JC Raceteknik enters Hell seeking more international podiums
Having briefly returned to its workshops in Kil, near Karlstad in Sweden following a successful outing in the RallyX Nordic Championship in Arvika last weekend, the JC Raceteknik rallycross team will be back in action this weekend at Hell in Norway, in the FIA European Rallycross Championship and RX2 International Series (June 9 – 11).
The Swedish team heads to the Norwegian round with good confidence on the back of strong results for its regular drivers in recent events, and will be joined by Swede Marcus Hoglund, who will make his second ever RX2 start in Hell having impressed on his debut at Holjes last year.
At Holjes 2016, the experienced Swedish Supernational rallycross racer made the final in the competitive field on his maiden appearance, and is targeting more of the same this weekend.
In the Euro RX Supercar category, reigning RallyX Nordic Lites Champion Thomas Bryntesson and his Norwegian compatriot Ola Froshaug will be in action, having fought over a podium position in Arvika last weekend. Bryntesson scored his second successive podium in the RallyX Nordic event, and has improved on his already promising pace in the two events the team has contested since the opening round of Euro RX in Barcelona. Froshaug meanwhile has become increasingly acclimatised to the Ford Fiesta RX Supercar and only just missed out on a podium finish in Arvika. He knows the Hell circuit well and is hoping for another solid performance this weekend.
The team’s three regular RX2 drivers will join Hoglund in the single-make category, where Swede William Nilsson will compete just a week after claiming his first Supercar Lites victory in Arvika. Nilsson has never raced an RX2 car in Hell, but did win the JRX Cup race at the circuit in his Junior career. Norwegian Sondre Evjen finished second to Nilsson in Arvika and is hoping for a better event in Hell than 12 months ago, while Belgian rally driver Guillaume De-Ridder has impressed on his first two RX2 appearances in Belgium and Great Britain and is increasing in confidence at the wheel of the JC Raceteknik-run car, having just missed out on a podium finish last time out.
The event gets underway on Friday evening (June 9) with Free Practice, Keep up to date with the action across the three days on the JC Raceteknik Facebook page.
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
“It’s 10 weeks since we were in Barcelona for the first round of Euro RX and we’ve had two events in between with very good results and a lot of data collected with both Thomas and Ola. Finally we’ve found the starts that we’ve struggled with and we’ll give it everything in Hell. In RX2, both William and Sondre had amazing results last weekend in Arvika and it’s really good they are getting straight back in the car for this weekend. Sondre was unlucky in Hell last year and of course wants a good result in his home round of the championship. Guillaume has impressed so far this year in RX2, and we’re looking forward to working with Marcus in coming events too, he has already shown that he can be quick.”
Euro RX Supercar: Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) :
"It will be exciting to see how we compare against the other drivers now that we have tested more and also raced at several events in RallyX Nordic – I always want to fight for the win. Even in Barcelona, I showed that the speed is there, but then we had an accident in the semi-finals. We have to fight harder in Hell. The team has done a really good job this season, to start with I thought it would be hard for us to challenge from the beginning, especially as everything in Supercar is brand new to me, so that makes it extra fun that things are going so well. There will be a lot of people there to support us in Hell, which will be awesome. I’m grateful for all the support I receive from the fans and the people around me.”
Euro RX Supercar: Ola Froshaug (NOR) :
“After the last European Championship event we have both tested and competed in two rounds of RallyX Nordic, so I’m starting to get to grips with the car now. I had two races were I didn’t make the finals, but that turned around in Arvika last weekend and I hope I can continue on that path in Hell too. My goal is to get to the semi-finals and from there go into the final. I've competed on the Hell track several times before and it's just like a rallycross circuit should be, with a good mix of gravel and asphalt, so I look forward to that. There will be a lot of supporters from home in the crowd, I think there will be close to 400 people there to cheer for me and Thomas, so that will be a lot of fun of course.”
RX2: Sondre Evjen (NOR) :
“We want to race as much as possible, so it’s great that I’ve been in the car so much recently. When things are going as good as they have been in the last few events, we’re just aiming for a podium and the win in RX2 as well. I think we’re all working well in the team, we all understand each other in a good way and we’re talking to each other all the time between the races to give each other tips. Last year in Hell I had two problems in the first corner and in one race the engine ran on three cylinders, so I don’t think it can get any worse this time. We will push hard to get a good place in the semi-final and final.”
RX2: William Nilsson (SWE) :
“The season so far has been tough, but very educational for me. The competition is really tough, as I knew it would be. It's incredibly important to be on it all the time, you can’t even blink without losing positions. I’ve driven at Hell before in the JRX categor, and I won, so that was good. I go into the event with good confidence, the goal is to put together a compete race without any problems. I will focus on being consistent with my driving and the target is to get to the final.”
