Tag Archives: Kevin Eriksson

GRC Lites Race Recap: The Dirt Track at Charlotte

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IN BRIEF: Joni Wiman remains perfect in GRC Lites competition, winning his fifth consecutive race at The Dirt Track on Charlotte on Sunday. This victory, over Geoff Sykes and Sebastian Eriksson, extended Wiman’s points lead to 29—clinching him the inaugural series title.

HEAT RECAPS: With two sets of heat races and no last chance qualifier, drivers were racing purely for bonus points rather than advancement. Wiman swept heats 1A and 2A, while Kevin Eriksson and Mitchell deJong split 1B and 2B, respectively.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: For the second race in a row, Wiman failed to secure the holeshot in the final, this time falling behind Kevin Eriksson as a rough start dropped deJong through the field. But Eriksson’s good luck faded fairly quickly, as a cut right rear tire dropped him through the field like a stone until he eventually ended up seventh.

Geoff Sykes managed to avoid trouble at the start to coast to an easy second place, while jostling between the rest of the field allowed Sebastian Eriksson, who had missed his second heat race, to climb from ninth to fourth in the first lap. He battled with deJong once again, reminiscent of their duel in Atlanta, but held third place.

RESULTS: The results from GRC Lites at The Dirt Track at Charlotte:

  1. Joni Wiman, #93 Set Promotion GRC Lites
  2. Geoff Sykes, #65 OlsbergsMSE GRC Lites
  3. Sebastian Eriksson, #37 OlsbergsMSE GRC Lites
  4. Mitchell deJong, #24 OlsbergsMSE GRC Lites
  5. Alexander Westlund, #55 Set Promotion GRC Lites
  6. Harry Cheung, #88 Cohesive Front Racing GRC Lites
  7. Kevin Eriksson, #39 Set Promotion GRC Lites
  8. Austin Dyne, #99 AD Racing GRC Lites
  9. Tyler Benson, #60 OlsbergsMSE GRC Lites

DRIVER POINTS:

  1. Joni Wiman, 106
  2. Sebastian Eriksson, 77
  3. Mitchell deJong, 69
  4. Kevin Eriksson, 65
  5. Alexander Westlund, 63
  6. Geoff Sykes, 57
  7. Austin Dyne, 53
  8. Harry Cheung, 46
  9. Halid Avdagic, 29
  10. Reinis Nitiss, 23
  11. Tyler Benson, 15

Photo credit: Matthew Kalish

GRC Lites Race Recap: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

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IN BRIEF: After a hard-fought battle, Joni Wiman defeated Sebastian Eriksson for the victory in the first-ever GRC Lites race, held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

HEAT RECAPS: The two heat races were won by Sebastian Eriksson and Wiman, respectively, with Kevin Eriksson and Mitchell deJong also advancing directly to the final. Alexander Westlund won a rough-and-tumble main event, as Austin Dyne managed to avoid Harry Cheung’s accident in the chicane

MAIN EVENT RECAP: Six cars started the first-ever GRC Lites final, which took place between the Supercar LCQ and main event. Sebastian Eriksson took the lead initially over Joni Wiman, leaving the rest of the field to fight for third place.

Wiman shadowed Sebastian Eriksson for the first three laps of the ten-lap event, taking the joker on the fourth lap. Eriksson would take the joker lap soon thereafter, as Wiman caught up and made what would be the winning pass.

Sebastian Eriksson would continue to challenge, but Wiman would hold him off for the first victory in GRC Lites history. Kevin Eriksson, son of GRC Lites mastermind Andreas Eriksson, finished third after making a gutsy pass in the outside groove on the dirt section.

RESULTS: The results of today’s Sylvania Silverstar zXe Global Rallycross at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

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

DRIVER POINTS:

  1. Joni Wiman, 21
  2. Sebastian Eriksson, 18
  3. Kevin Eriksson, 15

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:

Team Set Promotion Aiming at GRC Lites Success

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Turku, Finland (June 20, 2013) – Team Set Promotion is excited to announce that it will be competing in the brand-new GRC Lites category of Global Rallycross.

Working in conjunction with Olsbergs MSE, from their headquarters in Los Angeles, Team Set Promotion will be fielding three cars, driven by European  RallycrossRX Super1600 and Swedish Folkrace front runners Joni Wiman, (19, Finland), Kevin Eriksson (16, Sweden) and Alexander Westlund (18, Sweden).

Designed as a companion series to GRC Supercars, for up and coming younger drivers, GRC Lites will be at every US-based Global Rallycross event of the 2013 season, including X Games Los Angeles. Featuring strictly-controlled specification vehicles, the new series is designed specifically as an affordable platform to showcase the talent of emerging young drivers. Producing 310 horsepower, GRC Lite cars are powered by naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engines and feature all-wheel drive and sequential gearboxes.

“It’s exactly what we need at this moment,” said team manager Jussi Pinomäki. “We have a vision where we want to take our team within the next two years and this is the first step toward that goal. We have been heavily involved in the Super1600 category, running many cars, and I think this is the right moment for something new. At the same time Rallycross as a sport is also growing, and it’s amazing to be a part of it at such an early stage.

“We have put together a great line-up of three young, really talented drivers, so I’m really excited to jump into this. Also my whole team is really excited as they have been doing the same thing for quite a few years, and now they have a real opportunity of a fresh challenge,  to experience something new show that we are more than just a Super1600 Team.

“Kevin and Alexander have a similar background racing in Sweden, they have been racing in a national class called Folkrace. It’s an entry level class where the cars are more or less standard – just with roll cages and a few safety features. It’s a really good training ground for drivers as it’s a level playing field and you really have to drive the cars inch perfect to get the best out of them. Obviously I have also been working with Kevin and Joni in Super1600 as well, so if Alexander is as fast as I know Kevin and Joni are, it’s going to be an interesting season. With all three drivers pushing each other it’s exactly what the guys need, and going to help improve the whole team.

“We’ve been working with Olsbergs MSE for a little while, and talking with them since last fall, and slowly the pieces started to fall into place. After the new year the started to come together, and now we are just a few weeks away from the first race in Loudon (NH). It’s going to be a great experience, not just for the team, but for the drivers as well. It’ll be the first time with the new car, and in front of the huge crowds – I can’t wait.”