Back in action last weekend for the opening round of the RallyX South championship, the JC Raceteknik outfit made an immediate impact. Performances that certainly pleased team boss Joel Christoffersson.
Indeed, in addition to a Race 1 victory for Vetle Try in CrossCar and a podium finish the following day, the surprise came from former CrossCar Junior competitor Carl Svedlund. Eliminated at the semi-final stage on Saturday, the 2025 RallyX Junior champion bounced back in Race 2 to claim his first win at this level.
Lukas Andersson further completed an already impressive picture. After four seasons in Supercar Lites, his first appearance in Open 4WD at the wheel of the FC2 resulted in a third-place finish on Saturday, behind Oliver Eriksson and Niclas Grönholm, before taking victory 24 hours later.
More than enough to satisfy JC Raceteknik team principal Joel Christoffersson.
“We have three brilliant young talents in the team for RallyX this year, and while they are all learning as they go, it’s only natural that there will be ups and downs,” said Christoffersson.
“But each of them delivered outstanding performances at different moments over the weekend. It’s a huge reward for all three to take wins they truly deserved, but also for the entire team, who put in a major effort this weekend, particularly in terms of coaching and guidance to help the boys get the most out of themselves. It’s not an easy track. The Eurocircuit is very technical and the margin for error is minimal, so we can be very pleased to come away with such a strong overall performance.”
Beyond the collective result, the JC Raceteknik drivers were equally keen to express their satisfaction at starting the 2026 season so effectively. First among them was Lukas Andersson, who claimed an unexpected victory in Open 4WD on his debut in the category.
“My hopes and expectations coming into the weekend were to try and make a final, but I never thought we would win,” Lukas explained.
“I always aim for the win, but you can’t achieve it every time, and with my level of experience compared to some of the others in the field, we knew it would be difficult. But today, everything came together. We lost the brakes in Q3, but the semi-final went really well. I pushed hard behind Kevin Eriksson and then passed him at the hairpin. From there, we started the final from the outside of the front row and I made an exceptional start. That’s where we made the difference. After that, it was just about staying consistent to hold the lead. It was incredible. To already feel so comfortable with the car and to be competing at the same level as the other drivers in the class is fantastic. That said, Valkenswaard is clearly not one of my favorite tracks, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do when we head back to the Scandinavian rounds.”
In CrossCar, Vetle Try also confirmed the potential he had shown during pre-event testing in Buxtehude ahead of the Valkenswaard round.
“I came to Holland to see how the others were performing and to check whether we had the pace. However, I have to admit that being eight tenths off the fastest time after free practice wasn’t a great feeling. It shows that you have to keep working, and that’s exactly what we did,” said the Norwegian driver.
“We have some excellent driver coaches in the team, I’ve got my mechanic Ian with me, and everything worked really well. We had a bit of luck here and there, but sometimes you need that, and overall it was a very good weekend. Winning on Saturday was really great, and then on Sunday we tried to maximize everything again. I think we managed that. Third place in the Race 2 final was, I believe, the best result I could have achieved. I made a couple of small mistakes, and when the two guys in front don’t make any, it’s hard to close the gap. Overall, it’s been very positive and I’m looking forward to the next round.”
Finally, Carl Svedlund bounced back perfectly from a difficult start to convert his pace into a win on Sunday.
“It’s incredible. The goal was simply to make the final, but to start on the front row and then win is fantastic,” said the 16-year-old Swede.
“On Saturday I had a small issue with the windscreen wipers, and maybe I got a bit frustrated and pushed a little too hard, but Sunday was different and everything worked really well. The Speedcar chassis is very strong, we had some good testing before the season and choosing this car has proved to be the right decision. It’s been a great weekend and I’m looking forward to heading back to Sweden for the next two rounds.”
A near-perfect weekend for JC Raceteknik, which gets its season off to an ideal start and confirms the rise of a new generation of drivers already capable of fighting at the front.
Photos: JC/Qnigan