About 13,500 people spend Easter at Wootton in the south of England and attended the opening round of the 2011 FIA European Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill Race Circuit (April 24-25). Specially for the Norwegian fans among them it has been a great weekend as the victories in all of the three racing categories went to Norway. Sverre Isachsen (Ford Focus Mk2) was on the highest step of the SuperCars podium on Monday afternoon. Before already Andreas Bakkerud (Renault Clio Mk2) and Lars Шivind Enerberg (Ford Fiesta ST RWD) did the same in the Super1600 and TouringCars classes. Apart from the Norwegian success everybody at Lydden was served with plenty of nice Rallycross action spread out over the two days.
At the beginning of the season it's always interesting to see how well prepared the different teams are. Nevertheless all the testing prior to the start of the championship, only with the opening round the time is there for the real first live test. And as always some are successfull, some are still learning a lot and some left Lydden on Monday evening with several things to think about and with some work ahead of them in order to prepare for the next round.
Ludvig Hunsbedt (Volvo C30) debuted his newly build Volvo at Lydden. (Photo: Jan Kеre Rafoss)
The SuperCars entry list was holding quite a few new names when comparing with the old 'Division 1' of last year. Most of the guys also made it into the finals and some of them straight into the 'A' final. Norwegians Svein Roger Andersen (Volvo C30) and Stein Egil Jenssen (Ford Focus Mk2), this last named in the former Ludvig Hunsbedt car, qualified for the 'C' final. Also Scotsman Andy Scott (Ford Focus Mk2) is a championship newcomer and he made it in the 2010 Kevin Procter Focus also to the 'C' final and nearly won it. Eventually Olsbergs/MSE Andrйas Eriksson (Ford Fiesta Mk7) prevented Scott from doing so after a close battle. The other Olsbergs/MSE Fiesta is in the hands of American racer Tanner Foust (Ford Fiesta Mk7). He qualified - with two times a fourth fastest time - for the pole of the SuperCars 'B' final, where he got beaten later on by Russian Timur Timerzyanov (Citroлn C4) and Frode Holte (Volvo C30) resulting in an eight place overall. Similar to Olsbergs/MSE was the result of Helmia Motorsport scoring a 'C' and 'B' final. Stig-Olov Walfridsson (Renault Clio Mk3) went underway in the 'C' final but unfortunately for the Swede he was forced to retire of it in the beginning. Teammate from Norway, Mats Lysen (Renault Clio Mk3), had some bad luck on his side with the season opener. After setting a very good third fastest time in the first qualifying heat on Sunday Lysen had to retire from the event with a broken engine after the second heat. Therefore he was not able anymore to start the third heat and his spot on the grid of the 'B' final was left blank. Ludvig Hunsbedt - a former FIA European Rallycross Champion - who has been around for so many years, prepared a new Volvo C30 over winter and drove it into the 'B' final. "Unfortunately I'm far from satisfied," he said. "We had several issues with the engine this weekend and we have tried different settings. However, my goal is to qualify for an 'A' final instead of a 'B' final." Apart from that the Norwegian was very positive about the handling of the car. "The handling of the car is fantastic," he said. "I could even say that i have never driven a better car from that point of view. So therefore i have for sure good hopes now for the future."
Davy Jeanney (Citroлn C4) shared the SuperCars 'A' final front row with Sverre Isachsen. (Photo: © Gerrit Blijleven)
Defending champion Sverre Isachsen was on pole for the SuperCars 'A' final after fastest times in the first and third qualification heat. Another European Championship newcomer, Davy Jeanney from France, shared the front row with Isachsen. The 2010 French Division 1 champion was fastest in the second qualifying heat. Second row qualifiers were Toomas Heikkinen (SAAB 9-3 ASS) in the newly by Eklund Motorsport build SAAB 9-3 and Marc Laboulle (Citroлn C4), also two drivers who are taking part for the first time in their career in the complete championship. The Frenchman had an excellent first day resulting in a second fastest time behind Isachsen in the first qulifying heat. However afterwards the team had to struggle with a damaged alternator and unfortunately a spare one was not available anywhere in the paddock. In the second heat the work-around the team invented didn't work out well and Laboulle was forced to retire from his qualifying session already in the opening lap. In the third heat the solution worked out well and he managed it to bring the MTechnologies C4 home as fifth fastest. Toomas Heikkinen's racing improved heat after heat. He received a three seconds time penalty in the first heat because of a jumpstart, however afterwards he scored a third and second fastest time. Last straight qualifier for the Lydden 'A' final was Liam Doran (Citroлn C4) - third in the 2010 championship. On his home track he was joined on the last row by his Kenneth Hansen Motorsport teammate Timur Timerzyanov (Citroлn C4) - the 2010 Division 1A champion - in a similar car.
Start of the Lydden SuperCars 'A' final. (Photo: © Gerrit Blijleven)
