Chris Atkinson BlogGlobal Rallycross

Chris Atkinson Blog: Half season wrap

2 Mins read
Credit: Louis Yio/Red Bull GRC

I can’t believe we are already half way through the season. We’ve had some highs, some lows and plenty of action. Every track we go to, we know we are going to be competitive now and then it comes down to all the other parts that make GRC so awesome.

Obviously we were all gutted in Louisville when a problem that we hadn’t seen before, or since, left us on the sidelines. This was even harder to take given the pace the car was showing around the track. The whole SRTUSA team pulled together and worked even harder to make sure that it wouldn’t happen again and the car would be even better for Thompson.

With Thompson being a home event for the team and a lot of family and friends there, there was added pressure to get the result. The Thompson track really made for some awesome racing, it was challenging with a bit of everything. Also a big difference between the joker lap and main lap, opened up some real strategy with the racing. Day 1 once again showed how competitive we could be, but I got taken out in the second restart in turn 1 and had to fight from the back of the field up to 7th, which was so disappointing having shown we were a top  5 if not top 3 car all weekend.

Atko took Subaru back to the podium in Thompson – Credit: Louis Yio/Red Bull GRC

Finally on the second day, we were able to get the start in the final that got us racing at the front. I pushed hard every lap and it seemed to go on forever, crossing the line in 3rd. The first podium for the team in over 2years….. What a feeling, that was just epic. Yeah it’s only a 3rd, but the turn around this team has made since last season is unreal.

Then up to Canada, obviously expectations were high after the podium and with a 4th on day 1, we knew we had a chance on day 2. But then rallycross came back to bite us. With our start position, we knew we would have to go around the outside to have a chance and it worked really well. Unfortunately a touch of wheels sent me straight into the tyre bundle and flipped the car. As the car spun around and landed back on its wheels, I fired her up and drove off. With the red flag out, I knew we had a chance to get back out there.

The guys did everything they could in a few minutes and got us back out for the restart. The car amazingly still drove pretty well and I gave it everything I had in the final. I couldn’t see over the bonnet which was bent up but was still able to get the car over the line and score some points. That’s rallycross and what makes it so exciting and unpredictable. Now to the second half…

Atko

Next up for Atko and SRTUSA is Indianapolis this weekend – Credit: Louis Yio/Red Bull GRC

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Dominik Wilde is a professional motorsport and motoring writer that has covered events in both the UK and USA. His main focus for the Checkered Flag is covering Americas Rallycross and Nitro Rallycross.
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