Robin Larsson wins inaugural Group E Championship at Nitro Rallycross 2022/2023 season finale - results 21.03.2023: DREYER & REINBOLD TEAMMATES FRASER McCONNELL AND ANDREAS BAKKERUD COMPLETE PODIUM SWEEP OF BOTH THE LA FINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE Nitro RX to Kick Off its 2023/24 Season June 16-17 at Visions Off-Road; Tickets On-Sale Now

DREYER & REINBOLD TEAMMATES FRASER McCONNELL AND ANDREAS BAKKERUD COMPLETE PODIUM SWEEP OF BOTH THE LA FINAL AND CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE



Nitro RX to Kick Off its 2023/24 Season June 16-17 at Visions Off-Road; Tickets On-Sale Now

 
Nitro Rallycross wrapped up its inaugural global season this weekend in thrilling fashion at Los Angeles’ iconic Glen Helen Raceway. Following a triple shot of fiercely contended finals, with three different drivers winning each round, Robin Larsson (SWE) clinched the series title on Sunday.



 He also had the honor of hoisting the new Ken Block Championship trophy, which was presented by Lucy Block and the Block family.



After winning under the lights on Friday night’s opener, Larsson’s Dreyer Reinbold Racing (DRR)/JC teammate Andreas Bakkerud (NOR) came in third on Sunday, earning second place in the season standings. Keeping it in the DRR family, rising star Fraser McConnell (JAM) finished second on Sunday and took third in the championship.



Larsson had built a strong series lead going into the LA finale, with two victories and six podiums across the season’s first seven rounds. But Larsson went cold during the first two races this weekend, uncharacteristically finishing last on Friday and off the podium in fourth on Saturday.



Sunday though, it was a very different story. Larsson reasserted himself with a Top Qualifier win, then in a tight semifinal battle, beat Travis Pastrana (USA). In the final, Larsson launched from row two, quickly passing McConnell and then - with his trademark precision and tenacity – worked his way through the field to take the checkered flag and seal the Group E championship.  



Afterwards, Larsson said: “This feels really good. It’s special. My prior wins were in Europe. But here, we have top guys from all over the world. It’s so competitive. With five different winners throughout the series, you never knew going into each race who was going to win it. You had to be at your best and take advantage of every chance you got. That’s what I like.”



Bakkerud said: “Big up to Robin. All season long, he has been Mr. Consistent. It shows his attitude and commitment… Of course, I would’ve loved to have been the one lifting the trophy. But I’m just immensely proud of him and the whole team.”   



Sunday brought McConnell full circle. He scored the first major rallycross victory of his career at Nitro RX’s prior Glen Helen stop in October, then in the finale capped off his breakout year by securing his third-place series finish.



McConnell said: “This is incredible. I still consider myself quite new to this sport, and coming from Jamaica, nothing in rallycross exists to this scale. So, I’m looking to push the sport back home… To be able represent my country on a stage as big as Nitro RX is an incredible feeling. It’s an honor every time I go out on the track.”



Regarding the debut of Group E’s revolutionary all-electric FC1-X, McConnell added, “The sky is the limit with it, and I think we have a great thing going.”

 


Group E Final (Round 10 – Los Angeles):

Position    Car #    Name    Nation    Team


1    4    Robin Larsson     SWE    RX Cartel / DRR JC
2    35    Fraser McConnell    JAM    DRR
3    13    Andreas Bakkerud    NOR    RX Cartell / DRR JC
4    16    Oliver Eriksson    SWE    OMSE
5    71    Benito Guerra    MEX    OMSE
6    199    Travis Pastrana    USA    Vermont SportsCar
7    21    Conner Martell    USA    Vermont SportsCar
8    23    Kevin Eriksson     SWE    OMSE




Group E 2022/23 Driver Championship Results:


Pos.    Car #    Name    Nat.    Team    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    Total


