Robin Larsson kicked off his Nitrocross title defense with a dominant light-to-flag victory in the first final of the season at Richmond Raceway.
The Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC driver started his day with a brace of early wins en route to taking the top qualifier spot, before claiming a win in the heat round, and pole position for the final with a semifinal victory.
From there he made a clean getaway to lead into Turn 1 while his teammates Fraser McConnell — who also started on the front row — and Andreas Bakkerud squabbled over second place behind him. Bakkerud eventually prevailed in that battle with McConnell shuffling back to fourth behind the Norwegian and Oliver Eriksson.
McConnell didn’t give up though, hounding Eriksson for the remainder of the race. But the front three held station, with Larsson eventually winning by just over a second frome Eriksson, who kept McConnell nine tenths.
Conner Martell finished outside the podium places in fourth, but was classified fifth after receiving a reprimand and loss of position penalty for contact with Viktor Vranckx. The pair engaged in an intense battle during the final two laps, with Martell getting ahead after jokering on lap 5, undercutting Vranckx by taking the longer route a lap earlier than him.
Lia Block was the final finisher in sixth in the Dodge-branded DRR entry. Bakkerud was classified seventh and a lap down after losing his right-rear tire after contact with McConnell, while Tanner Foust also joined him in making an early exit after breaking a wheel hub.
Kevin Eriksson withdrew earlier in the day after sustaining a back injury after a heavy landing from a jump. He was taken to a local hospital for checks, where he was advised by doctors to sit out of the rest of the weekend.
NITROCROSS RICHMOND I FINAL RESULTS
In the inaugural Nitrocross NEXT EVO final, Mitchell De Jong – competing in his first rallycross race since the 2017 Global Rallycross season finale in Los Angeles – resisted pressure from fellow semifinal winner Tommi Hallman to win, with Lane Vacala completing the podium.
Reigning Nitrocross NEXT champion Casper Jansson failed to score for the first time since the first Utah race last season after retiring with a throttle issue.
Cash Lecroy took the first Side-by-Side victory of the season after getting by Travis Pastrana on the inside of Turn 3 on the final lap. The battle proved to be doubly costly for Pastrana, with it opening the door for Kory Willis to close in. He subsequently passed by Cory Willis two turns later, finishing third, but only just after a late charge from Kainan Baker.
Donny Donovan was the winner in the first Baja Bugs race of the season, ahead of Kyle Zirkus and Blake Wilkey.