Robin Larsson – Syndication Server

Larsson extends Nitrocross points lead with Glen Helen win

Robin Larsson became the first three-time Groupe E winner of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season with a lights-to-flag victory in the second final of the weekend at Glen Helen Raceway. Racing at the spot where he claimed the 2022-23 title back in March, …

Robin Larsson became the first three-time Groupe E winner of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season with a lights-to-flag victory in the second final of the weekend at Glen Helen Raceway.

Racing at the spot where he claimed the 2022-23 title back in March, the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC RX Cartel driver made a clean getaway from pole position in the six-lap final as fellow front row starter Kevin Eriksson slipped behind Larsson’s DRR stablemate Fraser McConnell in the first corner.

McConnell mounted an early challenge to Larsson, but darted into the Joker lap on the second lap in a bid to undercut the race leader. That left Eriksson as Larsson’s nearest challenger once again, with the leader increasing the angle of his slides in the corners to extinguish the Olsbergs MSE driver’s charge.

Eriksson responded by jokering in lap 4 in a bid to mirror McConnell and undercut Larsson. He again dropped behind McConnell, who’d set consistent session-best lap times in the second half of the race. The Jamaican’s purple patch wasn’t enough for him to move to the fore, with Larsson’s position at the front remained secure when he took the longer route on his penultimate tour.

Entering the final lap, Larsson was still in front, but had McConnell all over his back bumper. Ultimately he couldn’t get by and had to settle for second.

Eriksson finished third, his fifth podium finish of the season and extending his run as the only driver to finish every event in the top-five.

Viktor Vrackx was a fine fourth in what was his first final appearance in Nitrocross, while Conner Martell backed up his Saturday podium by rounding out the top five. Saturday winner Oliver Eriksson was classified sixth after crashing out on the third lap, while Deegan was seventh, his race ending a lap earlier.

Lia Block ended her first event in Nitrocross’ premier class in eighth, but despite making the final, she was unable to take the start after suffering a motor failure in her Last Chance Qualifier.

FINAL RESULTS

FULL EVENT CLASSIFICATION

Larsson v McConnell wasn’t just the story of the final though, with the pair’s duel beginning way back in the Top Qualifier race at the start of the day. That race also looked set to go Larsson’s way, until a perfectly-timed nudge and pass in the final corner of the final lap gave McConnell the spot. The pair beat Kevin Ariksson and Andreas Bakkerud, who would later be the only driver to miss out on the final by finishing fourth in the first LCQ.

The other qualifying heat wins were shared between Saturday top-two Oliver Eriksson and Martell, while Larsson and Kevin Eriksson locked in their front-row starting positions for the final with semifinal victories. The two LCQs went the way of Martell and McConnell.

McConnell and Larsson started and finished the day tussling. Qnigan/Nitrocross

Larsson’s overall victory extends his points lead over Kevin Eriksson to 23 points. McConnell occupies third, 66 points off Larsson, while despite missing out on the final for the first time in the Group E era, Bakkerud leaves Glen Helen fourth in the points, ahead of Martell and Oliver Eriksson.

NITROCROSS GROUP E CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Casper Jansson was once again the victor in Nitrocross NEXT, beating Jimmy Handerson and Lane Vacala as he snatched the points lead. Side-by-Side victory Kainan Baker made his NEXT debut in place of Block, but his final ended prematurely with a puncture.

Nevertheless, it was his fifth SxS win of the year, with him beating Tyler Remmereid and Gray Leadbetter. Brian Deegan was fourth, with Travis Pastrana sixth despite rolling early in the race.

In a reverse of Saturday’s top-two in Baja bugs, Blake Wilkey lead home Ryan Rodriguez, with Kyle Zirkus once again third.

Larsson rebounds from Friday disappointment to win second Nitrocross Phoenix final

Robin Larsson made up for the disappointment of losing Friday’s Nitrocross victory on the last lap, to lead from start to finish in Saturday’s six-lap final en route to victory at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix. The Dreyer & Reinbold JC …

The Dreyer & Reinbold JC RX Cartel driver made an incredible start from second on the grid to lead by two car lengths on the approach to Turn 1. A late-braking Travis Pastrana, who started from pole, closed up by that first turn and had a look up the inside, then tried again round the outside of Turn 2, but Larsson remained resolute.

Both, along with Oliver Eriksson and Casper Jansson all took the Joker shortcut on the first lap, and began the second lap of the race on an even footing, but a challenge for Oliver Eriksson on Pastrana allowed Larsson to pull out a bigger lead soon after.

As it looked like the podium positions might be locked in, Friday winner Fraser McConnell jokered to second on the penultimate lap, right on Larsson’s tail. The pair fought hard on the final lap, with McConnell coming close to taking the lead towards the end. Again though, Larsson held firm.

Mirroring McConnell’s strategy from the lap before, Kevin Eriksson jokered on the final tour, immediately vaulting from obscurity to the podium fight, and swept up the inside of Jansson and Pastrana in the final corners to snatch third – his fourth podium finish in five rounds so far this season.

