After making his first RallyX appearance last season behind the wheel of his new machine, Erik Lidman returned to action last weekend in the Netherlands in the Open 2WD category. It proved to be a highly productive outing for the Swedish driver, as reflected by the clear progress he made between the two days of competition.
After being limited to 13th place at the end of Race 1 despite securing a Top 10 result in Q1, the GK Door Team Sweden driver managed to turn things around impressively on Sunday.
Indeed, despite retiring from Q2 following contact with another competitor, Lidman delivered a strong response by claiming fifth place in Q3 before securing his first-ever qualification for a final shortly afterwards. Although a black flag at the very first corner ultimately dashed the BMW driver’s hopes of a maiden podium finish, the weekend still allowed him to gather valuable experience ahead of the upcoming round in Tierp.
For the Swede, the Dutch event above all represented another important learning step in what remains a relatively new environment.
“It was my first time racing here,” Erik explained.
“The weekend was intense, with plenty of ups and downs, especially as the Valkenswaard circuit is far from easy. The dirt sections are extremely slippery and make the driving very technical, particularly for a driver like me who isn’t used to this type of layout. In those conditions, it’s difficult to attack in the way you normally would. While the tarmac offers good grip, the dirt remains very tricky, which makes the entire circuit quite unforgiving. Still, my feeling in the car improved throughout the weekend. I managed to gain speed in every session, which is definitely a positive.”
Beyond the raw results, it was Lidman’s steady progression throughout the weekend that stood out most. An encouraging trend that is already fuelling the Swede’s ambitions for the upcoming rounds.
“Now it’s time to head back to Sweden for the Tierp round, which features a rather unusual circuit, almost drag race style. It will be interesting to see how the car performs there.”
Still in the early stages of developing his understanding of the car, Lidman emphasised the room for improvement that remains.
“My feeling with the car is improving significantly. It’s still relatively new to us, so there’s a lot left to learn in order to unlock its full potential, but I’m becoming more and more comfortable with it. This first weekend helped us identify our main areas for improvement more clearly. The goal now is to keep driving, continue testing and improve throughout the season, with the hope of being in Portugal at the end of the year.”
The Swedish driver already believes the car should perform even better on faster circuits more suited to his driving style.
“On high-speed tracks, especially in Scandinavia, our car’s potential should come through more clearly. Älvsbyn is also a circuit I particularly enjoy.”
Aware of the strength of the competition, Lidman is nevertheless keeping his expectations realistic.
“Against a driver like Viktor Johansson, who is extremely quick, it will be difficult to match that level immediately. We’ll probably need to aim higher starting next season. Until then, the objective is simply to do the best we can.”
Finally, Erik Lidman highlighted the quality of the environment within his new team, something he considers a key factor in his current progression.
“The integration within the new team has gone very well. A huge amount of work is being done, and the drivers’ feedback is genuinely taken into account to improve the behaviour of the car, which is very positive. I definitely don’t see myself as a professional driver, but being part of a structure like GK Door Team Sweden and benefiting from that level of support throughout the weekend is a real advantage.”