#YellowSquad scored a podium finish on its Supercar Lites debut at the RallyX Nordic Magic Weekend, with both Henrik Krogstad and Dan Skocdopole making it through to the all-important final.
Krogstad was on fine form as he came only half a second from victory, finishing in second place and scoring the team’s first podium with a Lites car. A decision to take the joker lap was an inspired one in the first half of the race, giving him free air to push and get ahead of team-mate Skocdopole on lap two and then Linus Östlund shortly afterwards.
Ultimately Krogstad became stuck behind a slower car that had yet to take its joker towards the end of his race, allowing eventual winner Simon Olofsson to get just far enough ahead to avoid being caught by Henrik.
Skocdopole also made a fine debut apperance with #YellowSquad in a Lites car, finishing fourth on the road before a track marker infringement cost him three seconds and dropped him to sixth.
But 16-year-old Skocodopole undoubtedly showed his talent, winning his race in Q3 and then taking another session win in his semi-final, which was a 1-2 finish for #YellowSquad with Krogstad right behind.
Both drivers will be back on track this Saturday and Sunday for the second round of the RallyX Nordic Supercar Lites series, which is being held back-to-back at Höljes as part of the championship’s bumper Magic Weekend meeting.
Quotes
Henrik Krogstad
Lites Driver“Today was a great start to my racing career with #YellowSquad! In the final it took me a lap or two to find my rhythm but after that I was starting to find so much speed. I was chasing down Olofsson for the win and really believed it was going to happen. Being behind Walfridson for a lap and a half meant I didn’t gain quite enough time on Olofsson to win the race - if I had been luckier with his joker strategy, I think it would have been different!
“We had a failure on the car in Q2 and there was still a lot of vibration in the car in Q3, but the mechanics worked on my car non-stop between qualifying and the semi final. After that it was running perfectly, so a big thank you to the team for their fantastic work.
“The target for the future is always to do better, so that means the next target for round two this weekend has to be a win. It is forecast to rain but that’s not a bad thing: if the setup is good, I’m happy, as I have enjoyed racing in the rain in the past.”
Dan Skocdopole
Lites Driver“I'm really happy with how today went. We were fast throughout the whole day and it worked out pretty good for us in the end. There was still some small mistakes I need to fix for the next race at the weekend but overall it was really good. I was fast since Q1 and we worked out a really good startegy with the team, and worked really well with Henrik in the races we were in together.”
“In the end we were able to get a semi final victory, which I feel was a great result for my Supercar Lites debut. In the end, we just fell short of a podium - which is unfortunate - but we still finished fourth before a time penalty. But that's racing, it happens. Hopefully I can get a podium or even a victory on Sunday. That's why we're here, to win!”
“And a big thank you to everyone in #YellowSquad: Eric [Färén], Kevin, my mechanics, my sponsors, my father and everyone who has supported me to this point. Hopefully we can continue like this and get good results.”
Kevin Hansen
Team Principal“It’s a great result for our first ever meeting as a Supercar Lites team. To see all the months of work we did putting this team together materialise into a podium in the first race is super satisfying.
“Everyone in the team performed well today: the drivers, with Henrik getting second place and Dan winning his semifinal - on his debut in a Lites car as well! - and the mechanics, who worked hard and showed their professionalism, doing a great job to fix Henrik’s car when we had a problem in the qualifiers.
“Immediately we showed our potential, but now the challenge is to perform to a consistently high level for the rest of the year. But now we know for sure what we are capable of!”