Jansson took fourth, capping off a fine first weekend in Nitrocross’ premier Group E class, ahead of Pastrana, with Andreas Bakkerud in sixth. Oliver Eriksson dropped to seventh after running deep in the first turn on the final lap, with Brian Deegan completing the final runners.

Pastrana’s Vermont SportsCar teammate was the only driver to miss out on a place in the main event. He ended up in the wall in the first Last Chance Qualifier after a short-lived fight with McConnell.

FINAL RESULTS

FULL EVENT CLASSIFICATION

The day began with Pastrana topping qualifying and Kevin Eriksson bottom of the table as he contested car issues. He then backed that up with a win in the second semifinal, with eventual event winner Larsson taking the first.

McConnell won the first LCQ, making up for wall contact that ended his semifinal hopes early, while for the second day in a row, the second LCQ was an all Olsbergs MSE affair with Kevin Eriksson leading Oliver Eriksson and Casper Jansson in a perfect display of formation flying.

Kevin Eriksson remains the points leader, but only just. Qnigan/Nitrocross

Kevin Eriksson’s last gasp podium ensures he remains atop of the standings, ahead of Larsson by a single point. Despite a difficult weekend, Bakkerud sits third, a further 44 points back, with McConnell – the only other two-time winner this season besides Larsson – in fourth. Pastrana, meanwhile, occupies fifth.

NITROCROSS GROUP E CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

In Nitrocross NEXT, Jansson took his second win of the weekend in what was a routine run to the flag from pole position. Lia Block improved on her maiden podium from Friday night by taking second, with Jimmy Henderson completing the rostrum in third.

Pastrana won in Side-by-Sides, that final taking place moments before the Group E final. He held off a charging Kainan Baker, with Tyler Remmereid endup up third after briefly reading mid-way through the race.

Ryan Rodriguez went back-to-back in the Baja Bugs category, winning a final that was twice stopped. The first stoppage was after Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone flipped from a botched landing after the first jump at the race start. The second came on the third lap of six in the restarted race after Jim Yorke was pitched into a slow roll from a nudge by Blake Wilkey. Kyle Zirkus was second, with Wilkey third.

McConnell takes first Nitrocross Phoenix win after Pastrana penalty

Fraser McConnell was classified as the winner of round four of the 2022-24 Nitrocross season at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park after on-the-road winner Travis Pastrana was hit with a penalty. Vermont SportsCar driver Pastrana was demoted two …

Fraser McConnell was classified as the winner of round four of the 2022-24 Nitrocross season at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park after on-the-road winner Travis Pastrana was hit with a penalty.

Vermont SportsCar driver Pastrana was demoted two positions for making contact with Dreyer & Reinbold JC RX Cartel driver Robin Larsson and Olsbergs MSE’s Kevin Eriksson on the last lap of the final.

Pastrana had previously attempted to grab the lead on the opening lap. Starting on the front row of the grid alongside Larsson — both being the most recent winners this season, as well as the victors from last year’s visit to Phoenix — Pastrana swung sideways across the front of Larsson’s car in the first turn, but the Swede resisted.

Larsson ceded the lead at Turn 2, before taking the joker shortcut to move ahead moments later. Pastrana then unusually opted for the joker on the second lap, rather than waiting for his last tour, as is customary when against someone who took it on the first. But Larsson’s pace in the opening part of the race allowed him to remain ahead when the Joker strategies had played out in full.

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Going into that last lap, the top five were covered by 1.5s, with Pastrana third behind leaders Larsson and Eriksson. He had a look up the inside of Eriksson going into Turn 1, but it was Turn 2 where things really kicked off.

Eriksson swept up the inside of Larsson — who was nursing a puncture sustained the lap before — with the pair making light contact. As they squabbled, Pastrana came into the turn fast, hitting both before snatching the lead on the corner exit.

When the pack got to Turn 3, Larsson’s RX Cartel teammate Andreas Bakkerud closed into the leaders, making contact with Eriksson, sending him up the bank on the outside of the turn — a move he would also get a two-place penalty for.

Pastrana emerged from the mayhem in the lead ahead of DRR JC man McConnell, who capitalized on Eriksson and Bakkerud’s shunt to move into a podium position, while Bakkerud held on for third.

Larsson nursed his car home to fourth, ahead of Kevin Eriksson, while his brother and teammate Oliver Eriksson – who dropped out of contention due to lap 1 contact with VSC’s Conner Martell – was sixth.

FINAL RESULTS

FULL EVENT CLASSIFICATION

The win for McConnell is his second on the season, and came after a rotten start to the day where, due to mechanical issues, he only completed three full laps before his Last Chance Qualifier race, which he won.

Meanwhile, the last-lap carnage ended Kevin Eriksson’s podium run. The points leader has finished in the top three at every round so far and was set to continue that streak before his coming together with Bakkerud in the final.

