While Elias Svensson has yet to reveal his plans for the next chapter of his journey in the RallyX championship, the Swede took time to reflect on a 2024 season in which he won the CrossCar title.

After two turbulent seasons in 2022 and 2023, in which he narrowly missed out on his first RallyX crown, Elias Svensson made the most of the past campaign to turn the tide in his favour.

With four wins and a total of five podium finishes in 2024, the Swede finally managed to steer his Casmat chassis to victory. This is a remarkable achievement, as since the introduction of the CrossCar category in RallyX, only Oskar Andersson and his Edge chassis managed to break the dominance of Spanish manufacturer Speedcar in 2022.

A promising start despite limited practice

“First of all, my season started well with the Nitrocross race in Las Vegas in March 2024 in the Supercar Lites category. We managed to get excellent results with a car I knew little about before concentrating on our RallyX programme. What I can say is that I felt no pressure before the start of the championship because I knew I had the speed to compete at the front after what I had shown in the previous two seasons.”

Despite this confidence, Elias Svensson faced a lack of preparation at the start of the championship.

“I didn’t feel any pressure regarding the championship or the title, but when I arrived at Tierp for the first race of the season I had only done five laps in total. My main problem at the start of the championship was my lack of preparation and track time, and I have to admit that it took me a while to find my rhythm. However, once I started to get my senses back I was able to stay calm and concentrate on what I needed to do to win the title.”

Learning from the past to build for the future

Denied the 2023 title by a puncture in the semi-final of the final round of the season, Elias Svensson learned valuable lessons from that setback.

“Even though I won four events last year, the goal wasn’t to win every race, but to patiently build my championship. I think the area where I improved the most was in my approach to the season. Of course, aiming for victory helps you to get the maximum points, but I learned a lot from Sebastian Enholm and the way he built his championship in 2023. He wasn’t always the fastest and didn’t try to win every race, but that didn’t stop him from being consistently strong by stringing together good results. That’s what I’ve done in 2024.”

With this methodical strategy, Svensson maintained his momentum throughout the championship, ultimately securing the CrossCar title through a disciplined and consistent approach.

A more competitive field than ever

While the CrossCar category has always been competitive, Elias Svensson admits that the level of competition has increased significantly in 2024, making his victory even more impressive.

“I don’t know if the 2024 season was the toughest since I started in RallyX. During my first campaign it was obviously more difficult because I lacked knowledge and experience. After that, it’s hard to compare 2023 and 2024, except that two years ago maybe three or four drivers could fight for victory every weekend, whereas last year there were more than ten capable of fighting for the top spot. Every weekend a new driver stood out, so I’d say 2024 was not an easy season because the overall level of the category has increased significantly.”

High hopes for the future

While the CrossCar champion remains tight-lipped about his plans for 2025, he admits that he has already put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that he is back in business in the coming weeks.

“I can’t say much at the moment, except that we’ve been working extremely hard since the start of the off-season,” said Elias, expressing his excitement at the continued growth of the RallyX series.

“One thing is for sure, at a time when the World Championship is on hold and the Rallycross sport isn’t necessarily in the best of shape, it’s reassuring to see a championship like RallyX taking control with the clear intention of changing the game. I’m thrilled to see RallyX expanding beyond its traditional borders in Europe and into America. The timing couldn’t be better.”