cc Danny De Beuckelaer (Volvo C30) won the last race of the year as Martijn Vanhove (BMW 1M) claimed the title, while eventual Supernational +2000 category champion Steve Volders (Ford Escort) almost missed out on the title when he failed to finish the semi-finals, but a non-finish for Kristof Bex (Volvo S40) in the final confirmed Volders as champion. At the event Roman Castoral (Opel Astra) secured the RCE SuperTouringCar -2000cc title while Volders was crowned in SuperTouringCar +2000cc. Josef Susta (Skoda Fabia) didn’t race but was already the Super1600 champion.

Former Junior RX and Hot Hatch racer Joe Cunningham will return to the British Rallycross Championship for the season finale at Croft next week, racing the Vauxhall VX220 campaigned last year by Gary Dixon. Cunningham will race in the Supernational category in the final round of British RX on Saturday and in the MSA British Rallycross Grand Prix on Sunday.

British F4 driver Jamie Caroline will make his rallycross debut at Croft, racing ODYSSEY Battery backed celebrity buggy in the RX150 division. Caroline won a round of British F4 at Brands Hatch recently, and tested an RX150 for the first time near London earlier this week. “I’ve always been interested in this formula and I can see how much the sport is growing at the moment, so having this experience will be amazing,” said Caroline. “I absolutely love driving in single seaters, especially in the wet and slippery conditions so it will be interesting to see how I get on with loose surfaces. I’ve had the chance to have a quick go in the RX150 and I have to say it’s an amazing machine. It’s so much fun and I can’t wait to get out and compete at Croft!”

Two new Junior drivers will compete in the penultimate round of the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship this weekend at Blyton. Laura Boak, daughter of Super1600 racer Michael Boak will race a Citroen C2 having raced in autocross in the North East for the last 18 months, while Devon driver Jaidon Bennett will also make his rallycross debut in a Seat Arosa.

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