Simon Olofsson proved that he has not lost any of his pace, despite his poor position in the overall standings following an engine failure at Tierp. In the Open 2WD category, however, the Finnish drivers were determined to turn the tide after a first day of racing in which Simon Tiger and Viktor Johansson dominated the debate.
Supercar Lites: Simon Olofsson still on the move…
Only eighth in the championship heading into Finland, Simon Olofsson was well aware of the challenge that awaited him in Kouvola. Sitting 31 points behind leader Lukas Andersson, the most decorated driver in Supercar Lites history had to react.
Despite a Race 1 that saw Lukas Andersson take his third consecutive win of the 2024 season, Simon Olofsson built his weekend to perfection. Despite finishing tenth in Q1, the Swede made up for it by setting the fastest time in Q2. This was enough for Olofsson to claim second place in the intermediate standings, as well as second place on the podium in the final, between Lukas Andersson and Tobias Daarbak.
Adding to his 25 points from Race 1, Simon followed the same strategy the following day. After winning Q1 and setting the second fastest time in Q2, the STS RX driver again qualified second behind Lukas Andersson, who was expected to take his fourth win of the season.
However, the JC Raceteknik driver’s ambitions were soon thwarted by a false start in the semi-final, followed by contact with Casper Jansson at the exit of Turn 1. Simon Olofsson made the most of the opportunity to take his first win of the season, ahead of Casper Jansson and Marceau Launay.
Now in third place overall with 79 points to Casper Jansson’s 96 and Lukas Andersson’s 105, the two-time title holder clearly hasn’t said his last word.
Open 2WD: The Finns take revenge
Unbeaten since the return of the RallyX championship to the Kouvola circuit, the Finns saw their run of four consecutive victories come to a screeching halt in Race 1, dominated by the Swedish duo of Simon Tiger and Viktor Johansson.
First and second respectively in the intermediate standings, the pair continued their dominance in the final, crossing the line in that order, with three-time Kouvola winner Olli Lahti completing the podium ahead of Christian Jensen, Lucas Gabrielsson and Tuomas Venäläinen.
Obviously offended by the idea of being beaten at home by Team Sweden, Team Finland reacted quickly the following day. Despite an intermediate standings once again dominated by the untouchable Simon Tiger with three wins to his name, Viktor Johansson opted for consistency with three top 3 finishes in Q1, Q2 and Q3 to secure second place in the intermediate standings.
This dominance was short-lived for the two leaders of the RallyX championship. Both slowed by technical problems in the final, Simon Tiger had to settle for sixth place behind Viktor Johansson, while Christian Jensen took the opportunity to claim his first career Open 2WD win ahead of Tuomas Venäläinen and Lucas Gabrielsson.
There was very little change in the overall championship standings, with Simon Tiger still leading by 16 points from Viktor Johansson, while Rasmus Berggren and Kenneth Konge completed the top four.