1    4    Robin Larsson    SWE    DRR JC/RX Cartel    58
(1)    49
(2)    54
(2)    47
(2)    35 (5)    56 (1)    45 (3)    26 (8)    36 (4)    58 (1)    403
2    13    Andreas Bakkerud    NOR    DRR JC / RX Cartel    49
(2)    56
(1)    35
(4)    45
(3)    45 (3)    24 (8)    32 (7)    53 (1)    45 (3)    43 (5)    371
3    35    Fraser McConnell    JAM    DRR    36
(4)    36
(4)    42
(3)    58
(1)    29 (6)    32 (6)    43(4)    54 (2)    21 (9)    47 (2)    348
4    199    Travis Pastrana    USA    Vermont SportsCar    29
(7)    21
(9)    53
(1)    1
(8)    58 (1)    35 (5)    24 (8)    35 (6)    58 (1)    38 (6)    330
5    16    Oliver Eriksson    SWE    OMSE    30
(6)    31
(8)    26
(8)    35
(6)    36 (4)    54 (2)    53 (1)    36 (4)    27 (7)    38 (4)    313
6    21    Conner Martell    USA    Vermont SportsCar    18
(10)    32
(6)    27
(7)    27
(7)    47 (2)    18 (10)    29 (6)    27 (7)    32 (5)    29 (7)    250
7    23    Kevin Eriksson    SWE    OMSE    -    -    6
(10)    35
(5)    24 (8)    36 (4)    47 (2)    16 (5)    52 (2)    29 (8)    245
8    42    Oliver Bennett    GBR    XITE Energy Racing    21
(9)    17
(10)    33
(5)    36
(4)    26 (9)    26 (7)    33 (5)    1 (9)    24 (8)    21 (9)    220
9    62    Kris Meeke    GBR    XITE Energy Racing    29
(8)    26
(7)    -    -    27 (7)    43 (3)    21 (9)    -    -    -    146
10    12    Timo Scheider    DEU    XITE Energy Racing    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    43 (3)    32 (6)    18 (10)    93
11    52    Ole Christian Veiby    NOR    JC    32
(5)    32
(5)    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    64
12    68    Niclas Gronholm    FIN    OMSE    42
(3)    15
(11)    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    57
13    3    Johan Kirstoffersson     SWE    DRR JC    -    43
(3)    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    43
14    9    Chase Elliott    USA    OMSE    -    -    -    -    17 (10)    20 (9)    -    -    -    -    34
15    2    Austin Cindric    USA    OMSE    -    -    -    -    17 (10)    14 (11)    -    -    -    -    31
16    15     Andrew Carlson    USA    DRR    -    -     30
(6)    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    30
17    22    Jenson Button    GBR     XITE Energy Racing    -    -    21
(9)    -    -    -
    -
    -    -    -    21
18    71    Benito Guerra    MEX    OMSE    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    0 (10)    0 (5)    0




Previously on Saturday, DRR JC clinched the first Group E Teams Championship. Thanks to Larsson and Bakkerud dominating the podium, DRR JC surpassed their nearest competitor, OMSE, by nearly 200 points.






Group E 2022/23 Teams Championship Results:


Pos.    # of Cars    Team Name    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    Total

1    5    DRR JC    107    105    89    92    80    80    77    79    81    101    891
2    2    OMSE    72    46    32    70    60    90    100    52    79    67    668
3    3    Vermont SportsCar    47    53    80    28    105    53    53    62    90    67    638
4    1    DRR    68    79    72    58    29    32    43    54    20    47    502
5    4    XITE Energy Racing    50    43    54    36    53    69    54    44    56    39    498



In NRX NEXT, Nitro RX’s developmental class, a world title was also on the line Sunday, with European NEXT winner Tommi Hallman (FIN) vying with North American NEXT champion Casper Jansson (SWE) for the top prize. In the end, Hallman completed a sweep of the weekend, winning both the qualifier on Saturday and then Sunday’s final to take the championship while Jansson came in second.  



Simon Olofsson (SWE), no stranger to the NEXT podium himself this season, finished third in Sunday’s final and Lane Vacala (USA) placed third in the championship standings.

 



NRX Next World Final:

Finish    Car #    Name    Nation    Team

1    87    Tommi Hallman    FIN    Team Faren
2    36    Casper Jansson    SWE    OMSE
3    52    Simon Olofsson    SWE    STS RX
4    55    Lane Vacala    USA    BAK 40 Motorsport
5    99    Eric Gordon    USA    BAK 40 Motorsport
6    44    Jimmy Henderson    USA    BAK 40 Motorsport




NRX Next World Championship Final Standings:

Finish    Car #    Name    Nation    Team    Rd 1    Rd 2    Total

1    87    Tommi Hallman    FIN        63 (1)    66
(1)    129
2    36    Casper Jansson    SWE        62 (2)    59 (2)    121
3    55    Lane Vacala    USA    DRR    51 (3)    45 (4)    96
4    44    Jimmy Henderson    USA    BAK 40 Motorsport    44 (5)    42 (6)    86
5    99    Eric Gordon    USA    BAK 40 Motorsport    41 (4)    40 (5)    81
6    52    Simon Olofsson    SWE        10 (6)    48 (3)    58




