Oliver Eriksson claimed victory in the second round of the weekend at Nysum, securing his third RallyX North win of the season. Beaten by Lukas Andersson on Saturday, the championship leader responded immediately by dominating both qualifying and the final to claim all 24 points on offer.
Lukas Andersson still emerged as the highest points scorer across the weekend with 49 points, one more than Eriksson, who scored 48. However, that single-point gain had only a marginal impact on the championship battle. Arriving in Denmark with a 22-point advantage, Eriksson heads to Estering with a 21-point cushion and just two rounds remaining.
Despite seeing his Saturday final compromised, Eriksson still managed to score 24 points. On Sunday, he struck back by outscoring Andersson by five points after taking the maximum available haul.
Eriksson laid the foundations for victory during the opening two qualifying sessions. He topped Q1 with a 2:22.654 before repeating the feat in Q2 with a 2:27.249 lap.
Although a retirement in Q3 threatened his advantage, the points he had already accumulated were enough to keep him at the top of the intermediate classification, earning the OMSE driver another 16 championship points.
Andersson enjoyed a contrasting qualifying campaign. After finishing fourth in both Q1 and Q2, the JC Raceteknik driver rediscovered his pace in the final qualifying session by setting the fastest lap of the weekend, a 2:23.821. That late surge lifted him to second in the intermediate standings.
Romet Tsirna also recovered strongly from a difficult start. Forced to retire in Q1, he responded with back-to-back second-place finishes in the remaining qualifying sessions to secure third in the intermediate classification and add 14 points to his tally.
In the final, Eriksson was in complete control. He claimed victory in 3:39.399, finishing 2.238 seconds ahead of Thomas Eek Murstad and 2.944 seconds clear of Lukas Andersson. Tobias Daarbak finished fourth ahead of Emil Naessen and Romet Tsirna.
Three Drivers Still Mathematically in the RallyX North Title Fight
Eriksson leaves Nysum on 186 championship points, ahead of Lukas Andersson on 165 and Romet Tsirna on 146. Tobias Daarbak moves up to fourth with 116 points, while Adam Öhman sits fifth on 101.
With a maximum of 60 points still available at Estering, only Eriksson, Andersson and Tsirna remain mathematically capable of winning the RallyX North title. Daarbak can no longer catch the championship leader, as his maximum possible total now stands at 176 points, ten fewer than Eriksson has already accumulated.
Tsirna remains mathematically in contention, but his deficit to the championship leader increased from 27 to 40 points over the course of the weekend. His runner-up finish on Saturday was ultimately offset by a second event in which he scored just 15 points.
The title battle is now firmly centred on Eriksson and Andersson. The JC Raceteknik driver proved on Saturday that he has the pace to challenge the championship leader, but Eriksson responded immediately on Sunday to underline why he heads to Estering with a commanding 21-point advantage in the standings.