Luka Nurmi carries momentum over from the last RX Academy round in Riga, where he scored his first podium of the year. A rostrum finish eluded the young Finn in the early stages of the season (scoring a fourth and two fifths) but his Latvian performance moved him into fourth place in the championship and is now within striking distance of the top three.
As RallyX Nordic heads to Kouvola, Finland, Nurmi is looking forward to racing on home soil. He faces a tall order to topple championship leader and compatriot, Rasmus Tuominen as well as arriving fresh from a Porsche race he’s competing in earlier on Saturday.
“My Rallycross career has started well in RX Academy,” commented Nurmi. “I feel like I have improved at every race so far. I was very happy when I heard that the academy would be supporting RallyX Nordic in 2019. When I arrived in Höljes I saw how big the Nordic events are and Nysum was a similarly impressive and enjoyable experience.
“It is very nice to get to race in Finland, especially in Kouvola. I have had many kart races there during my career at the karting circuit just next to the rallycross track. Last year I was watching the rallycross festival there and I watched thinking it would be nice to drive in front of a crowd that big and I’ve already done that this year.
“I will miss the RX Academy free practice sessions on Saturday as I am racing in the Porsche Sprint Cup NEZ near Turku on the same day, but I will arrive for the first heat. Luckily this race is in Finland so I could test there with an RX2 car two weeks before the Nordic round so I have driven it recently. The track is like Holjes and Bikernieki, lots of elevation changes and tricky corners. I think it will be a great race there!”
