Bakkerud’s ‘burning’ desire to complete missing piece of the puzzle

Three times an FIA European Rallycross Champion – once in Euro RX1 and twice in Super1600 (now Euro RX3) – Bakkerud has achieved a great deal over the course of his illustrious career to-date.

While best known for his exploits and achievements in the popular dual-surface discipline – including seven victories at world championship level – the Norwegian has similarly excelled in Nitrocross and Extreme E, winning the final race in the latter just four months ago. Also on his glittering CV are Pikes Peak, the Andros Trophy, the Danish Thundersport Championship, a DTM test and long-distance GT races. Despite that success, however, he insists there is one box that remains unticked.

“I still feel there is unfinished business,” Bakkerud reflected during an interview with Hal Ridge on the new Talking Loose podcast series. “I’ve been European champion in rallycross and world championship silver and bronze. I’ve finished runner-up in Nitrocross. You know, I’ve done all of this, but there is one missing piece of the puzzle.”

He is alluding, of course, to the coveted FIA World Rallycross Championship Drivers’ crown, which he came within a whisker of clinching back in 2019, when he and Timmy Hansen ended up tied on points following a dramatic season finale in South Africa, where they collided on the opening lap of the final. Both were able to continue, with the Swede ultimately getting the verdict on countback. 

“It took a long time for me to get over that,” Bakkerud candidly acknowledged. “I remember, I met Timmy the next year in France while testing for Extreme E, and he said he had thought the championship title was going to give him much more than it did. It didn’t, but at the end of the day, it did, because he got all these chances like Extreme E, a good salary, a good car in a good team, partnerships... whereas I felt I was just not in that window to get any of it.

“Extreme E took Johan Kristoffersson, they tried to get Petter [Solberg], they got Timmy, Mattias [Ekström], Carlos Sainz, Jenson Button – all these drivers who were former world champions in something, and I didn’t have that title. So for sure, it helped his career, but I still have a chance and a bullet left in my chamber...” 

Promising to ‘strike back’, the Bergen native will need to wait a couple of seasons before World RX resumes from its current hiatus, but when it does, he makes no bones about the fact that one of his major motivations is the prospect of taking on Johan Kristoffersson and beating him to the biggest prize. 

The Swede was not on the grid seven years ago when Bakkerud and Hansen duelled doorhandle-to-doorhandle for honours, but since 2017, nobody has got the better of him in a straight fight. The Euro RX returnee wants to be the first.

“The journey I’ve started now is towards putting myself in a good position for the world championship in 2028,” Bakkerud reasoned. “I want to put the whole package together and lock it, not only car-wise but in terms of people as well.

“I would love to beat Johan Kristoffersson. One time. Like everybody else! He’s incredibly skilled and such a strong driver, and I think of him and his team a lot – and how to beat them! It’s something burning inside of me.

“I would like to gather everyone close to me to build up this thing together – our own team from Bergen – and set the stamp on the championship by winning the title. I don’t know what the future holds after that, but I’m getting older. I keep telling everyone I’m 31 or 32, but I’m actually 35 this year. That to me is wild – I still feel like I’ve just turned 20.

“So I would still like to win a world championship title and be able to walk around the streets, the cockiest [guy] ever from Bergen! Conor McGregor would have nothing on me!”