Andersson to benefit from World Champion’s advice in 2019

Reigning SRX champion Nils Andersson is well-prepared to defend his title in RallyX Nordic’s renamed CrossCar category in 2019, and he heads into this weekend’s Höljes curtain-raiser (18/19 May) with a big-name mentor in his camp.

Nineteen-year-old Andersson began his motorsport career in 2014 and has raced crosskarts ever since. After two years in 125cc and two more in 250cc, he moved on to Xtreme Crosskart in 2018. This new formula suited him down to the ground, as the Swedish teenager demonstrated podium pace right from the outset.

On his Xtreme Crosskart debut, Andersson got the better of World Champions Johan Kristoffersson and Pontus Tidemand in a time attack show and went on to clinch the coveted crown by the smallest possible margin.

Better still, two-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Kristoffersson – who lives just a couple of kilometres down the road from his young countryman – is coaching Andersson in his ambition to double up by securing the 2019 CrossCar title.

“I am lucky to have Johan as my friend and mentor,” Nils acknowledged. “He teaches me how to analyse my performance, how to find improvements on the track and how to pay attention to details. Johan has showed how important it is to get as much experience as possible in different race cars. For that reason, I competed in my maiden rallying events over the winter as part of my preparation for the RallyX Nordic campaign.”

Andersson’s 2019 season began in encouraging fashion when he finished as runner-up in the domestic series on home soil at Arvika last weekend.

“I struggled to get the proper feeling from start, but after some set-up changes overnight I fought back to finish just 0.088sec away from victory,” he revealed. “With an amazing 46 competitors including top Swedish and Norwegian drivers on the grid, I was happy to finish second, even though I made some mistakes in the qualifying rounds.

“The speed in the final was promising, and now I can hardly wait for the Höljes event to get started. RallyX Nordic is my main focus this year, I am well prepared and my goal is clear.”

*Image credit: Christian Gustavsson

2019 RallyX Nordic Calendar

May 17-19 Rounds 1/2 Höljes, Sweden
June 1-2 Round 3 Nysum, Denmark
July 20-21 Round 4 Riga, Latvia
July 27-28 Round 5 Finnskogbanen, Norway
August 24-25 Round 6 Kouvola, Finland
September 21-22 Round 7 Tierp Arena, Sweden