When the green light was flashed Isachsen had the best start and came out first of Chesson's Drift ahead of Jeanney and Heikkinen. Laboulle, Doran and Timerzyanov made the obligatory pass through the joker lap section immediately after the start. When Heikkinen completed the joker lap section in the second lap of the 'A' final Laboulle was able to climb to third spot in the race. Timerzyanov managed it to pass Heikkinen who afterwards retired from the final. By the end of the third lap Timerzyanov spun the Citroлn allowing Doran to move into fourth position. In the mean time Isachsen was still chased by Jeanney while Laboulle was trying to close the gap between him and the two leaders. After Isachsen and Jeanney both completed the joker lap section in the final lap Laboulle passed Jeanney and kept second place until the chequered flag was showen. "After all a perfect race today and a perfect victory," Isachsen said afterwards. "On the other hand during the event we had to deal with a few engine issues. During the first heat we noticed already that the temperature went too high. We therefore decided to change the engine before Monday. But still in the third heat, with the new engine, the issue seemed not to be solved yet. Some more fine tuning and additional changes before the 'A' final were applied allowing me to score a start-to-finish victory."
A start-to-finish victory for Andreas Bakkerud (Renault Clio Mk2) in Super1600. (Photo: © Gerrit Blijleven)
In the Super1600 category Andreas Bakkerud secured himself already the pole by Monday noon after fastest times in the first two qualifying runs. Czech Zdeněk Čermбk (Škoda Fabia Mk2/5J) in a brand new Mk2 Fabia shared the front row with Bakkerud after two times a second fastest time. Second row went to Dane Ulrik Linnemann (Peugeot 207) and Austrian Christian Petrakovits (VW Polo Mk4/9N3). Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta ST) was on the last row together with 'B' final winner Clemens Meyer (Škoda Fabia Mk1/6Y) from Germany. Immediately after the start the field was split in two equal groups of three cars with each time the driver on the outside of the row on the grid going straight into the joker lap section. Bakkerud won the start, kept the lead when he was completing the joker lap section in the penultimate lap and consequently lead the final from start to finish. "Everything just worked out perfect these two days," Bakkerud said. "I felt already a pressure on my shoulders before the race as you are considered as one of the title favorites. Therefore I'm very happy that we could prove it and that we could confirm during this first event of the championship. On the other hand the car is still rather new to me as I only drove it in two races last year [Poland and the Czech Republic]." Julian Godfrey came in second while Čermбk completed the podium. Linnemann finished fourth ahead of Petrakovits. "On one hand it's a pitty that I am fourth here," the Dane said after the race. "But on the other hand of course I'm satisfied with this result but I think I could have done better as I did not made a mistake myself in the hairpin in the beginning of the final when Godfrey passed me." Also the Petrakovits team was happy with the result and returned back to Austria with a satisfied feeling. Petrakovits said already before the event that his aim was to score an 'A' final this weekend and so the Austrian did.
Lars Шivind Enerberg (Ford Fiesta ST RWD) won the opening round of the 2011 FIA European Rallycross Championship in the TouringCars. (Photo: © Gerrit Blijleven)
In the TouringCars class defending champion Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta Mk7 RWD) had a good start of the event but could not last it until the very end. "I had to deal with a dying engine today," he said. "During the 'A' final the engine ran only on three cylinders. And apart from that my car and the one from Enerberg hit each other after the start and therefore i lost a lot of time. So not my best event and not the best start of the season unfortunately." It was Norwegian Lars Шivind Enerberg who put the 2009 championship car on pole for the 'A' final after fastest times in the first and third qualificiation heat. Roman Častoral (Opel Astra OPC RWD) and Per Magne Rшyrеs (Peugeot 206 RWD) occupied the second row on the grid while Koen Pauwels (Ford Fiesta Mk7 RWD) was joined by David Nordgеrd (Ford Focus Mk2 RWD) who won the 'B' final. Tohill had the better start but after his car and the one from Enerberg hit each other he was down to third spot. By the end of the first lap Enerberg was leading ahead of Častoral and Tohill. When the latter completed the joker lap section Koen Pauwels, who played the joker in the opening lap, climbed to third place. Positions didn't change anymore with Enerberg, Častoral and Pauwels occupying the TouringCars podium and Norwegians Rшyrеs and Nordgеrd classified fourth and fifth ahead of the last finisher Derek Tohill.
All classes at Lydden were won by Norwegians. From left to right: Andreas Bakkerud (Super1600), Sverre Isachsen (SuperCars) and Lars Шivind Enerberg (TouringCars). (Photo: © Jan Tore Brustad)
Results second heats:SuperCars:
1. Davy Jeanney (F)
2. Liam Doran (GB)
3. Toomas Heikkinen (FIN)
4. Timur Timerzyanov (RUS)
5. Frode Holte (N)
6. Ludvig Hunsbedt (N)
7. Andrйas Eriksson (S)
8. Tanner Foust (USA)
9. Andy Scott (GB)
10. Stein Egil Jenssen (N)
11. Mats Lysen (N)
12. Pat Doran (GB)
13. Renй Mьnnich (D)
14. Frank Valle (N)
15. Svein Roger Andersen (N)
16. Kevin Procter (GB)
17. David Binks (GB)
18. Michaлl De Keersmaecker (

