Reigning champion lays down a marker on the first day of qualifying racing for round two of the 2025 FIA World Rallycross Championship. The local hero led home a swathe of Swedish talents in the toughest of conditions at the legendary Höljes circuit.

Typically unpredictable – a phrase that applies as much to the FIA World Rallycross Championship as it does to the Swedish summer weather. The top talents on tarmac and gravel have had to face every conceivable track condition on the first competitive day of action at the Magic Weekend in Höljes, but it’s familiar face Johan Kristofferson with a commanding lead after two of four qualifying sessions.

Both of Kristoffersson’s heats saw him scything into the first corner at the head of the pack – and from there he pulled a steady gap that will leave the KMS driver’s rivals hoping for a change in fortunes, and weather, for tomorrow to give them a chance to catch up.

Round 1 winner Niclas Grönholm has continued his run of form and sits second in the provisional qualifying standings for CE Dealer Team. Despite being baulked slightly in his first heat, the Finn set the second fastest times in both qualifying sessions, putting him just 10 points behind overnight.

Ole Christian Veiby and Timmy Hansen are tied on points behind the top two, with the pair having been battling in close quarters in the first heat. Veiby had a much more eventful second heat, taking the lead initially as Klara Andersson slid into the gravel in front of him off the start line, before himself spinning on the exit of Turn 1 just a lap later. Despite the setback, his pace was clearly still strong, making him a real contender for tomorrow’s showdown.

Juha Rytkönen is the leading ICE-powered driver. The PGRX driver seems to thrive in these treacherous conditions, and after Q1 was sitting in third overall. A puncture in his second heat has put him on the back foot, but the pace is undoubtedly there. In the other sustainably-fuelled combustion engine car, Patrick O’Donovan has been steadily improving throughout the day, and was right in the mix in his second heat.

With what looked like a short-lived technical issue for Gustav Bergström in the third KMS VW Polo, the four-time World RX podium-scorer could be another one to watch tomorrow having not shown his full potential. His issues were less serious than those for the final contender in the World RX roster, though, as Kevin Hansen was unable to start the second heat with a technical problem giving him a big hill to climb tomorrow.

Despite the weather, the fans were out in force to support the strong contingent of Swedish drivers. They’re undoubtedly in for a night of partying on Höljes’ famous ‘Happy Street’ before two more qualifying sessions tomorrow morning will set things up for the semi-finals and ultimately the final.

Click here for the provisional FIA World Rallycross Championship classification.

Click here to schedule tomorrow’s action live and free on the FIA World Rallycross Championship YouTube Channel.

Liimatainen leads the way through fire and flood in EuroRX1

It was a day full of fierce battles in the FIA European Rallycross Championship, with the RX1 category delivering qualifying heats that had it all in Höljes.

Mika Liimatainen made it through the first day of racing action at the top of the qualifying order thanks to a blistering pace in the first of his two qualifying heats. The Finnish ace made the best getaway and despite coming under pressure late on, guided his Hyundai i20 RX1 through greasy wet-to-dry conditions to bag maximum points. He was very slow away from the line in his second heat, but such was the variation in race performances thanks in no small part to the weather, he maintains a slim lead overnight.

It's a lead over local hero Martin Endlund, who like Liimatainen had contrasting fortunes across his two heats, with a puncture in the first dropping him back before a stellar performance in Q2 with a well-timed joker and solid overall pace landed him second overall in that session.

ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport join the EuroRX1 grid for the first time this season and René Münnich showed stellar pace in his Seat Ibiza to bag third position in the provisional standings. It may have been an even better story for the German driver had it not been for a penalty in Q1 dropping him back, but in Q2 he was super-neat despite ever-increasing rain and bagged the fastest overall time by over two seconds.

With an expanded 15-car entry this weekend, there were stories aplenty behind the top three. Current standings leader Yuri Belevskiy had a truly torrid time of it on-track. Having dominated the first event, he seemed to lack overall pace in his first heat, before stalling off the line in the second putting paid to chances of a strong result. There are two more qualifying sessions tomorrow morning, and the Swiss driver will certainly be pushing to make the semi-finals.

