Røsrud Dominates Opening Day of Euro RX3 at Höljes

With bleary eyes from Happy Street festivities the night before, the Swedish faithful turned out in force, spilling across the banks of the Höljesbanan in their thousands. They came to watch rallycross’s rising stars, and they got every bit of the chaos and class they came for.

While Höljes isn’t officially a home round for Norwegian youngster Markus Røsrud, it might as well be. Spurred on by a passionate Scandinavian crowd, Røsrud delivered a standout performance. Despite sustaining damage on the exit of the joker lap in Q1, he held off a hard-charging Sámuel Kovács to win his heat and clock the fastest time of the session.

Q2 brought more of the same. With a lightning launch off the line, Røsrud quickly pulled clear of the pack, securing a commanding lead and finishing over a second from the nearest challenger. That effort secured him a clean sweep of victories and the full 100 qualifying points on offer.

Hot on his heels was João Ribeiro, the current championship leader. He remained in striking distance throughout Q1, finishing just half a second behind Røsrud. Their battle intensified in Q2, as the two traded tenths in a nail-biting heat. At the flag, João was only two seconds adrift of  Røsrud, bagging himself 90 valuable points to maintain his championship push.

Kovács rounded out the top three. A tactical early joker in Q1 gave the Hungarian enough breathing space to pick his way through the chaos and chase down a leading Røsrud .He went door-to-door with João Ribeiro in Q2, rubbing panels and swapping spots before settling for third, securing himself 84 points.

Nicolas Gelenyens turned heads with a bold Q1 drive. The Antiguan youngster was rapid from the off, hugging the drier lines and holding off heavy pressure from Dominik Senegacnik to take a heat win and go fourth overall. Q2 proved trickier, but his earlier effort left him in a solid fourth position at the days end with 80 points on the board.

Rounding out the top five was Portuguese driver Andre Sousa, who made the most of his position on pole courtesy of yesterday’s qualifying draw to post consistent times earning him a respectable 78 qualifying points.

Further down the order, Tiago Ferriera looked on form early in Q1 and launched into a commanding lead in his second run. But it all came undone on the final lap, as Balázs Körmöczi lunged up the inside and chaos followed. Ferriera was forced out with a DNF, the clash robbing him of what looked like a certain top-five finish.

With Saturday’s action wrapped up, all eyes now turn to Sunday’s two remaining qualifying sessions, which will shape the path to the semi-finals and the all-important final. With more rain in the forecast, everything is still up for grabs in Sweden.

Click here for provisional FIA European Rallycross Championship RX3 classification.

Click here to schedule tomorrow’s action live and free on the FIA World Rallycross Championship YouTube Channel.