After the success of the 2020 RallyX Nordic season opener at Höljes with the action-filled All-Star ‘Magic Weekend‘, the championship heads to Arvika for round three at Westombanan, which returns to the calendar after a one year break.
Round two winner and double World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson will be at his home track this weekend and has to be one of the favorites for the win, especially given the fact that rival Robin Larsson isn’t competing.
Another driver that could be at the front is double RX2 International Series winner Oliver Eriksson. At Höljes he had a nightmare start to his season after suffering mechanical issues with his car but is looking for a strong result to help climb up from fifth in the championship.
The only driver entered from outside of Europe is Jamaican Supercar newcomer Fraser McConnell (also a RX2 driver), after reaching the final last time out. His pass on Lukas Walfridson in-particular was noticed around the world, with the move now being dubbed the ‘superhero‘.
The third RX2 convert is Anders Michalak, who is entered in an older spec Ford Fiesta by Olsbergs MSE. After a strong appearance last time out, Michalak could be one to watch, even if the track this weekend is new to him while driving a 600bhp four-wheel-drive car.
Returning for round three is Hedströms Motorsport team manager Peter Hedström, who will be driving a newer Volkswagen Polo that last year was used by WRC regular Pontus Tidemand in the European Rallycross championship.
Lars Andersson will be in the second car for Hedströms Motorsport; this time in a similar Polo after competing in the opening event in a Ford Fiesta.
74-year-old Per Eklund, who also was involved in the building of the track being used this weekend, is also on the Supercar entry list.
Dan Öberg is also returning for his second outing in the Supercar class and is teaming up with Eklund for this weekend and is another driver who could be at the top of the timesheets, especially if his Magic Weekend pace is anything to go by while Daniel Thorén is another home driver and has become a series regular for the past two years.
Linus Westman will be hoping to put his Höljes performance behind him after being disqualified following several incidents and the Swedish 2400 class champion could use his knowledge of the track to his advantage.
Returning to championship also is former regular Stene Johansen, who made a great progress in term of pace last year while rounding out the class is newcomer Frank Valle, who hopes to have learned from his rollercoaster of a start to the season last time out.
In the Supercar Lites category, Jesse Kallio is another local driver who is expecting a good result this weekend. In the opening two rounds, he had some bad luck that caused him to struggle at times.
Opening-round winner Simon Olofsson is also one of the headliners for the weekend. Arvika has always been the track where Olofsson has performed well and is hoping for another class win this weekend.
But it will not be easy for Olofsson as he has both Linus Östlund and Henrik Krogstad fighting alongside him. Both drivers took podium finishes at Höljes and they could be again joined by Mats Oskarsson, who shocked everyone when he took third in round two.
Other Lites entrants include Nils Andersson, who is new to the class after competing in the CrossCar/Crosskart class in the past and Martin Jonsson and Martin Enlund, who are both potential round three winners.
Swedish Rallycross Championship regular Gustav Johansson, stepped up in his career this season as he will be doing a full-season campaign in Supercar Lites and has already proven at Höljes he has got the pace in the 340bph four-wheel-drive cars after a solid start to the season.
Nathalie Petersson seemed set to miss out the event but she announced on Monday evening she has received the funding she needs for the third round of the season. Petersson is keen to learn the car a lot more for Arvika, after her first outing last year ended up in a barrel roll at Höljes.
Rounding up the class is Lars Erik Haug, who was set to be joining at Höljes but he was forced to miss out due to travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The RallyX Nordic event will be joined by the Swedish Rallycross Championship and its four classes with 70+ entered drivers. The championship is set to get underway on Friday evening and continue throughout the weekend.
Andrew Coley usual commentator for the FIA World Rallycross Championship will again be the main broadcast TV commentator this weekend and will be joined by professional rallycross driver and journalist Hal Ridge for live streamed coverage. Molly Pettit will continue her work in the state-of-an-art studio, interviewing the drivers.
The subscription for the full-weekend costs 179 SEK (19,99€) and can be watched on SBF Play, with the livestream also available with Swedish commentary provided by Christian Holmudd. The event can also be watched on RallyX’s website and on Sunday on the SVT Swedish TV channel.
The third round of the RallyX Nordic series will be reported on by The Checkered Flag throughout the weekend including on our social media platforms.