Amongst the bigger entry were two rookie drivers making their debuts in RX1 machinery – Joni Turpeinen and Lukas Andersson. Both young-guns impressed with rapid pace, but their inexperience also showed in an action packed Q2 Heat 3, where the pair bolted into the lead on lap one only to pirouette off the circuit together having taken too much speed into Turn 1 on the second tour. It’s a mistake both with surely learn from, and takes nothing away from their impressive performances today, ending up seventh and 12th respectively.

As if the fireworks that officially opened the racing action this afternoon around the circuit weren’t enough, fans were treated to another fiery spectacle courtesy of Peter Hedström in the final EuroRX1 heat of the day. As he was battling at the front of the field, flames began to spit from underneath his Peugeot 208 Supercar, but as he mixed fire and flood around the 1.2km circuit the problem didn’t appear to dent his pace.

The Swedish driver finished the day fourth overall, and hopefully will return to the track in front of his home fans tomorrow without any unexpected pyrotechnics!

Click here for the provisional FIA European Rallycross Championship RX1 classification.

Click here to schedule tomorrow’s action live and free on the FIA World Rallycross Championship YouTube Channel.

Røsrud dominates opening day of Euro RX3 at Höljes 

A soaking wet start didn’t dampen the drama as a 15 car strong Euro RX3 field kicked off Saturday’s running at the legendary ‘Magic Weekend’ in Höljes.

Weary from Happy Street festivities the night before, the Swedish faithful turned out in force, spilling across the banks of the Höljesbanan in their thousands. They came to watch rallycross’s rising stars, and they got every bit of the chaos and class they came for.

While Höljes isn’t officially a home round for Norwegian youngster Markus Røsrud, it might as well be. Spurred on by a passionate Scandinavian crowd, Røsrud delivered a standout performance. Despite sustaining damage on the exit of the joker lap in Q1, he held off a hard-charging Sámuel Kovács to win his heat and clock the fastest time of the session.

Q2 brought more of the same. With a lightning launch off the line, Røsrud quickly pulled clear of the pack, securing a commanding lead and finishing over a second from the nearest challenger. That effort secured him a clean sweep of victories and the full 100 qualifying points on offer.

Hot on his heels was João Ribeiro, the current championship leader. He remained in striking distance throughout Q1, finishing just half a second behind Røsrud. Their battle intensified in Q2, as the two traded tenths in a nail-biting heat. At the flag, João was only two seconds adrift of  Røsrud, bagging himself 90 valuable points to maintain his championship push.

Kovács rounded out the top three. A tactical early joker in Q1 gave the Hungarian enough breathing space to pick his way through the chaos and chase down a leading Røsrud. He went door-to-door with João Ribeiro in Q2, rubbing panels and swapping spots before settling for third, securing himself 84 points.

Nicolas Gelenyens turned heads with a bold Q1 drive. The Antiguan youngster was rapid from the off, hugging the drier lines and holding off heavy pressure from Dominik Senegacnik to take a heat win and go fourth overall. Q2 proved trickier, but his earlier effort left him in a solid fourth position at the days end with 80 points on the board.

Rounding out the top five was Portuguese driver Andre Sousa, who made the most of his position on pole courtesy of yesterday’s qualifying draw to post consistent times earning him a respectable 78 qualifying points. 

Further down the order, Tiago Ferriera looked on form early in Q1 and launched into a commanding lead in his second run. But it all came undone on the final lap, as Balázs Körmöczi lunged up the inside and chaos followed. Ferriera was forced out with a DNF, the clash robbing him of what looked like a certain top-five finish.

With Saturday’s action wrapped up, all eyes now turn to Sunday’s two remaining qualifying sessions, which will shape the path to the semi-finals and the all-important final. With more rain in the forecast, everything is still up for grabs in Sweden.

Click here for provisional FIA European Rallycross Championship RX3 classification. 

Click here to schedule tomorrow’s action live and free on the FIA World Rallycross Championship YouTube Channel.