Evjen wins and Solberg third for JC Raceteknik in Gol
Swedish rallycross team JC Raceteknik crossed the border to Norway for the second round of the 2017 RallyX on Ice Championship at Fuglehaugen Motorcenter in Gol, where Sondre Evjen claimed his first victory of the year and Oscar Solberg finished third to make it a double podium for the team.
Norwegian Sondre Evjen finished third in the opening round of the series at Soderhamn last month, but dominated his home round of the Championship to claim victory in the 18-car field, winning almost every time he went on track. Only once through the whole event, including qualifying races, semi-final and final did the 19-year old not cross the finish line first.
In his first year of Supercar Lites competition in 2016, Evjen used the Fuglehaugen circuit to rack up almost 150 laps of testing, which contributed to his success this weekend, as he prepares for dual campaigns in RallyX Nordic and the international RX2 Championship this year.
Since the opening round of RallyX on Ice last month, where he finished seventh, Oscar Solberg competed in the Swedish round of the FIA World Rally Championship and returned to a Supercar Lites machine in good form. Overcoming problems in the qualifying races, Solberg drove a clever semi-final and a fantastic race in the final to secure his first Supercar Lites podium. The young Norwegian then flew directly to the UK to being testing for his programme in the MSA British Rally Championship this year, but will return for the final round of RallyX on Ice next weekend at Ostersund in Sweden (March 11).
Evjen will also compete at Ostersund with JC Raceteknik, as will a guest Swedish driver, who will be announced in the coming days.
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
“Sondre was under a lot of pressure this weekend because it was his home race, but to be honest I was really surprised how well he handled it. After the first practice he really relaxed. He drove an amazing event, he nailed the starts – almost every one – and it was a perfect drive from start to finish. It was brilliant practice for him for the summer rallycross events, where he will be under pressure too I’m sure. We had a great weekend with both Sondre and Oscar. We struggled quite a lot in the qualifying races with Oscar, but we gave him the perfect setup for the semi-final and he could have won, but he backed off to be safe. In the final he drove very, very well and got a really good result. I knew he had the speed but here he was really in the groove.”
Sondre Evjen (NOR) :
“It feels fantastic to win! The whole event went really well. The starts were good and I’ve been on top of the car behind the wheel. I've actually been terribly nervous, I set myself big goals for this race. Many people said I was the favourite, which made me feel under big pressure, but once I got into the car the pressure and nervousness went away. Winning at home is something you dream about and it's a special feeling to drive with so much support from the crowd. A podium finish in the championship would be nice, but the goal is to be fighting for victory, both in in the races and overall.”
Oscar Solberg (NOR) :
"I'm really happy, it’s very good to finish on the podium. We tried something smart by using the outside of the corners and it worked, which was good. We had some problems with fog on the windscreen in one heat and I made some bad starts, but the final was good. I have been driving more different cars than lots of the other guys racing the Lites, so I think that helps a little bit. It's very cool to get a podium in Norway especially when there are 18 cars - top three is very good. Joel is very good at what he does in running the team, so thanks to him for having me to drive with his team too. My last ice race of the winter is next weekend; I'm looking forward to it."
Gol, Norway Result:
1 Sondre Evjen (NOR)
2 Mitchell De Jong (USA)
3 Oscar Solberg (NOR)
4 Vasily Gryazin (RUS)
5 Alexander Westlund (SWE)
6 Nikolay Gryazin (RUS)
RallyX on Ice
1. Mitchell de Jong 27 p
2. Sondre Evjen 25 p
3. Alexander Westlund 18 p
4. Oscar Solberg 14 p
5. Vasily Gryazin 10 p
6. Thomas Bryntesson 8 p
7. Anders Michalak 6 p
8. Simon Olofsson 6 p
9. Nikolay Gryazin 5 p
10. Oliver Eriksson 5 p
11. Thomas Holmen 4 p
12. Jonathan Walfridson 2 p
13. Hampus Rådström 1 p
14. William Nilsson 1 p
