Team Färén could hardly have asked for a more successful weekend at Nysum. Roberts Vitols claimed maximum points by winning both races, while Hugo Lundgren celebrated his first Supercar Lites podium on his debut in the category.

Those performances have left the Swedish team in a strong position heading into the final RallyX North weekend of the season. While the championship remains a long shot for Vitols, the Latvian is closing in on the objective that has shaped his entire campaign: securing the FC2 drive on offer for the RallyX World Final at Montalegre.

“It’s both a huge relief and a great feeling,” said Eric Färén. “This weekend was exactly what we were hoping for. I wouldn’t say we expected results like these, but it was certainly our target. We know Roberts is incredibly quick and, with him, the objective is always to win. I actually think he sees it more as a job well done than something to celebrate, but everyone in the team is obviously very happy.”

By missing the two RallyX North rounds at Älvsbyn, Vitols knew his chances of winning the championship would be severely limited. His dominant return in Denmark has kept his slim title hopes alive, but the outcome now depends as much on the results of his rivals as on his own performances.

“Honestly, we never really built our season around the RallyX North championship. After missing those two rounds in Sweden, it always looked almost impossible. If Roberts somehow managed to win the title, it would be an extraordinary achievement. Theoretically, it might still be possible, but realistically it’s going to be very difficult.”

The team’s focus now shifts elsewhere. Based on each driver’s four best results of the season, Vitols appears to be in an excellent position to secure an invitation to compete in FC2 at October’s RallyX World Final in Montalegre. He also remains firmly in contention for the RallyX South title.

“He’s going to Buxtehude with another very clear objective. He can still become RallyX South champion and, above all, he’s targeting the FC2 drive. If my calculations are correct, we’re very close to achieving that goal. That’s what we’ve been working towards since the beginning of the season.”

That approach will not change for the final two RallyX North races.

“I know Roberts. He’ll go to Germany aiming to score as many points as possible, and then we’ll see what happens. We obviously don’t wish bad luck on anyone. Anything can still happen during the final weekend.”

Vitols’ dominant display was not the team’s only reason to celebrate in Denmark. At just 16 years of age, Hugo Lundgren finished second in the second Supercar Lites race despite making his first appearance in the category.

“What Hugo achieved was quite incredible. I’ve worked with a lot of young drivers over the years and I can honestly say he’s one of the most promising. I already knew how quick he was in CrossCar, but I didn’t expect him to adapt to Supercar Lites so quickly. It’s not an easy car to drive and the level of competition is extremely high. Every other driver has far more experience than he does.”

On a circuit where tiny margins leave little room for error, Lundgren used every session to make another step forward. After spending Saturday learning the car, he looked considerably more assertive on Sunday, particularly in the starts.

“He started putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. He became more aggressive, especially at the starts, where he began taking more space and showing that he was there to fight. Honestly, it would have been difficult to ask for much more.”

“I had my own plan to help him improve by explaining the areas where he needed to make another step, and he immediately put everything into practice. That’s an incredibly important quality in a driver. He never gets stuck. He observes, understands what he needs to improve and then immediately applies it on track.”

Having Roberts Vitols alongside him also proved invaluable. Lundgren was able to compare himself directly with one of the fastest drivers in the category and measure his own progress throughout the weekend.

“Roberts was running at the front all weekend, and Hugo learned a huge amount by watching him and comparing their performances. They got on really well together. They’re both very easy-going people, and it was great to see.”

The lap times reflected Lundgren’s rapid improvement as the weekend progressed.

“Roberts even told me he felt completely comfortable out front and that his pace was excellent, but the only driver who kept getting closer was Hugo. He joked that Hugo couldn’t keep doing that because he’d soon be catching him. By the end of the weekend, there were only a few tenths of a second between them over a single lap.”