Only driver able to reach the two-win barrier last year in the CrossCar category, Elias Svensson was not far from the title in 2022.
Indeed, without a disqualification in Holjes 1 for a problem of non conformity with the technical regulations, the 18 year old Swede could have claimed the first place in the general classification.
This was a surprise for the Swedish CrossCar Championship graduate, as he had not planned to take part in the entire RallyX.
“Originally, our participation in Holjes was just to fine-tune our preparation for the Swedish championship, but things worked out so well that we finally adjusted our goals upwards,” explains Elias.
“To be able to set the fastest time in Q1 in my first RallyX race was a real surprise because I didn’t feel I was driving particularly well. However, when I saw that I was able to do the same in Q2, I quickly realized that my best time in Q1 was not just a coincidence, and this was confirmed afterwards as I managed to keep the first place in the intermediate classification before winning the final. This is something I didn’t expect as I was coming off a 2021 season where I had barely driven except for one race at the end of the year.”
Unfortunately, if Elias Svensson broke the ice by winning the first race of the 2022 season in Holjes, his joy was short-lived.
“This disqualification is obviously a regret. I should have looked into the regulations much earlier. Without this infraction of a few millimeters, I could have scored enough points at the end of the championship to win the title. Nevertheless, I was able to regroup in Race 2 at Holjes and go for a second win in a row. This allowed me to confirm my top speed while proving that the conformity problem was not the cause of my car’s performance.
Fourth in the overall standings in 2022, Elias Svensson will naturally have high ambitions to return to the RallyX championship on April 22 and 23 in Nysum. Nevertheless, in a very competitive CrossCar category, the driver from Varmland knows that nothing will be easy.
As an example, in seven events contested in 2022, only Patrik Hallberg managed to reach the bar of four qualifications for a final last year, while Elias Svensson, Oskar Andersson, Thomas Eek Murstad, Joni-Pekka Rajala and Martin Juga only achieved this performance on three occasions.
This means that consistency will once again play a key role this year.
“This championship has so many good drivers that it is difficult to set real goals. I know some of them who come from the Swedish championship and who are very fast. Nevertheless, I’m not going to give up. I come with the ambition to compete for the top positions. If this was not the case, I would not have sent my entry form nor would I have invested so much to compete in this championship. In fact, I know that I still have a lot to show in RallyX”.
