Oliver Eriksson Becomes Fifth Nitro Rallycross Race Winner at GP3R
It was another 1-2 finish for a Nitro Rallycross Group E team in Saturday’s feature from Grand Prix Trois-Rivieres, but this one was extra sweet for Olsbergs MSE, builders of the First Corner FC1-X that the series uses in its premier class. Brothers Oliver and Kevin Eriksson, the sons of OMSE owner Andreas Eriksson, took the top two spots in the feature, while points leader Robin Larsson of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing took the podium.
The win was the latest in a long list of accomplishments for the Swedish race team, whose vehicle builds have been the spec car of choice for multiple series and class levels over the past decade. It was their first in the FC1-X, making the younger Eriksson the fifth different winner in seven rounds so far this season. But it was also a fitting triumph given the team’s long history, which includes multiple years of running the RallyX on Ice promotion in Scandinavia.
Fraser McConnell outdueled his DRR teammate Andreas Bakkerud for Top Qualifier honors on Friday, but it was the Erikssons who won the two heats to earn the front row starting spots in the eight-car final. Multiple wrecks peppered the late stages of the event, as Kris Meeke got into his Xite Energy Racing teammate Oliver Bennett and Vermont SportsCar’s Conner Martell in the last chance qualifier to cause a major wreck and eliminate himself.
In the final, series founder Travis Pastrana—running a tribute to the late Ken Block’s snow camouflage livery for the weekend, as the series retired Block’s signature #43—got stuck in a snow bank after contending for a podium, and backed into Bakkerud while trying to re-enter the track. Pastrana was dropped from fifth to last in the final for causing the incident.
The unique race at GP3R also featured a unique set of support races. The side-by-side class that had been running in America returned with a non-points event, where US points leader Gregoire Michaud and Mark Meyer split the victories. But NRX also welcomed Canadian stage rally cars to the track, with a pair of races for both 4WD and 2WD divisions that more closely resembled the early days of Global Rallycross than anything—and meant the return of Subarus to an NRX track. Jerome Mailloux swept the all-Subaru 4WD races, while the 2WD rounds went to Martin Langlois in a BMW 320i.
Larsson remains well in control of the Group E standings, holding a 58-point lead over Bakkerud and 68-point advantage on McConnell, while Oliver Eriksson and Pastrana complete the top five. Drivers will only have two more events to score points: another ice race on February 4-5 at Stampede Park in Calgary, and a doubleheader finale that brings the series back to Glen Helen Raceway on March 17-19.
Photo credit: Louis Yio