Lukas Andersson emerged as the major beneficiary of the opening day of competition at Nysum. With a maximum score of 30 points, the JC Raceteknik driver secured his fifth podium of the season and his second RallyX North victory, cutting his deficit to Oliver Eriksson by six points.

The Open 4WD Pro final was stopped during the third lap following Adam Öhman’s crash. However, the driver and his team provided reassuring news later on Saturday evening.

Before the race was stopped, Andersson had established himself as the day’s leading performer. After setting the fastest time twice during qualifying, the Swede also topped the intermediate standings before completing a perfect day in the final.

Speaking immediately after the race, however, the JC Raceteknik driver found it difficult to take full satisfaction from the result.

“Of course, this victory is very positive for me and for the championship. But I never want to see another driver involved in an accident like that. It was a heavy crash and, at that moment, I did not really feel as though I had won. It was a good result in terms of points, but my main concern was that he was all right. The situation inevitably felt a little strange after the race had been stopped.”

In the overall standings, Andersson has closed to within 16 points of Eriksson. Despite retiring from the final, the championship leader limited the damage by collecting 24 points thanks to the results he had secured earlier in the day.

While Andersson was undoubtedly the biggest winner of the opening day, the outcome was considerably less favourable for Romet Tsirna. The Estonian now trails Eriksson by 31 points and sits 15 behind Andersson, having started the weekend only five points adrift of the Swede.

With three races remaining, 90 points are still available. Eriksson therefore remains in control of the championship, but Andersson now needs to make up 17 points on his rival to move ahead.

Eriksson cannot, however, secure the title as early as Sunday. Even with another maximum score of 30 points and no points for Andersson, his advantage could increase to only 46 points, with a further 60 still available at Estering.