Tag Archives: Austin Dyne

GRC Lites Race Preview: X Games Los Angeles

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IN BRIEF: GRC Lites will make their X Games debut at Irwindale Event Center, marking the halfway point of the series’ inaugural 2013 season.

TUNE IN INFORMATION:

  • Sunday, August 4, 3:45 PM ET on ESPN 3

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the full entry list.

LAST RACE: Joni Wiman survived an action-packed finale at Bristol, avoiding an accident that sent Kevin Eriksson on his roof and gave Sebastian Eriksson terminal damage. As the only driver on the front row for the restart, Wiman coasted to an easy victory over Austin Dyne and Alexander Westlund.

THE TRACK: The layout for X Games Los Angeles at Irwindale Event Center is much different than the one that GRC used in its inaugural race at the track in 2011. The eight-turn course begins with a sweeping banked turn, as in Bristol, before ducking into the infield and negotiating a tight dirt section.

ROOM FOR ONE MORE: Lativan driver Reinis Nitiss will make his GRC Lites debut on Sunday, driving the #15 car. Racing with Set Promotion in the European Super1600 championship, Nitiss has three victories in six starts this season, giving him the points lead with three races remaining in the season.

PEDAL FOR THE MEDAL: X Games Los Angeles will represent the only opportunity for GRC Lites drivers to earn an X Games medal this season. None of the drivers competing have any X Games experience, meaning that the event winner will score gold in their very first attempt.

QUOTES: A selection of quotes in advance of Sunday’s GRC Lites event at X Games Los Angeles:

Geoff Sykes, Driver, #65 OlsbergsMSE GRC Lites: I’m stoked on being at X Games. I always went to the events as a kid, through Southern California, San Francisco, and back to LA. I’ve always followed it, always gone just to watch, and now to be in a competition is pretty surreal. Not only that, but for it to be in my backyard, and to be a part of the last X Games in LA, is one of the biggest things for me. The course is going to be interesting, because we don’t get to see it until pretty much the day of the race thanks to the schedule. I think it’s going to be interesting to learn the course so fast. It’s all going to happen all at once, and it’s going to add into the energy of everything.

Mitchell deJong, Driver, #24 OlsbergsMSE GRC Lites: I’m really looking forward to this race. This is where I first saw rally, and it’s pretty surreal to actually race it now. It’s a pretty prestigious event. I’m very thankful to be here. This season, we’ve had our struggles, but hopefully we’ve got our bad races out of the way. It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been a good learning year so far.

DRIVER POINTS:

  1. Joni Wiman, 42
  2. Sebastian Eriksson, 30
  3. Austin Dyne, 28
  4. Kevin Eriksson, 28
  5. Alexander Westlund, 28

Photo credit: Matthew Kalish

GRC Lites Race Recap: Bristol Motor Speedway

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IN BRIEF: For the second time in a row, Joni Wiman won a GRC Lites event, this time at Bristol Motor Speedway. He beat Austin Dyne and Alexander Westlund to secure the victory.

HEAT RECAPS: GRC Lites ran a total of four heat races, two per group, and each had a different winner. Sebastian Eriksson and Westlund won the first pair of heats, run on Friday, while Wiman and Kevin Eriksson won the second pair. Sebastian Eriksson and Westlund finished second in the second heats, allowing them to move onto the final, and Geoff Sykes and Dyne advanced via the last chance qualifier.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: The six-lap final had to be reset after a scary accident that saw Kevin Eriksson land on his roof heading out of the track’s gravel section; neither he nor Sebastian Eriksson would return to the track when the race was restarted.

The race would be resumed with all drivers in their original starting spots, meaning Wiman was the only driver on the front row. He would have a clean start, allowing him to easily put distance on the field. With nobody ahead of him, Dyne had a clear lane and drove a clean race to score second place.

RESULTS: The results from GRC Lites at Bristol Motor Speedway:

  1. Joni Wiman, #93
  2. Austin Dyne, #99
  3. Alexander Westlund, #55
  4. Geoff Sykes, #65
  5. Sebastian Eriksson, #37
  6. Kevin Eriksson, #39
  7. Harry Cheung, #88
  8. Halid Avdagic, #4
  9. Mitchell deJong, #24

DRIVER POINTS:

  1. Joni Wiman, 42
  2. Sebastian Eriksson, 30
  3. Austin Dyne, 28
  4. Alexander Westlund, 28
  5. Kevin Eriksson, 28
  6. Geoffrey Sykes, 22
  7. Mitchell deJong, 21
  8. Halid Avdagic, 19
  9. Harry Cheung, 18

Photo credit: Matthew Kalish

GRC TV: Bristol Friday Recap

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Global Rallycross visits Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time on July 20, staging races in both the Supercars and GRC Lites classes. Supercar drivers Bucky Lasek, Timur Timerzyanov, and Toomas Heikkinen look forward to the fifth round of their season, while Austin Dyne anticipates the second-ever GRC Lites race.

GRC Lites Race Preview: Bristol Motor Speedway

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IN BRIEF: After a popular and successful debut event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, GRC Lites will run their second of six 2013 events at Bristol.

TUNE IN INFORMATION:

  • Saturday, July 20, 4:30 PM ET on ESPN and ESPN 3

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the full entry list.

LAST RACE: The inaugural GRC Lites event came down to a battle between two up-and-coming Nordic stars, as Finland’s Joni Wiman and Sweden’s Sebastian Eriksson won the two heat races to earn first-row starting spots. While Eriksson took the early lead, Wiman made a late pass to score the first victory.

THE TRACK: Bristol will feature many of the same features at all Global Rallycross tracks, including an even mix of dirt and paved surface (in this case, concrete) and the signature tabletop jump. Part of the layout will go through the infield of the oval track.

A WINNING PEDIGREE: Joni Wiman may be a newcomer to racing in the United States, but he certainly has had his share of high-profile experience behind the wheel. Before making the jump to rallycross, the Finn had been making a name for himself in single-seater racing, including the ADAC Formel Masters series in Germany. Since jumping to closed cockpit racing, he has been coached by one of the sport’s best: Marcus Gronholm, himself a winner of five Global Rallycross events in 2011 and 2012.

QUOTES: A selection of quotes in advance of Saturday’s GRC Lites event at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Joni Wiman, Driver, #93 Set Promotion GRC Lites: The track looks special. I’ve never done ovals, but I’m waiting to have a good race and go forward with the car. I hadn’t done much testing before New Hampshire—I’d only driven 25 laps on snow and ice, and everything was new. But the car is very easy to drive, and there’s nothing to complain about.

Austin Dyne, Driver, #99 Royal Purple GRC Lites: I think it’ll be cool going back on the banking. I thought it was really fun, but it’ll be different in the rally car. I don’t know if we’ll be sliding, but I’m optimistic. It’s my favorite short track in America, so I’m excited to be here, and optimistic about how I’m going to do. I’m going to try to make the final again.

DRIVER POINTS:

  1. Joni Wiman, 21
  2. Sebastian Eriksson, 18
  3. Kevin Eriksson, 15
  4. Mitchell deJong, 13
  5. Alexander Westlund, 12

GRC Lites: Meet the Drivers

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GRC Lites, the new class of Global Rallycross, is designed to emphasize the talents of young drivers looking to become the next rallycross superstar. Nine drivers will race in the series’ inaugural event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Thursday, the first event of a six race schedule that will take the spec-built series across the United States.

For fans who are looking to get familiar with the drivers in advance of the first race, here’s a quick primer: