BRITISH RALLYCROSS HITS PEMBREY
Ekstrom steps aside to give team-mate a last-gasp chance to chase title – and he wins
Former World Rallycross champion Mattias Ekstrom sacrificed his own result to help JC Raceteknik team-mate Robin Larsson claim the Rallyx Nordic Championship title in the season finale at Tierp last weekend.
Having already secured the European Championship title this year, racing Ekstrom’s 2016 World Rx-winning Audi S1, Larsson entered the final round of Rallyx Nordic five points behind leader Oliver Eriksson.
Larsson topped qualifying ahead of Ekstrom, the Swede making a one-off return to rallycross. But, while Ekstrom won semi-final two, a turbo issue for Larsson from the start of semi-final one meant, as points leader Eriksson took race victory, Larsson did not qualify for the final. Eriksson duly celebrated provisional championship success.
The event was thrown into confusion over whether Eriksson’s brother Kevin would receive a penalty for contact in the semis, which would allow Larsson into the final. That was dismissed but Ekstrom, who was due to start on pole, then withdrew from the final to allow Larsson to take the start.
In an incredible turn of events, Eriksson led the final from the front, but broken suspension on his Olsbergsmse Honda Civic with a lap to go put him out and second was enough for Larsson to claim the title by a single point.
“Today’s event is probably the weirdest I have ever been in,” said double Euro RX champion Larsson. “It went from everything, to nothing, and then to everything again. When I saw that Oliver Eriksson was parked up, and I got to the finish and they shouted on the radio that I won, at first I did not believe it.”
Larsson now has eyes on returning to World RX full time next year. He said: “Now we have ticked off these two golds, what happens next year we will see.”