After being outpaced by Roberts Vitols on the tight and technical layout in Riga, the rougher terrain and demanding corners of Finland’s KymiRing gave Lukas Andersson a much-needed resurgence this Saturday.

Sitting at the top of the intermediate standings after Q2 with two qualifying heat wins under his belt, the young Swede successfully turned the tide against Vitols—the current leader of the RallyX North championship—who had dominated him just a few weeks earlier in Latvia.

Despite the premature wear on the gravel sections of this spectacular new circuit, Andersson left no room for doubt on the opening day of competition, asserting himself with confidence and control.

“For me, this is a proper rallycross track—and that’s exactly what I like,” Andersson explained. “There’s more gravel, more sideways driving. It’s the kind of layout we’re used to in Sweden. What I enjoy is being able to drift through the corners without losing time—sometimes you even gain some. That’s the spirit of rallycross as I see it. This track really suits me. It’s fun to drive. It’s a shame some parts are a bit rough, but I’m sure they’ll fix that for Sunday.”

That sense of ease stands in stark contrast to the difficulties he encountered the day before, as the JC Raceteknik driver admitted.

“Yesterday didn’t go well. I didn’t have a good feeling in the car, and we chose the wrong setup for this track. But this morning, we made the right adjustments, and everything clicked. I got off the line cleanly in both heats, and from there, I just managed the races.”

His strategy for Sunday is simple: stay focused, avoid mistakes, and take no unnecessary risks.

“Of course, I’m not going to gamble. I’m racing for the championship, not just for one win this weekend. Ideally, everything goes just as smoothly tomorrow—no contact, no errors, a clean race. Just like today, where everything went perfectly. I hope I can repeat that.”