Having reached the rostrum as a rookie
in Portugal in 2022 and topped a heat session for the first time in Hong Kong
last year, Andersson entered her third campaign at the international pinnacle
of the dual-surface discipline bidding to further build upon that encouraging
progress.
In front of a crowd of more than
25,000 enthusiastic fans at the sport’s ‘Magic Weekend’, the Swede achieved
that in style as World RX’s eagerly-anticipated ‘Battle of Technologies’
between electric and sustainably-fuelled internal combustion cars got underway.
Wins in both of her heat races on Saturday
propelled Andersson to the summit of the intermediate standings, from where she
outpaced both Hansen brothers and her own CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction
Equipment stablemate Niclas Grönholm to prevail in the first semi-final.
That earned the 24-year-old pole
position for the final, when it was only a slightly hesitant launch that cost
her the advantage to Kristoffersson. Despite that disappointment, she continued
to keep her countryman honest throughout, lapping barely a tenth-of-a-second adrift
of the Volkswagen driver’s benchmark as she confidently led the electric charge
on her way to securing the runner-up spoils.
While she narrowly missed out on a
second consecutive final appearance 24 hours later – betraying her lack of
experience in wet conditions – Andersson nonetheless professed herself justifiably
proud of a superb start to the campaign that leaves her sitting joint-second in
the championship classification.
“It was a fun, rewarding and
educative season-opener,” the Löberöd native reflected. “To make history in front of 25,000 people at my home event
is something I will never forget. My
first time at the ‘Magic Weekend’ was back when I was 12-years-old. That
weekend was when my dream of competing in rallycross began, and it means the
world to me to be able to do what I love – I’m grateful for it every day and
every lap.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we
achieved on Saturday. I’ve never felt so strong in the World Championship. That
was my
strongest day so far in World RX, I would say – almost a clean sweep. Everything
just came together and I felt quick right from first practice, and to finish on
the podium was really nice. If there’s one place you want to have a really good
weekend, it’s Höljes.
“The conditions were pretty tricky on
Sunday and I lacked a bit of experience in the wet in order to fight for the
top again – it was only my second time driving
this car in the rain. Still, we got some more good points in the bag and I’m very pleased overall, especially for
the team’s performance. It looks like we are in for a tough and exciting season!”
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