Double victory for JC Raceteknik in Solvalla
International rallycross team JC Raceteknik claimed a momentous double victory at the third round of the RallyX Nordic Championship in Solvalla, Sweden, as Thomas Bryntesson and Henrik M Krogstad scored maiden wins in the Supercar and Supercar Lites categories respectively (June 17).
At the event held in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, in front of thousands of people, Bryntesson’s win moved the Norwegian into the Supercar points lead, while third in Supercar Lites meant Swede William Nilsson climbed to the top of the Supercar Lites standings.
Having set good pace in the opening Supercar events of the season, and at the Norwegian round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship in Hell a week earlier, Bryntesson was twice fastest in Free Practice in Solvalla, but a stall on the start line of Q1 meant he could only set 10th fastest time. Fastest in Q2 helped him climb to second in the Intermediate Classification, before winning both the semi-final and final to take a near-perfect points haul.
Ola Frøshaug however endured a challenging weekend. The Norwegian also stalled his Ford Fiesta Supercar in Q1, and lost further time due to an overheating issue. Fighting through the qualifying races, despite not being about to reproduce the form shown in recent events, Frøshaug made it into the semi-finals, where he made his best start of the weekend and eventually finished sixth.
In only his fourth Supercar Lites event, Krogstad scored victory and moved into third in the Championship as a result, just three points behind leader and team mate Nilsson. Krogstad made a mistake in Q1 and was handed a 30-second penalty, but fought back with fastest times in Q2 and Q3. Continuing his form into the semi-final and final, the Norwegian claimed his maiden win.
Nilsson showed good pace in Solvalla on the back of his first win in Arvika at the last RallyX Nordic round. He finished top in the Intermediate Classification to take maximum qualifying points. Starting from pole position in semi-final one, Nilsson made a slow start but fought back to progress to the final, where he was able to cross the finish line in third.
Driving in his third Supercar Lites event, Marcus Höglund made it into the semi-finals and was challenging for a place in the final, but unfortunately just missed out, with fourth place in the knock-out race. Sondre Evjen withdrew from the event after Q2. Eighth time in Q1 was followed by a black flag in Q2. With hopes of making the semi-finals or scoring points all but gone, the team elected to save his tyre allocation for the next RallyX Nordic event.
JC Raceteknik’s next event will be the third round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship and the fourth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship supporting RX2 International Series, in two weeks at Holjes in Sweden (June 30 – July 2).
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
"It feels absolutely amazing to take a double victory. Our drivers drove brilliantly and it was a fantastic weekend for the whole team. Leading RallyX Nordic in Supercar and Supercar Lites is really, really nice. We’ve had a very hectic racing schedule in the past four weeks, with a race every weekend. The whole team has been working hard every single day and every one of them deserves this result. But, we can’t rest, it’s only two weeks until our home round of Euro RX and RX2, and we want to keep this momentum and aim for similar results there.”
Supercar: Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) :
“This feels really fantastic. I have been close to winning a couple of times, so it’s really good that everything finally clicked. The competition was really hard as usual, especially with the addition of European Champion Robin Larsson here. For that reason, it’s extra special to climb onto the top step of the podium. We have really found the speed in the car and I’m really enjoying driving it. The whole team is working hard and putting a lot into to, and I’m very grateful.”
Supercar: Ola Froshaug (NOR) :
"This was a very tricky circuit that simply did not suit me. It’s not like the more classic rallycross tracks and was technically difficult. Unfortunately, it went worse than I expected. But, I can take a lot of from here to future events, including all the fighting against other cars. Everything with the team works terrifically well and Thomas delivered 100% the whole weekend. The Lites drivers in the team did a great job too.”
Supercar Lites: Henrik M Krogstad (NOR) :
"It feels so great to win. It's my fourth race in Lites and I've had a victory as a goal all the time, but it’s always been something that has not come together. Q1 was hard, but I made the best of it and used it as even more motivation for later in the race. Having victory in the bag before the summer break is really good for the self-esteem and I also scored good championship points here.”
Supercar Lites: William Nilsson (SWE) :
"The event didn’t go perfectly well for me overall, so to lead the championship feels really, really nice. I was among the fastest drivers throughout the weekend and did not take any unnecessary risks. That is not really a style that suits me, but I got the most out of it. Of course it could have been better and you always want to be on the top of the podium, but this is really competitive and I can be pleased. It’s a good feeling in my body that I leave Solvalla with.”
Supercar Lites: Marcus Hoglund (SWE) :
"I made a bad start in the semi-finals and tried pass the driver ahead of me for the whole race. I had a better pace than him, but unfortunately did not succeed. Of course you get a little disappointed by that, but at the same time, I have to remember that the others drive in Supercar Lites much more than I do. I continue to find a better rhythm all the time and in Solvalla I was the one who ruled the car, not the other way round. The circuit was fun, with jumps and big tarmac kerbs, I would definitely drive here again.”
Supercar Lites: Sondre Evjen (NOR) :
“I had a good feeling in practice, even though we made some changes to the setup of the car that did not really work. I finished third in my Q1 race and I think was eighth fastest. In Q2 I had a slow start, and then my brakes did not work properly so I had a big impact with another car. I stopped on the track, but was also given a black flag, which I don’t really agree with since I was the only loser in the situation. Since I had nothing to drive for, we decided not to race in Q3. Even with a great time in Q3 I would only have finished 16th, so we will save the tyres I have available to be ready for the next RallyX Nordic round in Kinnekulle.”
RallyX Nordic Championship, Solvalla Supercar Result:
1 Thomas Bryntesson (NOR)
2 Lukas Walfridson (SWE)
3 Robin Larsson (SWE)
4 Henning Solberg (NOR)
5 Peter Hedstrom (SWE)
6 Alexander Hvaal (NOR)
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12 Ola Froshaug (NOR)
RallyX Nordic Championship, Supercar Points:
1 Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) 80
2 Oliver Solberg (LAT) 68
3 Alexander Hvaal (NOR) 55
4 Peter Hedstrom (SWE) 51
5 Mats Ohman (SWE) 46
6 Lukas Walfridson (SWE) 45
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8 Ola Froshaug (NOR) 33
RallyX Nordic Championship, Solvalla Supercar Lites Result:
1 Henrik M.Krogstad (NOR)
2 Simon Olofsson (SWE)
3 William Nilsson (SWE)
4 Viktor Johansson (SWE)
5 Sandra Haultgren (SWE)
6 Vasily Gryazon (RUS)
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8 Marcus Höglund
17 Sondre Evjen (NOR)
RallyX Nordic Championship, Supercar Lites Points:
1 William Nilsson (SWE) 74
2 Simon Olofsson (SWE) 72
3 Henrik Krogstad (NOR) 71
4 Viktor Johansson (SWE) 53
5 Sondre Evjen (NOR) 49
6 Vasily Gryazon (RUS) 38
