Linus Östlund

 

After cutting his teeth in national Crosskart competition in the formative stages of his career – claiming six domestic titles – Linus Östlund stepped up to rallycross at Supercar Lites level.

The Swede made his international debut in the class in the World Championship-supporting RX2 Series at his home circuit of Höljes in 2017, going on to stun seasoned observers at the same track the following year by finishing second on his RallyX Nordic bow behind eventual champion and future World RX and RX2e driver Guillaume De Ridder.

Buoyed by the outcome of those sporadic appearances, Östlund truly made his mark in 2019 as he put together an impressive championship challenge in RallyX Nordic, ultimately scooping the runner-up spoils after prevailing at both Finnskogbanen and Tierp. He added to that success with second position in RX2 at Höljes and fifth in Cape Town.

The Sysslebäck native wound up fourth in RallyX Nordic in 2020 – barrel-rolling spectacularly out of title contention on the last day of the season in Denmark – and sixth in the truncated RX2 Series, before improving to third in RallyX Nordic in 2021, tallying three podiums along the way. He also secured SM (Swedish Championship) honours in both 2019 and 2020.

Östlund joined the RX2e grid for round two of the inaugural campaign at Höljes in 2021, transitioning to Euro RX1 at the Värmland circuit a year later.