Both in the Senior and Junior categories, neither of the two leaders at the end of the intermediate classification managed to maintain their advantage until the very end of the race 1.
CrossCar: Norway gets the last word
After a qualifying session dominated by Pasi Penttinen from Finland ahead of Thomas Eek Murstad and Algot Hammarqvist, nothing went according to plan in the Senior category.
Penttinen was consistent throughout the three qualifying heats and thought he had done the hardest by claiming the top spot in the intermediate classification. Penttinen won Q1 before taking a step back, leaving his compatriot Riku Huuhka to take charge in Q2 and Q3.
Despite two victories in qualifying, Huuhka was one of the first victims of this race 1 due to a mechanical breakdown in the semi-final.
Pasi Penttinen managed to make it to the final, but his sense of initiative was lost as soon as he exited the first corner with a spectacular crash that pushed the clerk of the course to wave the red flag.
During the second start, Sebastien Enholm was the most efficient at the lights out before being overtaken by the Norwegian Thomas Eek Murstad. For the second year in a row, Murstad finished the inaugural RallyX event with a win, ahead of Sweden’s Sebastian Enholm and Elias Svensson.
Elias Svensson certainly put in a first class performance. Only 22nd in the intermediate classification at the end of Q2, the Casmat chassis driver managed to climb ten positions at the end of Q3 before defying the predictions during the finals while taking the third best absolute lap of race 1.
A success factor that Jimmie Osterberg, at the wheel of the LifeLive chassis, could not count on. Although he was very consistent in qualifying with three Top 6 finishes, the Swede missed the chance by being eliminated in the semi-final. Frustrating for Osterberg, who had managed to set the second fastest lap of race 1, only 0.023s behind the winner of the day Thomas Eek Murstad.
Junior CrossCar: Mikael Uitto had almost everything right
Just like in the Senior category, nothing went according to plan in the Junior category. Mikael Uitto was very efficient from the first free practice session to Q1, setting three consecutive fastest lap times saturday morning.
Winner of the Junior class in 2022, a 13th time in Q2 slowed the young Finn’s progress before he recovered in Q3 to set his second fastest time of the weekend. Enough to allow Uitto to conclude the qualifications at the top of the Junior category.
At the start of the final, Lauri Halonen and Jonathan Ylilammi nevertheless managed to push Mikael Uitto back to third place.
While Lauri Halonen conceded to Ylilammi’s pressure from the first lap, Mikael Uitto followed him to take the second step of the podium.
A frustrating conclusion for Mikael Uitto. On six consecutive occasions between the first free practice session and the semi-finals, Uitto managed to set the fastest lap record each time. Nevertheless, the winner of the 2022 Junior Championship showed this Saturday that removing him from his throne would not be so easy.
