Volland dominates Euro RX3 field for maiden victory

Back at the scene of his podium-finishing FIA European Rallycross Championship debut last year, Nils Volland showed all of his rivals a clean pair of heels in Hell last weekend (17-18 June), dominating every session to claim a brilliant breakthrough victory in only his seventh Euro RX3 start.

Volland came out-of-the-blocks on fine form in the Hungarian season curtain-raiser back in April, but his challenge collapsed on the second day. In Portugal, the German kick-started his campaign by reaching the rostrum, but still, even he admitted to being surprised at his speed out-of-the-box in Norway.

“This is just awesome!” the 22-year-old enthused. “I knew from last year that this track suits me pretty well and coming back, I was aiming to be up at the front, of course. I felt comfortable from the beginning of the weekend, but to be the fastest in every session was something else and definitely more than I could have expected. This is amazing for me.”

If Volland was unbeatable, then home hero Espen Isaksætre looked likely to be his biggest rival after going second-quickest in all four heats and then winning the second semi-final. An error on the opening lap of the final, however, not only gifted his team-mate a handy margin at the head of the order, it also allowed fellow Audi driver Damian Litwinowicz to steal past into second.

The Pole had looked to be on the back foot as he uncharacteristically trailed his two Volland Racing stablemates all weekend, but gratefully accepted his slice of good fortune to extend his championship lead with the runner-up spoils.

Behind the pace-setting trio, Norwegian duo Jens Hvaal and Martin Kjær duelled it out for the honour of finishing as ‘best-of-the-rest’, with the former narrowly prevailing to take the chequered flag fourth. On his seasonal bow, Siim Saluri rounded out the finalists in sixth.

The 2023 Euro RX3 campaign continues with round four at Höljes in Sweden on 1-2 July.