Lukas Andersson made his mark in 2023 when, at just 15 years of age, he became one of the favourites for the title in the Supercar Lites category. In 2024, he went one step further and confirmed that he is one of the best prospects in international rallycross.
With three wins in 2023, four podium finishes and a third place overall in the RallyX Nordic championship, Lukas Andersson took full advantage of the 2024 season to improve his statistics with no fewer than four wins and nine qualifications for a final.
These performances allowed him to lead the Supercar Lites category until the eve of the final race of the season, held on the German circuit of Buxtehude.
However, the JC Raceteknik driver was unable to resist the comeback of two-time defending champion Simon Olofsson. In fact, thanks to four consecutive wins at the end of the championship and a drop score that clearly worked in his favour, the STS RX driver managed to claim a third consecutive crown at the expense of Lukas Andersson.
But Lukas Andersson’s assessment of his second campaign at this level of competition was positive, to say the least.
‘Although I was obviously hoping to win the title, I’m nonetheless satisfied with the performances I’ve been able to put in this year,’ notes Lukas.
‘I’m continuing to learn from my mistakes, while capitalising on all the positive elements that are helping me to progress in my development as a driver.’
This year, Lukas had little to reproach himself for. He managed to secure three wins in a row at the start of the championship, took eight victories in the qualifying heats compared with 9 and 10 respectively for Simon Olofsson and Casper Jansson, and recorded no fewer than 13 fastest race laps over the entire season.
To these figures must be added four victories in the intermediate classification. In other words, everything seemed to be in place for Lukas Andersson to claim the top step of the final podium.
Unfortunately for the young Swede, the end of the season was more turbulent than expected. Capable of averaging 26.1 points per race between Tierp and Älvsbyn, Lukas suddenly saw his cruising speed drop to just 17 points over the last four races of the championship.
‘The championship started perfectly for me and I don’t think I could have wished for a better start. On the other hand, I have to admit that I wasn’t really successful in the last four races of the season. That’s part of the game. I’ve still been able to learn a lot of new things in 2024 and these are naturally elements that will enable me to move forward.’
While his spectacular duel with Casper Jansson was the real highlight of the 2024 season, Lukas admits that his on-track battles with his Swedish counterpart may have had an impact on the final outcome of the championship.
‘It’s clear that I really enjoyed my battles with Casper. We often found ourselves door-to-door at full speed. That’s what I call real Rallycross. We both wanted to win, but I have to admit that our duels were sometimes too intense.’
‘So much so that I realised that every time I went out on the track I was only focusing on first place. I should have been able to take a step back from certain situations, while remembering that my priority was first and foremost to build my championship.’
‘In fact, we were so focused on finishing first that we forgot all about Simon Olofsson. That’s undoubtedly my biggest regret of the year but, as I keep saying, you learn from your mistakes and I think I’ve already learnt from them.’
Despite seven career wins and eight podiums in just 18 Supercar Lites races, Lukas Andersson is well aware that he is far from reaching his full potential.
‘Although I’ve gained a lot of experience since my debut, I know that I still have a lot to learn. I also think that this 2024 season will have been the most instructive for me.’
‘We’re working on a long-term project so even if we didn’t manage to get the title this year, it’s not the end of the world for me either. I’m still young and I’ve still got plenty of time ahead of me to win championships. The most important thing for me is to be able to make the decisions that will be most beneficial for my development.’
And while Lukas was able to try his hand at the wheel of the new FC2 during the off-season, the chances of seeing the young Swede back at in the Supercar Lites category seem high.
‘The FC2 is not something I can really talk about at the moment. Right now we’re looking at a return to Supercar Lites in RallyX Nordic, while we’ll probably add a few events to our schedule by focusing on selected RallyX South events.’
‘It’s fantastic to see all the efforts that can be made by the RallyX championship to expand into other markets. As a driver, it’s encouraging to see that other opportunities can exist. It allows me to think about my progression beyond the RallyX Nordic championship alone.’
Third in the overall standings in 2023 and runner-up to Simon Olofsson in 2024, Lukas Andersson’s goals for the 2025 season are easy to understand …