Throughout the season, the Side-By-Sides special class has been a fan favorite, drawing star drivers like Brian Deegan, Robbie Maddison and BJ Baldwin while deepening Nitro RX’s ties to both action sports and off-road racing. This weekend’s field maintained that high caliber, with UTV and off-road pros Amanda Sorensen (USA), Sara Price (USA) and Scottie Lawrence (USA) competing.



On Sunday, young phenom Gregoire Michaud (CAN) scored his third consecutive finals victory and eighth straight podium to clinch the series title. Lawrence and Price finished second and third in the final, while 13-year-old Ben Maier (USA) added more fuel to the SxS youth movement, taking second place in the series standings. Olympian and action sports star Leticia Bufoni (USA) earned third place on the championship table.

 




Side-By-Sides Final (Round 8):


Finish    Car #    Name    Nation

1    27    Gregoire Michaud    CAN
2    77    Scottie Lawrence    USA
3    78    Sara Price    USA
4    11     Amanda Sorensen    USA
5    13    Leticia Bufoni    USA
6    67    Ben Maier    USA




Side-By-Sides 2022/23 Championship Results:

Pos.    No.    Name    NAT    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    Total
1    27    Gregorie Michaud    CAN    58 (2)    58 (3)    56 (3)    59 (2)    61 (2)    66 (1)    66 (1)    66 (1)    490
2    67    Ben Maier    USA    41 (4)    53 (2)    40 (4)    53 (3)    33 (8)    57 (2)    51 (3)    17 (6)    345
3    13    Leticia Bufoni    USA    30 (7)    36 (6)    28 (8)    25 (8)    32 (6)    31 (7)    40 (5)    41 (5)    263
4    199    Travis Pastrana    USA    56 (3)    64 (1)    59 (2)    64 (1)    -    -    -    -    243
5    38    Brian Deegan    USA    66 (1)    47 (4)    65 (1)    40 (7)    -    -    -    -    218
6    49    Robin Shute    GBR    6 (8)    0 (8)    42 (5)    42 (4)    44 (5)    55 (3)    -    -    189
7    77    Scottie Lawrence    USA    -    -    -    -    65 (1)    5 (9)    57 (2)    60 (2)    187
8    57    Lia Block    USA    -    -    30 (7)    36 (5)    31 (7)    43 (5)    -    -    140
9    11    Amanda Sorensen    USA    -    -    -    -    50 (3)    -    41 (6)    44 (4)    135
10    78    Sara Price    USA    -    -    -    -    -    -    45 (4)    54 (3)    99
11    97    BJ Baldwin    USA    -    -    -    -    39 (4)    40 (4)    -    -    79
12    922    Robbie Maddison    AUS    34 (6)    42 (5)    -    -    -    -    -    -    76
13    188    Terry Madden    USA    41 (5)    30 (7)    -    -    -    -    -    -    71
14    111    Jeff Matiasevich    USA    -    -    35 (8)    36 (6)    -    -    -    -    71
15    22    Demi Bagby    USA    -    -    -    -    20 (9)    24 (8)    0
(7)    -    44
16    11    Jim York    USA-    -    -    -    -    -    -    34 (6)    -    34




Event partners for Nitro RX’s 2022/23 season finale include A SHOC Energy, Yokohama Tire, Smirnoff Ice, O’Reilly Auto Parts, myenergi, and Insta360.






Up Next:


Fans will not have to wait long to get their first taste of Nitro RX’s 2023/24 season: Nitro RX will headline Visions Off-Road 2023 at MidAmerica Outdoors in Jay, Oklahoma on June 16-17.



In addition to hosting to the first stop of Nitro RX 2023/24, fans can see Nitro Circus shows, the biggest off-road racing series in motorport - from the new Truck Championship Series to Ultra4 USA endurance to MAO Racing short course - and more.



On top of that, live shows and entertainment every day will provide all kinds of fun and adventure for the whole family. Plan a summer vacation your family will never forget at the biggest and best Visions Off-Road event yet.



Visions Off-Road 2023 tickets and camping reservations are available now at visionsoffroad.com.




Greg Terlizzi - photos NitroRX