Able to claim his second victory of the season last weekend in Grenland, Elias Svensson is in a strong position as he prepares to return to Värmland where he was at his best last season.
Now third in the overall standings, five points behind leader Sebastian Enholm, Elias Svensson undoubtedly pulled off a fine operation last weekend in Norway.
Above all, this fourth career victory also enabled Svensson to catch up with Isak Reiersen as one of the most prolific drivers in the young history of the CrossCar category in RallyX.
In other words, the Casmat driver will be in full confidence going into the Höljes round, where he also shone last year.
“Obviously, this victory in Grenland is very good for me,” says Elias Svensson.
“I had very good speed throughout the weekend and I can only be satisfied with what I showed. I was able to run a perfect race and that’s what I needed if I was to maintain my chances of winning the championship. In Norway, the key to the weekend really was the starts, because everyone was at the same level in terms of pure speed”.
While Elias Svensson has sometimes lacked consistency in qualifications this year, this time he produced a near-perfect copy in Norway, with three fastest times from the four qualifying heats.
“This good start to the weekend enabled me to manage my strategy. Even though I still managed to set the fastest time in Q4, I knew that with a 20-point lead over my nearest rival, I didn’t need to take all the risks on the first corner. I’d never raced on the Grenland circuit before, but I did get to know the track a few weeks ago during a test session. Admittedly, I didn’t get much of a feel for it, as my engine broke down after ten laps, but at least it gave me a clearer idea of the track”
One thing is certain: Elias Svensson will be able to approach the final weekend of the season at Höljes with a very different knowledge of the track. Twice winner last year (Elias was disqualified from Race 1 due to a technical compliance problem – ed. note), the Sunne based driver has no intention of letting the pressure get to him.
“I’ll be racing at home this weekend, but the pressure will clearly be on the leaders. I had a great race in Grenland and I hope that can help make Sebastian [Enholm] and Thomas [Eek Murstad] a little nervous ahead of this final race of the championship. For my part, I know I’m fast at Höljes. I’m certainly going to give it my all, but I also intend to drive with my head. I’ll have to be clever.”
“At Kouvola this year, I lost five points because I simply tried to do too much (Elias was disqualified from the final for overtaking under yellow flag – ed. note). If it hadn’t been for this mistake on my part, I could have gone into this final stage of the championship as the leader. Of course, I intend to throw everything I’ve got into the battle for the title, but I don’t want to do just anything stupid either”.
