The 2016 FIA World Rallycross champion Mattias Ekström is currently sitting second in the World RX driver’s championship after a successful weekend at the start of the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship at Höljes in Sweden last weekend after claiming a podium finish on Saturday and win on Sunday.
Ekström had only planned to enter the two-first round of the season for KYB Team JC to replace Janis Baumanis who isn’t able do a full-season due to having budget issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This weekend the championship is returning to Kouvola in Finland for first time in six years for the rounds three and four of the condensed season. Finland will be hosting the second double-header of this season with the drivers taking part in four rounds of championship in just eight days.
Ekström will once again be teaming up with Robin Larsson under the KYB Team JC banner, racing in a pair of Audi S1 EKS Quattro supercars built and developed by Ekström’s own EKS team before being sold to JC Raceteknik.
“The idea from the beginning was that Mattias’ entry would only be a one-off for Holjes, but now we have the opportunity to continue the cooperation in Finland too. Mattias is very important in KYB Team JC, so getting him to race in the next two rounds feels really nice, both for Robin’s sake and the whole team.” Joel Christoffersson, Team Principal, said.
“We go to Finland with a victory and a second place in the bag, and a nice lead in the Teams’ Championship. We’ve all got the taste for that now, and the goal is to continue fighting for points in in both the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships.”
Ekström has never raced at Kouvola before but Larsson does know the track well as he won there in a 2018 spec Audi last year when the RallyX Nordic series visited.
“It’s exciting to drive with KYB Team JC again in Finland. I’ve never been there and raced before, so I do not know what to expect from the track. But, I look forward to another fantastic weekend with the team and go there with the same attitude as to Holjes – to do my best together with a good team.” Ekström said.
