Triple podium for JC Raceteknik at RallyX Nordic season opener
Swedish rallycross team JC Raceteknik travelled to the Grenland Motorsportsenter in Norway for the opening round of RallyX Nordic and left with podium finishes in both the Supercar and Supercar Lites categories (April 22).
In only his second event as a full-time Supercar driver, Thomas Bryntesson finished second in the final, while in the Supercar Lites class title-contender Sondre Evjen was second, William Nilsson third and Henrik M Krogstad fourth for the JC Raceteknik team. Ola Froshaug finished 11th in the Supercar category.
Reigning RallyX Nordic Lites Champion Bryntesson began the event with fastest time in practice in the Ford Fiesta Supercar. Consistency through the qualifying races secured him fourth in the Intermediate Classification before he won semi-final two. A slow start in the final left Bryntesson fourth at the second corner, but by using his pace and a tactical joker lap strategy he finished second.
Froshaug had a challenging event, starting with driveshaft and suspension failure early in the day. He fought back to make it into the semi-finals and ended the event fifth in semi-final two and 11th overall. The team will test with Froshaug ahead of the next event in Arvika to give the experienced Supernational driver more Supercar seat time.
The team’s three Supercar Lites drivers ran at the front of the order all day, Krogstad setting the fastest time in Q2. The Norwegian newcomer qualified second at the Intermediate Classification, with Evjen third and Nilsson fourth. Evjen finished second in semi-final one, while Nilsson led semi-final two until the race was red flagged. A problem with the gear lever slowed the Swedish driver at the restart and he finished third, behind Krogstad, who suffered a misfire.
Thanks to the hard work of the JC Raceteknik team, the cars all made it to the grid for the final, where the trio continued their pace, with Evjen second, Nilsson third and Krogstad fourth.
Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal :
"We are really pleased with how the event went. It was a good weekend for the whole team and we have shown that we have good speed. Thomas and the car showed they are really fast, he had a lot of battles during the race, and a great result. Ola impressed with good speed, but he was unlucky too. He made a jump start in the semi-final and had to take two joker laps, otherwise he would have been in the final. Both drivers have had problems with the starts and we are working hard to fix it.
Our Lites drivers immediately showed how fast they are. We had some a few problems in the semi-finals with William and Henrik’s cars, but we got them to the final. For Henrik competing in his second Lites race, it couldn’t have gone better. He showed he has the capacity to win. Sondre and William both had great pace and the results show we can challenge this year.”
Supercar: Thomas Bryntesson (NOR) :
“The level in RallyX Nordic is probably as high as it is in the European Championship. In the first round of Euro RX in Barcelona everything was very new and I was a bit uncertain. Now I’ve really got into it and I’m getting more smooth with my driving. The speed is really good but the starts are not great at the moment. Being part of this adventure with is really fun. JC Raceteknik does a great job, both Joel and the mechanics. Even though we have much less experience than the other Supercar teams, we are doing very well. It feels great to be on the podium and I’m really grateful for all the support I get, both from the team and the people around me.”
Supercar: Ola Froshaug (NOR) :
“For my part, the event went well. It's a nice track and I've competed here many times before in the Supernational class. But today I did not have luck on my side. In the semi-final I made a jump start and had to do two jokers. I pushed hard, but it’s hard to make the final when you lose so much time with the extra joker. We will have a test next week to improve my driving and the car's settings. I need to get faster and get more start practice. After the test we will go to the next round in Arvika with a blank sheet of paper and there I aim a for the semi-final and final.”
Supercar Lites: Sondre Evjen (NOR) :
"This was a very good start to the season and I'm pleased with second place. I made some small mistakes and lost a bit in the starts, but overall the race went really well. In the final I had good pace, and I tried to hang on to Simon Olofsson, but he was too fast this time. The class is at least as even as last year, many drivers have taken a step up with clean driving and performing extremely well. At the same time, we have a couple of new drivers who are fast too, so it's a tough battle for first place. In Arvika, I will fight for victory and try to take the lead of the championship.”
Supercar Lites: William Nilsson (SWE) :
"To finish on the podium after starting from the last row on the grid of the finals feels really nice. It shows that you can do radical stuff from the outside on this track. I pushed really hard and was behind Sondre but did not have enough to pass him in the final. Now I will take a week to think about what has happened in Grenland and then I'll start preparing for the coming events. I will try to maintain the level of competitiveness that I had here.”
Supercar Lites: Henrik M Krogstad (NOR) :
"I had good speed in the event, so it was a pity that technical problems caused us some problems. In the final I made a bad start – I thought I was going to jump start so I came off the throttle. I lost some time and unfortunately I did not manage to make it up again. Now I have gained more experience in the car and feel more at home on the track in it. In Arvika, the goal is to win.”
Results Grenland
Supercar
1. Oliver Eriksson
2. Thomas Bryntesson
3. Oliver Solberg
4. Alexander Hvaal
5. Joachim Hvaal
5. Mats Öhman
6. Peter Hedström
8. Lukas Walfridson
9. Knut Ove Børseth
10. Christer Dalmans
11. Ola Frøshaug
11. Tom Daniel Tånevik
13. Jarle Nytrae
14. Morten Stensrud
15. Øyvind Finstad
16. Ole Kristian Temte
17. Ramona Karlsson
18. Rune Høljeneset
19. Frode Holte
Supercar Lites
1. Simon Olofsson
2. Sondre Evjen
3. William Nilsson
4. Henrik M Krogstad
5. Viktor Johansson
6. Thomas Holmen
7. Jonathan Walfridsson
8. Anders Michalak
9. Glenn Haug
10. Jessica Bäckman
11. Vasily Gryazin
12. Andreas Bäckman
13. Hampus Rådström
14. Sandra Hultgren
15. Stein Frederic Akre
16. Santosh Berggren
Official standings: RallyX Nordic
Supercar
1. Oliver Eriksson, 28 p
2. Oliver Solberg, 25 p
3. Thomas Bryntesson, 24 p
4. Alexander Hvaal, 23 p
5. Joachim Hvaal, 15 p
5. Mats Öhman, 15 p
5. Peter Hedström, 15 p
8. Lukas Walfridson, 12 p
9. Knut Ove Børseth, 10 p
9. Christer Dalmans, 10 p
11. Ola Frøshaug, 7 p
11. Tom Daniel Tånevik, 7 p
13. Jarle Nytrae, 4 p
14. Morten Stensrud, 3 p
15. Øyvind Finstad, 2 p
16. Ole Kristian Temte, 1 p
17. Ramona Karlsson, 0 p
18. Rune Høljeneset, 0 p
19. Frode Holte, 0 p
Supercar Lites
1. Simon Olofsson, 30 p
2. Sondre Evjen, 24 p
3. Henrik M Krogstad, 23 p
4. William Nilsson, 21 p
5. Viktor Johansson, 19 p
6. Thomas Holmen, 17 p
7. Jonathan Walfridsson, 12 p
7. Anders Michalak, 12 p
9. Glenn Haug, 11 p
10. Jessica Bäckman, 9 p
11. Vasily Gryazin, 7 p
12. Andreas Bäckman, 5 p
12. Hampus Rådström, 5 p
14. Sandra Hultgren, 2 p
15. Stein Frederic Akre, 2 p
16. Santosh Berggren, 1 p
