Oliver Eriksson has taken his first RallyX Nordic presented by Cooper Tires victory of the season in Kouvola to close the gap to championship leader Oliver Solberg ahead of the season finale.
The Swedish racer produced a masterclass performance throughout the day, comfortably winning two of three qualifying races, his semi-final and the final to wrap up a first overall victory since his win in Grenland last season.
With Solberg battling to second position and fellow title rival Thomas Bryntesson failing to make it into the final following technical issues, Eriksson now trails the overall lead by six points, while Bryntesson faces a 12 point deficit with only the final round at the Tierp Arena remaining.
Getting the hole-shot from the start, Eriksson resisted the attentions of Solberg through the fast right-hander while his rival slipped out wide across the gravel to lose his spot to Lukacs “Csucsu” Kornel.
Nevertheless, Solberg fought back against his Hungarian opponent leading to a brief contact that sent Csucsu off and into a spin but allowing the OSRX driver through to hunt down Eriksson in front.
However, despite Solberg’s best efforts it wasn’t enough to unsettle Eriksson as he powered home for his first victory of the season in the Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta, while Solberg followed up to secure his third podium of 2018.
The only Finnish wild-card to progress to the final, Ari Perkiomaki produced a heroic performance in front of his home fans to claim a stunning run to third position at the wheel of his Ford Fiesta, in turn sealing the Finnish Rallycross Championship for himself.
Coming down to a final corner tussle with Ola Froshaug, the Norwegian ran wide to allow Perkiomaki and Peter Hedstrom through ahead of him as he had to settle for fifth place. Despite slipping down to sixth place following his altercation with Solberg, Csucsu in the Hedstroms Volkswagen Polo proved one of the day’s head-turners with a competitive performance from the off that led to a victory in the third semi-final.
It was the race that also led to Bryntesson’s early demise, the JC Raceteknik driver’s Ford Fiesta failing to get away from pole position having finished third in the Intermediate Classification.
Other eye-catching performances in Kouvola included Andreas Carlsson, who fought off a bevy of talented drivers on the road to claim a surprise Q3 victory for the first time in his career. Unfortunately for him, a tangle at the start of his semi-final prevented him from progressing further.
The Supercar Lites title fight will go down to the wire after Ben-Philip Gundersen secured his maiden RallyX Nordic victory of the season in Kouvola. Gundersen was engaged in a tight tussle with series leader Guillaume De Ridder throughout the day but when the Belgian crashed out at the first corner after being involved in contact he eased to a comfortable victory.
Jimmie Walfridson held off William Nilsson to secure second position, the trio nevertheless completing an impressive 1-2-3 for the JC Raceteknik team in the process.
Full RallyX Nordic Supercar Results from Kouvola – HERE
Full RallyX Nordic Supercar Championship Standings after Rounds 5 of 6 – HERE
