After ending the 2025 RallyX season on the podium at the final round of the championship, former FIA Euro RX3 Vice-Champion Espen Isaksaetre carried that momentum into the Netherlands last weekend, despite competing on a circuit where he openly admitted he never felt fully comfortable.
Third at the end of Race 1, despite acknowledging that he lacked the pace needed to challenge the front-runners, Isaksaetre nevertheless managed to minimise the damage on the demanding Valkenswaard circuit. The result was all the more encouraging given that the Norwegian driver was making his very first appearance on the mixed-surface venue combining both dirt and tarmac.
The following day, however, the Scandinavian driver was unable to reverse the trend. With a sixth-fastest time standing as his best qualifying performance, Isaksaetre eventually finished the second day in a frustrating seventh position in the intermediate standings, narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
Far from an ideal scenario, the Norwegian nevertheless preferred to focus on the positives from the opening round of the season.
“Everything is clearly going very well at the moment. Finishing last season on the podium and then following it up with another Top 3 result at the start of this new campaign is obviously a very positive sign. In Race 1, I wasn’t necessarily among the fastest drivers, but managing to secure third place despite that still represents a very good result.”
Aware that he has yet to fully unlock his potential on the Dutch circuit, Isaksaetre made no attempt to hide the difficulties he encountered throughout the weekend.
“I quickly realised that I still didn’t have the pace required on this circuit. I’m still missing a few tenths and, above all, I don’t yet feel completely comfortable with the kart on this track. We tried to understand the reasons behind those difficulties, but we still haven’t found the ideal solution.”
For the Norwegian driver, one of the main challenges lay in the complexity of the Valkenswaard layout itself, with its constantly changing mixed-surface conditions requiring constant adaptation.
“It was also my first experience on this track, which is particularly technical. That naturally makes things more complicated, especially with the constant transition between tarmac and dirt sections, where you always have to find the right compromise. Right now, I’m sliding too much and clearly lacking traction.”
Despite those difficulties, work is already continuing behind the scenes in an effort to address the weaknesses identified during the opening event of the year.
“We’re going to continue working on the setup in order to improve the situation. The objective is to find a better balance and regain stronger confidence behind the wheel.”
Still in a learning phase following his transition from rallycross to crosskart, Isaksaetre nevertheless believes he is continuing to make progress in understanding the discipline.
“It took me some time to adapt from rallycross to crosskart. I’m starting to better understand the driving style now, but everything still depends heavily on rhythm. That should especially be the case on the Scandinavian circuits, where I’ll probably feel more comfortable because I know them much better.”
While waiting for tracks better suited to his driving style, the Norwegian prefers to focus on the positive lessons learned from the opening round of the campaign.
“Despite everything, this third place gives me a real confidence boost for the rest of the season.”