Kevin Eriksson began the day as the top qualifier. Qnigan/Nitrocross

The clash wasn’t their first of the day, either, with the pair colliding in the second semifinal. They came together on the joker merge, taking both out of contention and handing an easy win to Pastrana. Robin Larsson won the earlier semi ahead of Martell who snuck past Oliver Eriksson on the final turn of the final lap.

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Brian Deegan, driving a fourth DRR JC entry, was the only driver to not make the eight-car final. He began the day with a heat win over McConnell after the Jamaican suffered the first of his three retirements in the preliminary rounds.

That put Deegan in the top qualifier race along with fellow heat winners Bakkerud, Larsson, and Kevin Eriksson — Eriksson going on to win and claim his third Top Qualifier result of the season. But Deegan’s day was undone with a fourth place in the first last chance qualifier. Despite a strong start, late Jokers from Martell and Bakkerud dropped him down the order.

NITROCROSS GROUP E CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Casper Jansson, who finished seventh in the Group E final won the first Nitrocross NEXT round of the weekend, taking the lead on lap four of the six lap contest to leapfrog Lane Vacala after a quiet run up to that point.

Vacala eventually finished second, 5.755s back, with Lia Block claiming her first podium in the category after her previous top three finishes this season were rescinded through penalties.

In Side-by-Sides, Kainan Baker returned to the winners’ circle after his 10th place in the last round ended a three-race victory streak.

It was very nearly a different story, though, after he was bettered by Pastrana — another driver racing in two categories — at the start. Pastrana dominated until lap four when he pulled off the course at Turn 1 with a technical issue.

Baker was ultimately unchallenged after Ben Maier, his nearest challenger, also retired late on. Second went to Tyler Remmereid with Gray Leadbetter completing the podium.

In the first Baja Bugs final of the weekend, Ryan Rodriguez took his third win of the year after a tense battle with Blake Wilkey, while Kyle Zirkus — in his Herbie-liveried Beetle — took third after a last-lap pass on Donny Donnovan.

Larsson wins second Nitrocross Utah final after Bakkerud penalty

Robin Larsson won the second part of Nitrocross’ Utah double-header after a bizarre scenario where his Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC RX Cartel teammate Andreas Bakkerud failed to take the mandatory joker lap. Bakkerud crossed the line first at the end …

Bakkerud crossed the line first at the end of the four-lap final, but after not completing one tour of the longer route on the course, was hit with a 30-second penalty that relegated him to fifth.

Larsson’s win was his first of the season, but it was Kevin Eriksson who was in control for much of the final after resisting an early challenge from Bakkerud. Larsson led half the field into the joker on the first lap, and was then able to take advantage of the clear air that afforded him to overhaul Eriksson on the final lap and cross the line 0.337s in front of the Olsbergs MSE driver.

Bakkerud’s penalty allowed Tanner Foust to move up to the podium too, his first in Nitrocross since the 2018 Nitro World Games.

Fraser McConnell was classified fourth ahead of Bakkerud, bouncing back from a disappointing Friday where he missed the final entirely, while Conner Martell was sixth and Oliver Bennett seventh – another driver to make the main after missing out on Friday. Oliver Eriksson was classified eighth after retiring from the final on the first lap with a mechanical issue.

FINAL RESULTS

FULL EVENT CLASSIFICATION

Kevin Eriksson leaves Utah with the championship lead after back-to-back second places. Qnigan/Nitrocross

Ahead of the final, Kevin Eriksson was the top qualifier in the morning, allowing him to skip the heat races which were won by Benito Guerra – who prevailed in an attritional race where Bennett struggled with visibility after sustaining damage and Pastrana retired after contact with McConnell that resulted in the Jamaican driver being excluded – and Martell.

Kevin Eriksson then took a semifinal victory, with Foust and Bakkeurd winning the other two. with Larsson and McConnell locking themselves into the final after winning the Last Chance Qualifiers. Guerra, Conor Daly – who jumped the start in his LCQ – and Friday’s winner Pastrana all failed to make the final, Friday winner Pastrana spinning out of his LCQ.

Despite missing out on the victory once again, Kevin Eriksson retained the points lead, with a 31-point advantage over Larsson.

NITROCROSS GROUP E CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

In NEXT, Casper Jansson had a trouble-free run to victory once again, albeit a victory that would stand this time after his ride-height penalty yesterday. Jimmy Henderson took second after getting by Lia Block on the second lap of the five-lap final, with Patrick Gruszka taking the final podium spot after Block left her joker late.

Kainan Baker’s unbeaten run in Side-by-Sides came to an end after he rolled out on the first lap of the final. Tyler Remmereid, who beat Baker to the holeshot before the red flag, took a comfortable win, 9.690s ahead of Pastrana, who was pulling double duty on Sunday. Brandon Sorensen completed the podium after passing UFC Hall of Famer Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on the final lap.

Ryan Rodriguez won the second Baja Bug final of the weekend after fighting through from the back of the grid, where the fastest drivers in the field were made to start. Fellow back row starter Blake Wilkey, and Kyle Zirkus completed the podium.