RallyX: Murstad resists, Uitto scores big
If the suspense is more than ever obvious in the Senior CrossCar category, a first hierarchy has already been established in the Junior class during this first weekend of the 2023 season on the Nysum track.
Senior CrossCar: The quest for consistency
Just like the 2022 season, this event in Nysum once again proved to be unpredictable. Of the six drivers who qualified for the final in Race 1, only Sebastian Enholm and Algot Hammarqvist managed to repeat their performance in Race 2.
Riku Huuhka from Finland, who was eliminated in the semi-final on Saturday despite two victories in qualification, did not take long to get his revenge in race 2.
With three top three finishes in qualifying, Huuhka quickly took control of Race 2, winning the intermediate classification and becoming the first driver to reach the three-win mark in six qualifying rounds.
Enough to allow the Finn to put his stamp on this race 2 in Nysum by winning the final with almost 3 seconds ahead of Sebastian Enholm. On his side, Jimmie Osterberg also took the opportunity to take revenge for his disappointments of race 1 where his elimination in the semi-final had not really reflected the performance of the Life Live driver during the qualifications.
Osterberg finished third in the final, which was LifeLive’s first podium result in RallyX.
Three-time Swedish CrossCar champion Sebastian Enholm is the only driver in the category to have scored two consecutive podiums this weekend. A performance that allows him to take the second position in the general classification in a perfect tie with Riku Huuhka.
Winner of race 1 before being eliminated in the semi-final of race 2, Thomas Eek Murstad keeps his leadership position with a one point lead over the duo Enholm / Huuhka before the next stage of Tierp while Algot Hammarqvist is only two points behind the provisory leader.
Junior CrossCar: Mikael Uitto shows the way
Beaten in race 1 by Joonatan Ylilammi, Mikael Uitto quickly rectified the situation on Sunday.
Besides a Junior Championship dominated by Finland with four drivers in the first four places in the overall standings, Mikael Uitto took the time to show the way this weekend in Nysum.
With 57 points scored out of a possible 60 for Uitto against 52 for Ylilammi and 51 for Halonen, the first mentioned has clearly dominated the debate. Winner of four of the six qualifying heats on the Nysum event’s program, Mikael Uitto claimed nine fastest race laps in 11 starts.
These figures are close to perfection for “Baby Kristoffersson” who will be at the start of the next stage of the championship in Tierp with an advantage of 5 and 6 units respectively over Joonatan Ylilammi and Lauri Halonen.
