Nils Andersson celebrated
his title triumph in last season’s FIA RX2e Championship at Sweden’s annual Bilsportgala
last weekend (20 January) – as the Team E star outlined his intentions to
successfully defend his crown in 2024.
Although he has yet
to win a round in the fiercely-contested series – which features on the undercard to the FIA World Rallycross
Championship – Andersson proved himself last year to be the master of consistency, as the only driver
to advance to the final in all five outings, book-ending his campaign with second-place
finishes in Norway and Germany.
That was
sufficient to secure the 24-year-old Arvika native the main prize, and at the Bilsportgala ceremony in Jönköping, he received a number of additional
accolades, including the public-voted ‘Junior Rallycross Driver’ of the Year’
award as well as a special scholarship
from the Essebro-Anecto
Memorial
Fund, set up in memory of the
young
Swedish karters
who sadly
lost
their lives in an aeroplane
accident
at Milan’s
Linate
Airport in 2001.
“It was a real
honour to be recognised by the Swedish Federation and Bilsport for my
achievements last year, and a big surprise to receive the scholarship,”
Andersson acknowledged. “It was an unforgettable evening!
“The championship
was always my goal last season, right from the start, and that stayed in the
back of my mind throughout. There were a lot of races where maybe I could have
taken a few more risks to try to win, but I knew how important it was to secure
the points and stay focussed on the bigger picture so I held myself back.
“Often, it was a
case of playing the percentages between when to go for a move and when to err
on the side of caution. As an example, I was happy to follow [Tommi] Hallman throughout
both the semi-final and the final in Germany, knowing he was not in the fight
for the championship and that I was ahead of my main rivals. I was similarly
mindful of looking after the tyres to make sure I avoided punctures – at the end
of the day, that’s all it would have taken in the final at the Estering to cost
me the title.
“It was a really tough
and enjoyable battle throughout the season with Isak [Sjökvist] and Mikaela [Åhlin-Kottulinsky],
and I think the key to my success was consistency and keeping calm. Even if it
came at the expense of winning races, I knew I needed to stay smart, and it was
good to see that approach pay off in the end.
“It’s always
super-close in a single-spec series, when everybody has the same equipment at
their disposal and the same opportunity to win. The margins are so fine that it’s
hard to make a difference, which means it all comes down to the tiniest details,
but in 2024, I’m aiming to become RX2e’s first double champion – and this time,
I want to win some rounds along the way!”