Oliver Eriksson and Fraser McConnell will headline a seven-car entry for Olsbergs MSE at the upcoming ‘Magic Weekend’ RallyX Nordic event at Höljes.
For Eriksson, son of Olsbergs team boss and event organizer Andréas Eriksson, it will be his first competitive outing in the team’s World Rallycross race-winning Ford Fiesta ST Mk8, having previously raced the team’s ex-Global Rallycross Honda Civic Coupe in rallycross’s top regional series.
“As racers, we obviously all want to race, and to now actually get the opportunity to do that for real feels fantastic,” said 2019 RX2 champion and RallyX Nordic runner-up Eriksson. “I want to have fun and really make the most of the weekend – and it goes without saying that I’ll be aiming to win!
“The Fiesta has proven itself to be a great car with victories at the top level last year in the world championship and RallyX Nordic, so I can’t really blame the equipment if I don’t perform.”
“There are some really big, international names in the field so the competition is sure to be tough, but that’s exactly what I like to see – you always want to race against the best guys, because that’s how you can prove you are one of them.”
Eriksson will be joined by McConnell, who won the 2019 ARX2 title driving for DirtFish, and Anders Michalak. Both drivers will be making their Supercar debuts at the closed-doors event, having competed at the second-tier Lites level for a number of years.
“It’s going to be super exciting,” said McConnell, who was also a podium finisher in the European-based RX2 series in 2019. “Esports aside, it will be my first race weekend since November, and the first time in seven months that I’ve driven anything so fast or competitive, though I’ve been doing a lot of go-karting over the last week or so in preparation.
“I also have some rally car testing coming up soon just to get back into the groove in four wheel-drive, because stepping up to race a Supercar for the first time is going to require a lot of focus and commitment – but I’m doing everything I can back at home to make sure I’m as ready as possible.
“I’m going to take my time to get used to it, but I’m also going to Höljes to do my best and not give an inch. I’ll be up against a former world champion and some of the class’ outright front-runners, but I’m determined to rise to the challenge and racing with the best is the perfect way to do that. I’m counting down the days. I can’t wait!”
In the Supercar Lites class Olsbergs will be represented by Jesse Kallio and Linus Östlund, along with former-motorcycle racer Niklas Aneklev and teen sensation Martin Enlund completing the lineup.
Östlund won the recent RX Quarantine test event at Höljes, while Kallio is a winner at Lites level in RallyX Nordic and finished on the podium at all but two RX2 rounds last year.
