Kovács keen to keep podium run going on home soil

The 2023 Hungarian Rallycross Championship runner-up at Super1600 level, Kovács has described this season – his first on the international stage – as a ‘learning year’. On the basis of his performance in Sweden, he is learning fast.

Behind the wheel of his Korda Racing-run Škoda Fabia, the Budapest native recovered from a slow launch in his heat one race to win comfortably, before pushing experienced European protagonist João Ribeiro all the way in heat two, taking the chequered flag a close second.

A first lap joker in heat three cost Kovács ground, and he subsequently survived a grassy moment in heat four in the wet the next morning to secure third in the intermediate ranking – and with it, a front row grid slot for the semi-final.

Mastering the tricky conditions, the 20-year-old stole the lead from pole-sitter Ribeiro at the start and then simply drove off into the distance, completing his weekend’s work in the final by maturely keeping his head to finish third. He will duly travel to his home round in a few days’ time a mere six points shy of the summit of the championship standings – and with more silverware in his sights.

“I went to Höljes without any big expectations as this is a learning year for me,” Kovács mused. “It was already a huge pleasure just to race there, not to mention the result we achieved.

“The team helped me a lot to find a good set-up for the car in the dry on the Saturday. We managed to win our first heat race, and I was very pleased to end the day in third place overall.

“The Sunday was then a whole different story when the rain came! Fortunately, we were able to adapt to the new conditions quickly, although I had a challenging final as I messed up the start and from second on the grid, I arrived at the first corner down in fifth. Thankfully, a good joker call from my spotter enabled me to climb back to third.

“I could never have imagined I would finish on the podium on my Euro RX3 debut, and I certainly could not have accomplished that result without my team who supported me so well throughout.

“Now, I’m really looking forward to Nyirád as it is my home event. There are lot of Hungarian racers on the entry list who I know are fast, so it will be an exciting weekend. My main goal is to fight for the podium again.”