Krogstad takes RX Nordic Lites lead with first #YellowSquad win
Henrik Krogstad has taken the lead in RallyX Nordic’s Supercar Lites category, scoring #YellowSquad’s first ever round win at the third round of the season in Arvika, Sweden.
Krogstad was peerless throughout the weekend, topping every practice session, three out of four qualifying rounds and the first semi-final on his way to overall victory.
His most dominant run of the weekend was in the second qualifying round, where he went four seconds faster than any other driver; an unheard of advantage in a four-lap rallycross race, where races are often settled with gaps as small as tenths of a second.
There was also expert help at hand as FIA World Rallycross Champion Timmy Hansen, #YellowSquad’s Head of Driver Development, was at the track helping Krogstad optimise his performance throughout the weekend.
After a second and fourth place at the season-opening Magic Weekend double-header at Höljes, Krogstad was fourth in the championship heading to Arvika. But a maximum points score from round three has propelled him all the way to the top of the standings, tied with Jesse Kallio on 71 points.
#YellowSquad’s next event is the RallyX Nordic season finale at Nysum, Denmark, on September 4-6. That weekend will also host a winner-takes-all shoot-out for the RX2 Interational Series crown.
Quotes
Henrik Krogstad
Lites Driver“We were doing a lot of testing on Monday focusing only on our starts. I’ve been quick at Arvika before but never been able to get in clean air, and this weekend I nailed every start, which allowed me to just enjoy driving up front rather than having to fight every lap. And this will be useful for the season finale at Nysum too, even more so than here at Arvika.
“I also had enough self-confidence to be able to enjoy being in the lead. I knew that even if the other drivers could follow me, they couldn’t pass me, because the speeds here are so high. Höljes has always been one of my weaker tracks so we worked really hard on the little details there, and kept that approach here. So now we’ve come here, to a track that suits me, and we’re extremely fast.
“We had a great setup on the car from the start. I don’t believe we changed anything on the car all weekend, at least nothing significant with the set-up. Eric and the guys used their experience with the Lites car and their baseline set-up was perfect out of the box.
“It’s been so great having Timmy here. He knows so much and he has the answer to everything that I ask. It’s not only down to the advice he gives about driving but his mental coaching, ensuring I have the right mindset during the weekend, which is so important as well.”
Timmy Hansen
Head of Driver Development“Henrik's performance this weekend is one of the best I've ever seen in rallycross. It's a one make series and to be sometimes a second a lap faster than anyone else is absolutely amazing, especially considering these are the best drivers you can go up against in this class right now. And he was still in a league of his own.”
“From the beginning he had fantastic pace and within the team, we didn't look too much at the others. Even though we were far ahead we still worked on the details and trying to get that perfect run together and race by race, we were still able to improve and find a bit of time here and there.”
“Henrik drove with incredible confidence and seeing him in the semi final and final, securing it with such a margin, is something that doesn't happen very often. It's a fantastic sporting achievement, so I must take my hat off to Henrik this weekend and to the entire #YellowSquad team. We were able to get the set-up just to Henrik's liking and all of the pieces came together this weekend.”
“It's a lot of pressure performing at the end after such a good weekend; I know that myself from my own good races! But he was still able to put that run together when he needed to in the semi-final and final. So it was a massive performance, hugely impressive, I couldn't have done it better myself, so I'm very proud of him.”
Kevin Hansen
Team Principal“It's amazing for the team to get its first win since Hansen Motorsport and Team Färén began the #YellowSquad partnership. The goal was always get Hansen Motorsport back on the top of the podium. It's been many years since I was there myself, winning the RX Lites championship in 2015, and for Team Färén it's a first win since 2017. We've been working really hard since we merged and the only thing we wanted was to get back on the top step.
“It's the first win for this team and we've done it in a way that really puts a mark on this category. Combining Hansen Motorsport's strengths as a world championship-winning team and Team Färén's operational strength, you can see what that combination can give to the drivers in our team. I'm ecstatic with this victory and extremely proud for everyone involved in this project for putting their heart, soul and passion into it. The result today is a natural consequence of that, and I'm really grateful for all their efforts.”
