Since the start of RallyX North in Riga last May, Filip Thorén has faced a challenging run of form, with just one semi-final appearance to his name so far—behind the wheel of a VW Polo that hasn’t made things easy.

It’s been a tough start, and one Thorén is determined to put behind him this weekend at his home round in Älvsbyn.

“I’m hoping we’ll have better luck and that the car holds up this weekend. We’ve changed a lot of things, and in theory, nothing else should break—but with Supercars, you never know. When I’m out on track and the car’s working properly, I feel like I have the pace. Unfortunately, we’ve just had way too many mechanical problems so far. First, the engine failed, then the driveshaft snapped and damaged the wiring, the oil lines, and everything else. So I’m really hoping we can find some stability on that front this weekend.”

Despite this string of setbacks, Thorén remains optimistic heading into the Älvsbyn round, a track he knows well and genuinely enjoys.

“I really like this circuit, so if everything goes to plan, I think it could be a good weekend. We’ll start with the practice runs today (friday evening) and see if the car’s already working as it should. That’ll be our first real test. After that, we’ll get a better feel for things.”

This weekend will also serve as a full-scale test ahead of next week’s Euro RX round at Höljes in the Värmland region.

“We need to know whether the car can go the distance ahead of Höljes. That’s a really big event for us. The competition there will be extremely tough, but I’m aiming for the final—that’s the goal. Then we’ll see what’s possible, depending on the level of the field, because there are some very strong drivers lining up.”