Eyvind Brynildsen leads after strong Nordic Friday
BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia is in full swing, and after the first nine stages, Norway’s Eyvind Brynildsen is leading the FIA ERC. Friday’s action-packed leg was dominated by Nordic drivers.
The festivities began on Thursday evening with a well-attended opening ceremony in central Karlstad under beautiful May skies. Shortly after, the brand-new SS1 Bråtebäcken was run, where Romania’s Simone Tempestini set the fastest ERC time. But the absolute fastest overall were local favourites Dennis Rådström and Sunniva Rudi from Torsby, competing in the Swedish Championship, making the perfect start to their home rally.
Friday featured eight special stages, and rain quickly became a factor in the morning. Local driver Isak Reiersen coped best with the wet conditions, winning both SS2 Grönlund 1 and SS3 Värmskog 1. However, it was Norwegian Eyvind Brynildsen who took control on SS4 Grönlund 2, climbing into the overall lead.
The day turned into an intense Nordic battle between Brynildsen, Reiersen, Mads Østberg and Frank Tore Larsen. But the drama didn’t stop there – Østberg suffered a puncture on SS8, losing nearly 40 seconds.
On the second run of Colins (SS9), a sudden downpour impacted many of the top runners. Reiersen, Brynildsen and Larsen all lost time to Finland’s Roope Korhonen, who climbed into third overall.
Several incidents occurred throughout the day. Max McRae, Jos Verstappen and Philip Allen all retired after going off the road.
The longest flight over the legendary Colin’s Crest came from Mads Østberg, who jumped a spectacular 43 metres – the longest of the rally this year.
Heading into Saturday’s final leg, Toyota-driver Eyvind Brynildsen and co-driver Jørn Listerud lead the rally, just 5.1 seconds ahead of Swedish talent Isak Reiersen and co-driver Stefan Gustavsson. The fight for third is tight, with only 1.8 seconds separating Roope Korhonen and Frank Tore Larsen.
– There was so much rain, especially in the middle of the stage – it was pouring and I could barely see. It was extremely slippery, but we had a lot of fun and really tried to push. I went for the jump record, but I wasn’t brave enough and couldn’t carry enough speed into the last few corners. It’s been a fantastic day and I’ve really enjoyed myself. What a great rally! Who would’ve believed this? I could barely believe it myself. But there’s still a long day ahead tomorrow, said Eyvind Brynildsen.
Last year’s junior winner Mille Johansson and Johan Grönvall are battling with ERC leader Miko Marczyk for sixth place.
Top 10 – FIA ERC standings after SS9:
- Eyvind Brynildsen (NOR) – 47:59.1
- Isak Reiersen (SWE) +5.1
- Roope Korhonen (FIN) +6.8
- Frank Tore Larsen (NOR) +8.6
- Andrea Mabellini (ITA) +22.0
- Miko Marczyk (POL) +32.4
- Mille Johansson (SWE) +34.2
- Mads Østberg (NOR) +40.1
- Simone Tempestini (ROU) +50.4
- Stéphane Lefebvre (FRA) +1:01.8
In ERC3, Tymoteusz Abramowski leads fellow Polish driver Adrian Rzeźnik.
Saturday’s route heads east from Karlstad, with stages including Ängebäckstorp and the new Bjurerud stage. Followed with the 20 km Royal Forest and the final Power Stage in Ölme.
