Thirty years after its last appearance on the FIA European Rallycross Championship calendar, Ireland’s Mondello Park delivered exactly what rallycross fans had been hoping for.
Close wheel-to-wheel racing, fierce battles across every category and no shortage of controversy combined to produce one of the most memorable weekends of the season.
In Euro RX1, Bergen Motorsport Evolution’s Andreas Bakkerud delivered when it mattered most. Having remained at the sharp end throughout qualifying and topping the intermediate standings, the Norwegian backed it up by winning both his quarter-final and semi-final before taking victory in the final ahead of the two Kristoffersson Motorsport drivers Ole Christian Veiby and Johan Kristoffersson.
The result firmly re-establishes Bakkerud as a genuine championship contender, reducing Kristoffersson’s advantage to just seven points heading into the next round in France.
Euro RX3 belonged to Rytis Gurklys, although not in the way he might have expected. The Lithuanian topped every qualifying session, won his semi-final and crossed the finish line second in the final.
Bakkerud was victorious for the second time this season, drawing him level on two wins with Kristoffersson
However, a successful protest from NG Racing Team post-race resulted in Julien Meunier receiving a three-second penalty for contact, promoting Gurklys to victory and dropping the Frenchman to third behind Nicolas Geleyns.
The action on track was only part of the story. Few Euro RX events in recent years have seen so many post-race stewards’ decisions as last weekend.
Meunier’s penalty was only the beginning. Thomas Quincé received a black flag in the Euro RX4 final following an opening-lap move on Filip Melon, while Melon himself was later disqualified after post-race scrutineering found his radiator exceeded the maximum permitted thickness by seven millimeters. That promoted Andrea Bénézet from third to the top step.
In Euro RX3, Libor Teješ lost his championship points after being black-flagged for contact with Tiago Ferreira, meaning several podiums and points standings were only finalized long after the chequered flag had fallen.
Even qualifying wasn’t immune. Kristoffersson, Michael Leonard and Juha Rytkönen each received black flags for separate incidents of unsporting behavior, making Mondello Park one of the most heavily officiated events the championship has had in recent seasons.
Euro RX5 continued its remarkable trend of unpredictability.
The stewards had a busy weekend with several time penalties and black fags awarded
Armin Raag became the fourth different winner in four rounds after fending off Martin Juga in the final, highlighting just how open the championship is. Only the Lousada double-header remains, as neither Euro RX5 nor Euro RX4 will take part in France.
While the racing demonstrated exactly why Mondello Park deserves a place on the Euro RX calendar, the event also exposed areas where improvements could be made before its return.
Several people I spoke to before and after the event highlighted issues with camping, ticketing, marketing and general event organization, suggesting there is still work to do away from the racing itself.
The opening day also brought technical challenges, with poor internet connectivity around the venue disrupting the opening livestream before the issues were resolved for the remainder of the weekend.
On track, recovery operations occasionally took longer than ideal, while several incidents suggested that additional escape roads in key sections of the track could improve both safety and the speed of restarting sessions.
None of those issues overshadowed what was ultimately an outstanding weekend of rallycross. If anything, they simply highlighted the final details that need refining.
Mondello Park proved it deserves its place on the calendar. With a few organizational improvements, its next appearance could be even better.
