After causing a sensation in his debut season in RallyX, finishing fifth overall, Alexander Heum admits that he has yet to show the full extent of his talent.
Norwegian CrossCar champion in 2022 after successfully defeating Thomas Eek Murstad, Alexander Heum did not disappoint in 2023, proving that he has all the skills to be one of the favourites for the RallyX championship.
However, despite five final qualifications and two podium finishes, the young Norwegian knows that he still has plenty of room for improvement.
“I know that I need to improve the way I handle the final stages and the most intense moments of a race weekend,” admits the Casmat driver.
“Every time we reach the semi-final stage, the tension is so high that it’s easy to make small mistakes that can cost me precious seconds. In this championship you have to perform well right from the start, trying at all costs to build up a small advantage from the first qualifying runs if you want to have a chance of fighting for the top places. Every start is a real challenge and we can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
For Alexander Heum, the main goal of the 2024 season will be to confirm that last year’s performances were no fluke.
“If I’m being realistic, I’d say the goal is to confirm the results I achieved last year. I know there are a lot of talented drivers out there, some of whom have decided to move up a gear this year by changing cars. So just staying in the top 5 overall is not going to be an easy task.”
“In the best case scenario I wouldn’t mind a top 3 finish, but this championship is so competitive that it’s hard to predict how many of us will be fighting for the top spots in the standings. I suppose the first stage of the calendar will give us a clearer idea.”
Like Elias Svensson, Alexander Heum is also looking to fine-tune the final details of his Casmat chassis.
“We’ve been developing our chassis throughout the 2023 season, working on a number of different areas, and we’ve already seen some notable improvements at the end of last year. This was particularly the case at Höljes during the final race of the championship. Nevertheless, we’re going to continue this development work in close cooperation with Casmat.”
At the same time, Alexander will concentrate on helping his younger brother Lauritz get used to the RallyX championship. In 2024, Lauritz will compete in his first full programme in the Junior CrossCar category.
“It is great news for me to be able to count on a teammate as Lauritz will be entering the junior category. Last year he had the opportunity to make his debut in the RallyX championship in Grenland. This year he’ll be able to take advantage of a brand new Casmat chassis and I can’t hide the fact that I’m impatient to see what it can do, whilst observing how Lauritz will manage to progress with each event. In any case, I’m really looking forward to sharing this adventure with him and helping him as best I can by giving him the right information at the right time”.”
