Already crowned RallyX North champion this season at the wheel of the FC2, Oliver Eriksson will arrive in Montalegre with a rare ambition. On 24 and 25 October, the Swede will fight for victory in two different categories, competing in both the FC2 and the spectacular FC1/Hypercar.
His RallyX North campaign produced three victories and six podium finishes on the way to the title secured last August. The RallyX Global Final will now give him the opportunity to carry that momentum into an international field in Portugal.
His programme will not, however, be limited to the category in which he claimed the championship. Eriksson will also compete in FC1, a car he raced this season in RallyX Americas.
Fourth in the final standings, just 12 points behind 2026 champion Tommi Hallman, the Swede recorded his best result of the season at Eldora Speedway with a third-place finish.
“With a title to be decided over two days of racing, everything changes to some extent. That said, I’m already quite used to switching between FC1 and FC2 from one event to another, between RallyX Americas and the European RallyX rounds. It’s definitely a bit of a challenge, but it’s not something completely new to me.”
At Montalegre, everyone will start from zero and the title will be awarded on the combined points scored across the two days of competition.
For Eriksson, however, that format will not fundamentally alter his approach.
“Personally, it doesn’t change much for me. Every time I start a race, I’m there to win. That’s always the objective. It will be exactly the same here: try to win both days. If I can do that, I think I’ll have a very good chance. The strategy is quite simple: go for the win and hope that it’s enough.”
FC1 experience, a relative advantage
His RallyX Americas programme means Eriksson will arrive at Montalegre with recent FC1 experience, although several of his future rivals have also accumulated plenty of seat time in the car.
“I don’t know if that really represents such an advantage anymore. A lot of drivers have built up a significant amount of seat time in FC1 now, because the car is widely used in the United States and has become popular there.”
“There are a lot of very good drivers in FC1 who already have solid experience with the car. Honestly, I don’t think I’m among those with the most seat time, especially compared with some of the others. I think we’re quite close in that respect and that the experience levels are fairly even.”
Eriksson therefore prefers to keep his approach simple.
“You just have to go out there, do your best, be really determined and not do anything stupid. Then you simply have to get the job done.”
When it comes to choosing between the two categories, however, the Swede refuses to place one above the other.
“In general, fighting for wins is always fun. Whether it’s in FC1 or FC2 doesn’t really matter to me. Obviously, the ideal situation would be to win in both.”
“Both categories are important to me. I can’t really choose one over the other. If I can succeed in both, that’s obviously what I want. I’ll do my best in both. If it doesn’t work out in one but it does in the other, that’s not a problem.”
“I’ll simply try to reach the top step of the podium. I don’t really have a preference and I can’t choose one over the other. Winning in either one would already be fantastic.”
Montalegre will therefore offer Oliver Eriksson a rare opportunity: to fight for two titles over the course of the same weekend.