Simon Syversen vant klassen RX Academy i helgens RallyX on Ice i Östersund.
Norwegian Simon-Wago Syversen (#8) claimed his first ever rallycross victory in the opening round of the 2018 RX Academy On Ice series at Östersund (February 3).
Racing in the competitive 10-car field at the first of four winter RX Academy races as part of the RallyX on Ice series, Syversen took the lead on lap one of the final, passing front-row starters Jesse Kallio (#47) and Oliver Bennett (#42), who had each won their semi-final.
Syversen lost track position when he took his compulsory extra-route joker on lap four, allowing reigning RX Academy Champion Kallio to seize the advantage. The Norwegian regained the position when Kallio also took his joker on the final tour and held on to score victory. Wiman was second and Kallio finished third.
The best start in the final was made by Finnish driver Joni Wiman (#31) from the third row of the grid. The former GRC Champion attempted a move around the outside of the first corner but couldn’t make it stick; thereafter he was embroiled in the three-way battle for victory with Syversen and Kallio.
Further back, Norwegian Oliver Solberg (#11) had won his races in Q1 and Q3, but had finished third in his semi-final and then had a slow getaway in the final, on his debut racing an RX Academy Renault Clio RS RX, adapted for the wintery ice conditions.
Solberg immediately took his joker at the first opportunity, but unsighted by snow dust had side-by-side contact with RX Academy event-winner Marat Knyazev (#96), and dropped to sixth. British Rallycross Championship Supercar racer Bennett ran fourth in the opening stages, but was forced out of the encounter after a racing incident with Knyazev, allowing Solberg to climb to fourth.
Double RX Academy podium finisher Sami-Matti Trogen (#22) won his race in Q2 but just missed out on a place in the final by finishing fourth in semi-final one, just ahead of reigning Estonian Super1600 Champion Marko Muru (#27), who made his RX Academy debut in Ostersund.
Crosskart racers Isak Reiersen (#70) and Jimi Kalliomaki (#95) made solid starts to their motorsport career in cars. Kalliomaki was unlucky to roll his Clio RS RX in Q3, but the RX Academy technicians repaired the car and both young drivers finished semi-final two fourth and fifth respectively.
Östersund Winner: Simon-Wago Syversen
“The conditions were quite even for everybody coming here and it was much easier to complete with the guys than it was when I did a race in RX Academy last summer when they had a lot more seat time than me. It was great fun and it was good competition. I got a really good start in the semi-final and final so I could drive my own race and kind of control the pack. I wasn’t sure if Jesse had taken the joker or not, but I pushed hard and managed to get back in front of him. It’s a great way to start the season.”
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Results
Supercar Lites Final
1. Oliver ERIKSSON SWE 6 laps
2. Sondre EVJEN NOR +7.002s
3. Cyril RAYMOND FRA +7.849s
4. Vasiliy GRYAZIN LVA +12.420s
5. Ben Philip GUNDERSEN NOR +6 laps
6. Conner MARTELL USA +6 laps
Speedcar Xtreme Final
1. Finn Erik LØBERG NOR 6 laps
2. Kevin HANSEN SWE +16.412s
3. Niclas GRÖNHOLM FIN +21.904s
4. Aleksander WIIK NOR +24.092s
5. Jonathan ESKILSSON SWE +3 laps
6. Jimmie ÖSTERBERG SWE +6 laps
2018 RallyX on Ice Calendar
February 3 Östersund, Sweden
February 10 Höljes, Sweden
February 25 Ål, Norway
March 3 Gol, Norway