Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia

Olsbergs MSE Ford leads teams in FIA World Rallycross Championship

Consistent performance at Lydden Hill moves OMSE to top.

Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar

Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar

FIA World Rallycross

Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar
Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar
Timur Timerzyanov, Reinis Nitiss, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar
JRM Racing's MINI RX: Guy Wilks
Reinis Nitiss, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar
Timur Timerzyanov, Ford Olsbergs MSE Fiesta ST Supercar
Andreas Bakkerud
Andreas Bakkerud
Anton Marklund, Petter Solberg, Reinis Nitiss
Andreas Bakkerud
Andreas Bakkerud
Reinis Nitiss

Lydden Hill, UK  - The Olsbergs MSE Ford team moved into the lead of the FIA World Rallycross Championship teams standings this weekend after a solid pair of performances from drivers Reinis Nitiss and Andreas Bakkerud at the storied Lydden Hill Circuit.

"From a driver and team standpoint, this year's World RX field is really good," said Olsbergs MSE team owner Andreas Eriksson. "To have both OMSE cars in the finals three times in a row is an accomplishment."

Olsbergs MSE Ford team is the defending FIA World Rallycross Championship team and Eriksson said Sunday he's committed to the future of the sport. "I think we have more to prove from the driver side as we move forward this year," said Eriksson. "It is there. Both drivers are young, and need experience to grow."

I've never seen more crowds here at Lydden Hill than I have today,

Andreas Bakkerud

Both were near the top of the field in their Ford Fiesta ST rallycross cars throughout the weekend, with Bakkerud fourth and Nitiss fifth in Intermediate points after the heats. They scored second and third in their respective Semi-Final races to secure positions in the Final.

"Bakkerud and I were both in the mix all weekend, and consistent, and I'm happy with that," said Nitiss who, at 19, is racing only his second season of Supercars competition in rallycross this year.

It was a nail-biter of a Final for Bakkerud, who missed the podium by only three-tenths of a second after contact with rival Johan Kristoffersson on the last downhill straightaway before the checkered flag.

Nitiss started the Final on the third row and trailed the leaders into the first corner. He battled hard but wasn't able to find a way through the pack. He finished fifth. Timur Timerzyanov, who is campaigning as an independent for the driver's title in the Red Bull / Viatti Ford Fiesta ST, spun out in the third heat and missed out on the main event.

"I've never seen more crowds here at Lydden Hill than I have today," said Bakkerud, who was just a teenager competing in the Super 1600 category when he first visited the British track five years ago. "It's so amazing to have a crowd like this here. These are rallycross fans through and through."

The Lydden Hill Circuit is considered by many to be the spiritual home of the sport of rallycross. It is the track where the first rallycross events were held in the late 1960s. Fans packed into the venue for Round 4 of the FIA World Rallycross this year.

Some 29 Supercars were entered in the World RX of Great Britain, along with stacked fields in the Super 1600 and Touring Car categories. In addition, 12 Olsbergs MSE-built RX Lites returned for their second outing of the season. Olsbergs MSE team driver Kevin Eriksson finished second, while his younger brother Oliver Eriksson was fourth. Sandra Hultgren, who joins the team this season for the first time, earned a fourth-place finish in her Semi-Final and did not qualify for the Final.

After four races in just five weeks, the FIA World Rallycross Championship now takes a month-long break before returning with Round 5, June 19-21 in Buxtehude, Germany.

But the Olsbergs MSE team's busy international schedule is just getting started. Red Bull Global Rallycross team drivers Joni Wiman and Sebastian Eriksson will compete in the 2015 season opener this coming weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, followed by a high-profile event a week later at the X Games action sport festival in Austin, Texas.

Olsbergs MSE Ford

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Final success for JRM Racing at World RX of Great Britain
Next article Bumper entry for Germany RX at the Estering

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia