As the reigning CrossCar champion, Thomas Eek Murstad heads to Estering with the opportunity to achieve something no driver has accomplished before. Having closed to within just eight points of new championship leader Espen Isaksætre, the Norwegian will attempt to become the first driver in RallyX history to win two titles in the category.
After finishing on the overall championship podium in three consecutive seasons, Murstad finally claimed the CrossCar crown last year. Defending that title has not always been straightforward, but he remains firmly in control of his own destiny heading into the final two races of the season.
Fourth in the championship and 20 points behind Carl Svedlund before Nysum, Murstad left Denmark in third place, just eight points behind Espen Isaksætre. It marked a remarkable climb after an action-packed weekend in which he successfully combined his CrossCar campaign with a parallel programme in FC2.
Murstad made the perfect start to the opening day by topping the intermediate standings in the CrossCar category. However, a technical issue on the start line of his semi-final abruptly ended his hopes in Race 1.
“It was particularly frustrating because the problem was purely technical. I couldn’t engage third gear off the start, which immediately cost me ground. Huuhka came up the inside, I was pushed to the outside and everyone got past me. On top of that, our radio system failed. It wasn’t the spotter himself, it was simply the radio that stopped working, and that also led me to make the wrong decision.”
He refused to let that disappointment define the rest of his weekend. The following day, Murstad once again topped the intermediate standings before finishing third in the final behind Oliver Lucas Jensen and Dennis Vik. The result secured his third RallyX North podium of the season and, more importantly, brought him significantly closer to the championship lead.
“I just tried to stay calm and take the races one at a time. Even though we didn’t win, we reduced the gap in the championship and the situation is much better than it was before. The championship fight has become even tighter, which is definitely encouraging heading into Estering.”
Alongside his CrossCar commitments, Murstad also took on the additional challenge of competing in FC2. It proved to be an outstanding success, producing three podium finishes over the course of the weekend.
After finishing third in the opening Open 4WD Pro Am race, he improved to second in the category on Sunday. He then produced one of the weekend’s biggest surprises by finishing second in the Open 4WD Pro final behind Lukas Andersson and ahead of Oliver Eriksson.
“The weekend exceeded all of our expectations. I was fourth in the very first practice session and from that point onwards everything came together really well. I managed to stay inside the top five for the rest of the weekend and qualifying went well. Then everything became completely crazy once we reached the semi-finals. After my FC2 semi-final and the Pro Am final, I had to head straight to the CrossCar pre-grid. I literally climbed out of one car and straight into the other. I still had all the adrenaline from the previous race while trying to put all my safety equipment back on.”
His second place in the Open 4WD Pro final owed nothing to the misfortune of others. Murstad earned the result through an excellent launch and by making the most of the outside line.
“Before Nysum, we expected to struggle in FC2. So everything that happened this weekend feels like a bonus, a huge bonus, in fact. Standing on the podium alongside Lukas Andersson and Oliver Eriksson was something really special. Nobody retired in front of me. I simply made a very good start and found plenty of grip around the outside, which allowed me to secure second place.”
Despite the success of his guest appearance, Murstad has no immediate plans to continue in FC2. His full attention is now focused on defending his CrossCar title, a challenge that will demand everything from him at Estering.
“For the moment, the plan is to focus exclusively on CrossCar. There’s a reason for that because racing in both categories was pretty stressful. Now we’re going to use this week to recover, prepare the car, relax a little and then get ready to go racing again. After that, we’ll see what the future holds,” Thomas said after the Danish round.
Just eight points behind the championship leader, Thomas Eek Murstad heads to Buxtehude with a unique opportunity. One year after finally securing the title that had eluded him for so long, he now has one weekend to write another chapter in RallyX history.