Despite qualifying only seventh in the intermediate standings, Viktor Kristensson managed to upset the established order during Race 1 of the Open 4WD category at Tierp.
After a relatively quiet debut last season in the Netherlands behind the wheel of the FC2 entered by the STS RX outfit of Simon Olofsson and Sandra Hultgren, the young Swedish driver made no mistake on his return to the category by claiming his maiden victory in RallyX’s premier class ahead of Niclas Grönholm and Oliver Eriksson.
In a final heavily influenced by difficult weather conditions and marked by Casper Jansson’s spectacular crash at the very first corner, Kristensson handled the situation perfectly, emerging from Turn 1 in the lead after cutting back underneath the Hansen/Grönholm/Eriksson trio.
An advantage the driver from Vellinge would maintain all the way to the chequered flag ahead of Grönholm and Eriksson, while Timmy Hansen was forced to retire following a failure of his right rear suspension.
The result appeared even more unlikely considering Kristensson had narrowly avoided disaster only a few hours earlier during the Pro Am final after contact involving Emil Sivesind and Emil Naessen.
More than enough to make this maiden Open 4WD victory even harder for the Swedish driver to comprehend.
“Honestly, I absolutely didn’t expect to win. Looking back, this is probably the most unexpected victory of my entire motorsport career,” admitted Viktor Kristensson after the final.
“That’s even more true because, just a few moments earlier, the Pro Am final hadn’t gone the way we had hoped at all, and then suddenly everything changed in the main final. That’s exactly what makes this sport so incredible. Things can change extremely quickly in rallycross. At the start of the weekend, luck clearly wasn’t on my side, but in this final everything finally went our way.”
An opportunity the Swede immediately capitalised on at the decisive moment.
“We had to take the opportunities that came to us, and that’s exactly what I managed to do at the first corner by getting the advantage over the others. From that point on, my mission was simple: push as hard as possible and try to hold onto first place.”
Enough for Kristensson to secure what he already considers the greatest performance of his career.
“That was clearly the best race of my career. Honestly, I still struggle to realise that I actually won. This result also allows me to show what I’m truly capable of. Our qualifying performances were solid, but we didn’t really produce anything spectacular. On the other hand, we managed to build momentum progressively throughout Race 1.”
Beyond his own performance, Kristensson was also keen to highlight the work carried out by the entire STS RX structure around Simon Olofsson and Sandra Hultgren.
“This victory means a huge amount for Simon, for the whole team and for everyone around us.”
Still visibly emotional only minutes after stepping onto the podium, the Swede was struggling to fully process what he had just achieved against some of the biggest names in world rallycross.
“It’s completely crazy to achieve a victory like this. Honestly, I don’t even have the words to describe what I’m feeling right now.”
“In terms of confidence, this victory will obviously help me a lot. We’ve had so much bad luck recently, so finally seeing everything come together feels amazing. Honestly, I never imagined I would one day be able to beat drivers like Niclas Grönholm, Timmy Hansen and Oliver Eriksson.”
More than outright pace alone, Kristensson believes the difference came from his race management and his ability to remain perfectly calm under pressure.
“I simply tried to place the car correctly and take the opportunities at the right moment. After that, I drove my own race and they never managed to catch me, which proves we had the pace. In the final, the most important thing was to stay calm. Extremely calm.”
A composure constantly reinforced by his spotter throughout the race.
“My spotter kept telling me to focus only on my own race and not pay attention to what was happening behind me. I just tried to drive as cleanly as possible without thinking about the cars chasing me.”
Despite this breakthrough victory, Viktor Kristensson is refusing to get carried away ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
“Everything that happened today already belongs to the past. Tomorrow is a new day and, in rallycross, anything can still happen.”
With the weather conditions still expected to evolve, the Swede is now hoping to confirm his pace in drier conditions.
“I’m mainly hoping for drier conditions tomorrow so we can have even more fun behind the wheel.”
Among the other standout performances of the day, Adam Öhman claimed his maiden career victory in the Open 4WD Pro Am category, while Finnish driver Lucas Gabrielsson opened his 2026 campaign with victory in Open 2WD.
Meanwhile, Roberts Vitols continued his dominant run by securing a third consecutive win in Supercar Lites, while Riku Huuhka and Iivari Mannisto came out on top in CrossCar and CrossCar Junior respectively.