19. Stig-Olov Walfridsson (S)
20. Pavel Koutnэ (CZ)
21. Wil Teurlings (NL)
-. Marc Laboulle (F)
-. Steve Hill (GB)
-. Sverre Isachsen (N)
-. Jos Kuijpers (I)
-. Jean-Luc Pailler (F) Super1600:
1. Andreas Bakkerud (N)
2. Zdeněk Čermбk (CZ)
3. Ulrik Linnemann (DK)
4. Julian Godfrey (GB)
5. Johan Larsson (S)
6. Ildar Rakhmatullin (RUS)
7. Anders Bjшrland Hansen (N)
8. Ondřej Smetana (CZ)
9. Daniel Holten (N)
10. Christian Petrakovits (A)
11. Clemens Meyer (D)
12. Vaidas Navickas (LT)
13. Stanislav Šusta (CZ)
14. Mattias Thцrjesson (S)
15. Davy Van Den Branden (

16. Andy Knowles (GB)
17. Mandie August (D)
18. Ralph Wilhelm (D)
19. Marcel Snoeijers (NL)
20. Harrie Deelen (NL)
21. Bert Theunisse (NL)
22. Willem Veltman (NL)
23. Hal Ridge (GB) TouringCars:
1. Roman Častoral (CZ)
2. Lars Шivind Enerberg (N)
3. Derek Tohill (IRL)
4. Per Magne Rшyrеs (N)
5. David Nordgеrd (N)
6. Robin Olsson (S)
7. Ivo Van den Brandt (

8. Mandy Kasse (NL)
9. Jean-Michel Laurant (

-. Koen Pauwels (

-. Patrick Mertens (

Results third heats:SuperCars:
1. Sverre Isachsen (N)
2. Toomas Heikkinen (FIN)
3. Davy Jeanney (F)
4. Tanner Foust (USA)
5. Marc Laboulle (F)
6. Liam Doran (GB)
7. Frode Holte (N)
8. Ludvig Hunsbedt (N)
9. Andy Scott (GB)
10. Svein Roger Andersen (N)
11. Timur Timerzyanov (RUS)
12. Pavel Koutnэ (CZ)
13. Stein Egil Jenssen (N)
14. Kevin Procter (GB)
15. David Binks (GB)
16. Wil Teurlings (NL)
17. Pat Doran (GB)
-. Andrйas Eriksson (S)
-. Stig-Olov Walfridsson (S)
-. Renй Mьnnich (D)
-. Michaлl De Keersmaecker (

-. Mats Lysen (N)
-. Jos Kuijpers (I)
-. Frank Valle (N)
-. Jean-Luc Pailler (F)
-. Steve Hill (GB) Super1600:
1. Ulrik Linnemann (DK)
2. Zdeněk Čermбk (CZ)
3. Christian Petrakovits (A)
4. Julian Godfrey (GB)
5. Clemens Meyer (D)
6. Daniel Holten (N)
7. Vaidas Navickas (LT)
8. Ildar Rakhmatullin (RUS)
9. Johan Larsson (S)
10. Mattias Thцrjesson (S)
11. Anders Bjшrland Hansen (N)
12. Ralph Wilhelm (D)
13. Bert Theunisse (NL)
14. Willem Veltman (NL)
15. Hal Ridge (GB)
-. Andreas Bakkerud (N)
-. Davy Van Den Branden (

-. Mandie August (D)
-. Harrie Deelen (NL)
-. Ondřej Smetana (CZ)
-. Andy Knowles (GB)
-. Marcel Snoeijers (NL)
-. Stanislav Šusta (CZ) TouringCars:
1. Lars Шivind Enerberg (N)
2. Derek Tohill (IRL)
3. Koen Pauwels (

4. Per Magne Rшyrеs (N)
5. David Nordgеrd (N)
6. Robin Olsson (S)
7. Roman Častoral (CZ)
8. Ivo Van den Brandt (

9. Mandy Kasse (NL)
-. Patrick Mertens (

-. Jean-Michel Laurant (

Detailed results are available here.
The 2011 FIA European Rallycross Championship continues on May 14-15 with the Portuguese round of the series taking place at Montalegre in the north of Portugal.
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