Tredjeplass til Syversen

Helene Hvaal deltok også i denne klassen på Gol. Hun tok seg til en semifinale, men der ble hun slått ut.

Pressenmelding fra RX Academy:

Sami-Matti Trogen (#22) won the final round of RX Academy on Ice at Gol in Norway as Jesse Kallio (#47) secured the inaugural winter title, finishing equal on points with rival Joni Wiman (#31) in a nail-biting showdown [March 3].

15-year old Trogan won both his semi-final and the final, leading from the front to score his first win in the RX Academy concept, having twice finished on the podium in the 2017 summer season and at the previous winter round in Ål.

While Trogen secured event-victory by passing Estonian Marko Muru (#27), the battle for the first ever RX Academy On Ice title raged throughout the day at Gol. Following back-to-back wins, reigning RX Academy Champion Kallio headed the order into the final round, two points ahead of 2014 Global Rallycross Champion Wiman.

Thanks to qualifying wins in Q1 and Q2, Wiman drew level in the standings at the Intermediate Classification, as Kallio battled through the pack in his races, winning in Q2.

Trogen topped the Intermediate standings and led semi-final one throughout, while Wiman battled Kallio in semi-final two, until the closing stages when Kallio passed Wiman, and both were cleared by Muru, who had taken an early joker which resulted in semi-final victory.

Muru and Trogen lined up on the front row for the final, Muru again taking an early joker after the lights went green while Torgen ran to the final lap before taking his extra-route. Muru then took the lead, but ran wide at the final corner, Trogen making a pass on the inside to score victory ahead of Muru.

Kallio ran fourth in the opening lap before moving past Wiman for third, the latter taking his joker on the next lap. With the pack racing bumper-to-bumper, Kallio attempted to pass Norwegian Simon Syversen (#8) at the end of the penultimate lap but lost track position and finished sixth.

Former French Rallycross Champion Firmin Cadeddu (#62) fought back from contact with Muru in their Q3 race to join the Estonian on the podium, ahead of Wiman, Syversen and Kallio.

Wiman’s fourth place was enough to again draw level in the standings with Kallio, but on wins count-back, the title was Kallio’s.

Swedish driver Isak Reiersen (#70) impressed with a series of fast starts throughout the day and only just missed out on a place in the final, while Jimi Kalliomaki (#95) was forced out of contention in the semi-finals after contact and a spin into a snow bank.

RX Academy on Ice’s two newest drivers, Helene Hvaal (#7) and Edijs Oss (#6) both improved throughout the day while dealing with the changeable track conditions, aided by the RX Academy driver coaches.

Gol Winner: Sami-Matti Trogen

“It feels really good to win, especially because in the semi-final and final the track was in really bad condition. It was really hard to drive. Marko went wide in the last corner of the final and I was able to overtake him. Winning at the end of the season is really nice. I’ve learnt a lot this winter, the first two races were really tough for me so it’s really good to have the pace here and to win. This will help me a lot for driving in the wet and for bad conditions in the summer.”

Gol Second: Marko Muru

“It’s amazing, I really didn’t expect this after the crash in Q3. The semi-final was hard, but it was great to finish first. I pushed really hard. In the final I took the joker on the first lap and got stuck behind the other cars but I don’t want to overtake because the front of the car was a bit fragile after my crash in Q3. It was very close in the last corner, but it feels amazing to finish on the podium.”

Gol Third: Firmin Cadeddu

“This is truly incredible. After a little crash in Q3 it was really hard to be ready for the semi-final and to qualify for the final. I was more confident with the car all through the day and now it’s done. A big thanks to all the RX Academy team for this incredible experience. I’ve really learnt a lot through these races, there’s a good spirit with good guys. I must also say a big thanks to my mechanic today, he worked really hard after the crash in Q3. I pushed hard through the semi-final and final, and this is the best way to repay him.”

RX Academy On Ice Champion: Jesse Kallio

“It has been a really challenging series. Especially the last race and the final were very tight. I wasn’t sure after the finish line if I had won the title or not, but I am the champion – luckily I made it. In every corner in the semi-final and final I was trying to overtake. There was a lot of traffic and I made a couple of mistakes, especially at the start of the last lap in the final, but it was a good end. There are some really talented guys here, especially Joni who has won a lot in rallycross so to beat him is something really nice.”

Head of RX Academy: Jussi Pinomäki

“We have all been on quite a journey since the snow storm in the pre-event test five weeks ago, before the first round in Ostersund. The racing this weekend was very close, the drivers enjoyed being on another different circuit and it’s fantastic to have a new winner and two new faces on the podium. The racing was very fair in the final, congratulations to Jesse for winning the series, tied on points with Joni. That’s a great way to end. Again I have to say I’m so impressed with the ‘kids’, Iask, Jimi, Marko and Sami-Matti, who are just 14 and 15-years old. Racing against much more experienced drivers they look like racing drivers on track – like they have been here for years. Now we turn out attention to the summer season and look forward to continuing to build on what we have.”