Fraser McConnell beat out Oliver Eriksson for the top qualifier at Glen Helen Raceway for round 4 of Nitro Rallycross. This comes as McConnell’s first overall win as the top qualifier in the Nitro Rallycross series. Fraser has finished atop the podium before but this marks a significant step in his performance as it puts him in the first heat to make the most of his advantageous position for heat racing.
His competitor, Oliver Eriksson made another great performance through the battle brackets after successfully beating Travis Pastrana who coincidentally was the fastest in free practice earlier in the day. Oliver then continued on to beat his own brother Kevin Eriksson in his second round of battles. However, his momentum was stopped when McConnell won in the final as he finished second on the day.
Dreyer & Reinbold teammates and RX Cartel heads Andreas Bakkerud and Robin Larsson raced a mixed first day. Bakkerud beat Conner Martell in his first battle bracket whereas Larsson lost against Kevin Eriksson. The Norwegian superstar would ultimately fall short in his battle with Oliver Eriksson after the second battle bracket concluded.
The Vermont Sportscar drivers would struggle Saturday as Travis Pastrana and Connor Martell wouldn’t make it too far in the battle brackets. Martell battled fiercely with Bakkerud as they swapped places turn after turn but the ladder would come out successful. Pastrana struggled with a turn that dropped him back a bit but he could never recover to bring the fight to his competition in his first bracket.
XITE Energy Racing would have a troubling first day after it was announced that Jenson Button would not be racing this weekend due to damage to the car after his first practice and his lack of confidence with the gap jump. This would be Button’s first attempt at racing with a gap jump so the team decided to run with Oliver Bennet solely. Bennet would be beaten in his first battle bracket after having a fierce battle with Fraser McConnell.
With Fraser leading the way into the second day of racing, he will have some bonus points to bring to help his championship fight. Racing resumes Sunday for heat racing and finals in the fourth round of Nitro Rallycross.
