After three consecutive events without a victory to his name, Oliver Eriksson wasted no time returning to the forefront of the RallyX championship battle. By winning Race 2 ahead of Juha Rytkönen and an ever-improving Romet Tsirna, the Swede further extended his advantage at the top of the overall standings.

Having finished only fifth in Race 1 following a mechanical issue that struck at the very first corner of the final, Eriksson responded in the best possible way on Sunday.

After winning Q1 before being forced to retire in Q2, the OMSE driver still managed to secure the maximum haul of 16 qualifying points by capitalising on the problems encountered by Juha Rytkönen at the opening corner, despite the Finn appearing firmly in control at that stage of the race.

An opportunity Eriksson would not let slip away as he successfully controlled the pressure from Rytkönen and Tsirna throughout the final, while Daarbak, Öhman and Olofsson completed the top six.

Following a turbulent weekend, Eriksson admitted his greatest satisfaction came from finally delivering when it mattered most after several missed opportunities earlier in the season.

“It definitely wasn’t an easy weekend with that retirement in Q2, but being able to bounce back like this shows that we’re still capable of fighting at the front in FC2. It’s obviously a huge relief.”

After enduring a difficult weekend marked by both mechanical issues and strong performances, the Swede nevertheless believes Q3 proved to be the turning point of his campaign.

“It was a very up-and-down weekend with highs and lows. But Q3 allowed us to regain momentum and put ourselves in a good position to fight for the win. From that point onwards, we simply had to capitalise.”

Competing in an extremely competitive field, Eriksson also praised the level of competition throughout the weekend on the spectacular Finnish circuit.

“It was really enjoyable to race against drivers of this level throughout the weekend. The competition was extremely strong and it made the races even more exciting.”

Fully aware that he had let several major opportunities slip away in recent weeks, the OMSE driver admitted this victory arrived at exactly the right moment in the context of the championship battle.

“Honestly, we had been waiting a long time for this result. Since Holland, we’ve let several important opportunities slip away. At Tierp and again on Saturday at Honkajoki, we simply weren’t good enough when it mattered most.”

“Getting this victory today obviously gives us a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the championship.”

Winner of Race 1, Juha Rytkönen also left Honkajoki with plenty of reasons to be satisfied following his very first RallyX appearance behind the wheel of an FC2 car. Despite a Q3 retirement that significantly complicated his Sunday, the Finn immediately proved capable of matching the category’s leading contenders.

“The retirement in Q3 clearly changed the dynamic of our race because we were leading the intermediate standings up to that point. In Rallycross, securing pole position is always extremely important,” explained Juha.

“With cars that are this closely matched in terms of performance, starting from the inside of the grid often becomes a decisive advantage. Honestly, I think we lost part of our chances at that moment.”

Despite the setback, Rytkönen was eager to highlight the work carried out by the OMSE mechanics to ensure the car was ready for the final.

“Even so, I’m satisfied with the final result. I especially want to thank the entire OMS team and the mechanics. The car had suffered significant damage before the final and they did an incredible job getting everything repaired in time.”

Just days before returning to FIA European Championship competition, the Finn also believes this RallyX outing could quickly prove beneficial for the remainder of his season.

“It’s always positive to keep racing because race situations are very different from what you experience during private testing. Every weekend allows you to gain more experience and that can definitely help us ahead of important events later in the season.”

Rytkönen also appeared enthusiastic about the working atmosphere he discovered within the OMSE structure throughout the weekend.

“It was also very interesting to work in an environment with so many drivers around me. Normally, you mostly work with one team-mate, whereas here everyone exchanges ideas constantly and tries to help each other.”

“It’s a very different atmosphere from what I’ve experienced before, but also an extremely rewarding one. I feel very fortunate to be racing here this weekend as well as in Euro RX. A lot of people want to help me and that means a huge amount.”

Meanwhile, after an encouraging learning phase, Romet Tsirna now appears ready to take another step forward in the Open 4WD Pro category. Already second on Saturday, the Estonian confirmed his growing potential on Sunday with another podium finish despite qualifying only eighth overall.

“Honestly, the main target this weekend was clearly to fight for a podium,” admitted Romet.

“At the previous event, our main priority was simply to reach the final, so managing to step onto the podium this time is a real satisfaction.”

Already highly convincing during the opening race of the weekend, Tsirna nevertheless believes he still lacks a little experience to consistently challenge for victories.

“I’m also very proud of the podium we achieved on Saturday. With a bit more experience and confidence in certain situations, I honestly think it might even have been possible to get closer to the victory. But everything comes with time and we’ll keep those objectives for the next races.”

Aware of the importance of the points lost during qualifying, the Estonian driver now knows he must improve his consistency if he hopes to remain firmly in championship contention.

“It’s now becoming important to focus a bit more on scoring points. Our qualifying results weren’t strong enough this weekend and that obviously hurts us in the championship standings. For now, it’s manageable if you don’t look too closely at the championship, but we now need to start scoring bigger points more consistently.”

Already looking ahead to the next round of the season, Tsirna is excited about returning to Alvsbyn, the circuit where he first drove the car last year.

“It will obviously be a special event for us because that’s where I completed my very first laps in this car back in 2025. It’s also an extremely spectacular and enjoyable circuit to drive.”

Race after race, the Estonian feels increasingly comfortable behind the wheel of his machine.

“Every weekend, I feel a little more comfortable in the car and everything is gradually becoming more natural. Right now, I genuinely feel like I’m starting to feel at home within this team and this structure.”

“I’m extremely happy to have joined the OMSE organisation. This team pushes me to give much more than I ever thought I was capable of before. I truly feel like I’m in the right place at the right time and that gives me a huge amount of confidence for the future.”

After four rounds of the RallyX North championship, Oliver Eriksson now holds a 17-point and 19-point advantage respectively over his two closest rivals, Lukas Andersson and Romet Tsirna, ahead of the next event at Alvsbyn scheduled for the opening weekend of June.