RX2: Guillaume De-Ridder (BEL) :
“Who would have thought that after my first two races in RX2 I would be fourth in the championship. I confess to being the first to be pleasantly surprised. I expect Hell to be a bit more difficult, because it’s a relatively technical circuit and well known to the Nordic drivers that make up the majority of the field. But it’s another opportunity for me to drive the RX2 car, that I get more used to every time and I’m getting quicker. I’m enjoying this series enormously and I look forward to learning and discovering new circuits that are also allowing me to prepare for next year.”
RX2: Marcus Hoglund (SWE) :
"I'm hopeful of scoring a good result this weekend and of course I want to perform as well as possible. I will try to be consistent, pick up points and not get involved in any massive battles. A hit on the track can destroy the entire weekend. The plan is to build on last years’ performance and hopefully get into the final. But, there are a lot of tough drivers and many have improved from last year so it won’t be easy. It was fun to drive in Holjes and hang out with the big boys last year, the aim was to get to the semi-finals, but it went well above my expectations. Looking back, I’m pleased with my efforts. The other drivers have spent a lot of time in the Lites cars while I’m used to driving the Skoda I race normally, but I’m really up for this and want to show what I can do. In order to keep my nerves down, I’m not thinking about the challenges, only that it’s a fun opportunity.”
Entry list
Supercar
#2 Oliver O'Donovan (IRL)
#4 Robin Larsson (SWE)
#8 Peter Hedström (SWE)
#12 Riku Tahko (FIN)
#14 Jere Kalliokoski (FIN)
#16 Tom Daniel Tånevik (NOR)
#19 Magda Andersson (SWE)
#22 Andréa Dubourg (FRA)
#23 Mart Tikkerbär (EST)
#24 Tommy Rustad (NOR)
#30 Ole Kristian Temte (NOR)
#38 Mandie August (DEU)
#47 Tamás Pál KISS (HUN)
#49 "M.D.K" (BEL)
#53 Alexander HVAAL (NOR)
#54 Mats Öhman (SWE)
#55 Paulius Pleskovas (LTU)
#62 Firmin Cadeddu (FRA)
#63 Joachim Hvaal (NOR)
#69 Martin Kaczmarski (POL)
#70 Knut-Ove Børseth (NOR)
#73 Henning Solberg (NOR)
#74 Jérôme Grosset-Janin (FRA)
#77 René Muennich (DEU)
#80 Andreas Steffen (DEU)
#83 Patrick Guillerme (FRA)
#90 Thomas Bryntesson (NOR)
#91 Ola Frøshaug (NOR)
#92 Anton Marklund (SWE)
#95 Andri Õun (EST)
#102 Tamás Kárai (HUN)
#111 Derek Tohill (IRL)
Supercar Lites
#8 Simon Wågø Syversen
#9 Glenn Haug
#11 Tanner Whitten
#12 Anders Michalak
#13 Cyril Raymond
#19 Andreas Bäckman
#21 Marcus Höglund
#26 Jessica Bäckman
#40 Dan Rooke
#43 Tony Sormbroen
#51 Sandra Hultgren
#52 Simon Olofsson
#55 Vasiliy Gryazin
#56 Thomas Holmen
#66 William Nilsson
#69 Sondre Evjen
#91 Jonathan Walfridsson
#96 Guillame De Ridder
#98 Stein Fredrik Akre
Time Table
Friday June 9
15:45 Practice (RX2)
17:00 Qualifying 1 (RX2)
17:40 Practice (Supercar)
Saturday June 10
09:00 Warm up (RX2)
09:30 Practice (Supercar)
11:00 Qualifying 2 (RX2)
Qualifying 1 (Supercar)
14:00 Qualifying 3 (RX2)
Qualifying 2 (Supercar)
Qualifying 4 (RX2)
Sunday June 11
08:30 Warm up
10:00 Qualifying 3 (Supercar)
12:00 Qualifying 4 (Supercar)
13:15 Semi finals (RX2, Supercar)
14:30 Final (RX2)
15:00 Final (Supercar)
Championship standings
Supercar
1. Anton Marklund (SWE) 30 points
2. Tamas Pal Kiss (HUN) 22 points
3. Ollie O’Donovan (IRL) 18 points
4. Rene Munnich (GER) 17 points
4. Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) 17 points
6. Robin Larsson (SWE) 16 points
7. Tommy Rustad (NOR) 15 points
8. Henning Solberg (NOR) 14 points
9. Derek Tohill (IRL) 13 points
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13. Ola Frøshaug (NOR) 4 points
Supercar Lites
1. Cyril Raymond (FRA) 55 points
2. Dan Rooke (GBR) 51 points
3. Simon Olofsson (SWE) 39 points
4. Guillaume De Ridder (BEL) 35 points
5. Glenn Haug (NOR) 34 points
6. Tanner Whitten (USA) 33 points
7. Thomas Holmen (NOR) 27 points
8. Sondre Evjen (NOR) 27 points
9. Vasiliy Gryazin (LVA) 23 points
10. William Nilsson (SWE) 22 points
