Honours even in Euro RX1 as title fight intensifies

The manner in which Kristoffersson Motorsport battled back from a series of poor starts to dominate the 2026 Euro RX1 curtain-raising contest in Latvia prompted some to suggest that the destiny of this year’s crown was a foregone conclusion, but Andreas Bakkerud has never been the type to lie down without a fight – and that has set the scene for a sensational showdown over the last three rounds.

Lacklustre launches during the Qualifying Heats meant Johan Kristoffersson and Ole Christian Veiby had to work hard around the Biķernieku trasē, but the sheer speed of the Volkswagen Polo 601 RX – allied to their unquestionable skill behind the wheel – enabled the pair to lock out the front row of the grid for the all-important Final.

From there, they were never threatened, as the Swede – a record-breaking eight-time World Champion in the dual-surface discipline – went on to prevail by more than five seconds to kick off his quest for a maiden European title in fine fashion. His Norwegian team-mate was similarly comfortable on his way to scooping the runner-up spoils in Rīga.

While the starts are now much improved, the KMS duo have encountered a variety of other issues – from punctures to penalties – that have prevented them from running away from their rivals in the championship classification and permitted Bakkerud in particular to stay solidly in touch.

Competing for his own Bergen Motorsport Evolution outfit with support from rallycross heavyweight SET Promotion, the three-time European Champion topped the timesheets in Q1 in round two in Hungary, en route to securing Top Qualifier status. The Ford Fiesta driver subsequently went toe-to-toe with Kristoffersson into Turn One in the ‘Red Cauldron’, and something had to give. That something was Kristoffersson. 

With neither backing down, the lightest of contact sent the VW Polo spinning into the outside tyre wall, paving the way for Bakkerud to motor on to his first victory of the campaign – a result that elevated the 34-year-old into the championship lead.

Despite languishing in seventh place at the conclusion of the heats at Höljes five weeks later, Kristoffersson swiftly bounced back with a popular home soil success, spearheading another KMS one-two in the Final to reclaim the initiative. Ever-unbowed, Bakkerud struck again next time out at Mondello Park in Ireland, where he exploited a fierce internecine duel between the Volkswagen pair to take an unexpected triumph.

That means that going into the remaining three rounds – a single-header at Lohéac in France on 28-30 August, followed by the double-header season finale at Lousada in Portugal a fortnight later (12-13 September), a mere 15 points separate Kristoffersson, Bakkerud and the ultra-consistent Veiby at the top of the table, with 120 still up for grabs.

It is not necessarily just a three-way tussle, however, with SET Promotion stablemates Juha Rytkönen and Joni Turpeinen tied for fourth, not far in arrears. Although piloting different machinery – the former a Hyundai i20; the latter, like Bakkerud, a Ford Fiesta – the flying Finns have proven to be evenly-matched indeed, with teenage talent Turpeinen the only driver in the large, high-calibre field to ascend the rostrum in both of the opening two rounds. 

Rytkönen – 17 years his countryman’s senior – was runner-up at Nyirád, where SET-prepared cars monopolised the podium positions, while Turpeinen has irrefutably marked himself out as a star of the future in the sport.

Others more than capable of springing a surprise include two-time French Rallycross Champion, Fabien Pailler – who ran Bakkerud close for the Euro RX1 crown five years ago – and 2024 Euro RX1 Champion, Patrick O’Donovan.

One of the pre-season favourites, the Peugeot driver’s campaign to-date has been a disappointing one, marred by repeated bad luck. O’Donovan sat atop the intermediate standings on Saturday night in Sweden, only to then come up against the worst of the conditions in Q4 the next morning as the heavens opened with a vengeance. That has been symptomatic of the young Brit’s fortunes in 2026, and goes some way to explaining why he has surprisingly contested just one Final to-date. 

Pailler has yet to reach the Final at all in his Renault Mégane, which has been plagued by engine issues that have hampered its development, but when the car has been on-song, the experienced Frenchman has been in the mix – and at Höljes, it was he rather than O’Donovan that would likely have led the way at the end of the first day had he not uncharacteristically missed the joker in Q3. 

Two rising stars, meanwhile, have wasted no time in demonstrating their ability to trouble the established front-runners. Casper Jansson converted his palpable potential into a podium finish on home turf at Höljes behind the dominant KMS duo, with fellow Scandinavian Johannes Rafoss producing a number of giant-killing displays at the wheel of his family-run Ford Fiesta. Having only begun racing in 2022, the plucky Norwegian – the second-youngest competitor in the field at just 19 years of age – has already turned many a head.

The season will resume at the end of the month with Euro RX of France, where another bumper entry has been confirmed for one of the biggest events on the international rallycross calendar.

Check out the current championship classification.