First round of the Championship - Tomelilla, Sweden, 19-20 June 2004
No Kenneth Hansen to the final
The exceptionally late season opener of the Swedish Rally cross Championship series was in fact a success. Svampabanan outside Tomelilla - in the very south of Sweden - hosted the opener and Tomelilla Motor Club was the first organizer of a combined four wheels and two wheels event in the new series called Xtreme Rallycross.
In the main class, division 1, the spectators were looking for favorite Kenneth Hansen and his red Citroën Xsara in vain when the cars were lining up for the final. He was the only one being excluded for having missed the compulsory alternative route in his last qualification heat - and without any time from his first qualification heat - no final.
The first corner of the final was an unhappy one for Michel Jernberg in his Ford Focus. He had the pole and was the first one into the corner but the last one out of it.
Lasse Larsson - last year's champion - took the lead in his newly built Skoda Fabia in spite of a flapping bonnet, after-effect of the close battle in the first corner.
"I was most interested in keeping the bonnet closed till the finish so I didn't really see Per Eklund and his Saab 9-3 behind me" - he explained after the finish.
"It's possible that I stressed Kenneth to make his mistake in the last qualifying heat, Per said, I was bumping on him a little from behind. That could easily have been enough to drop concentration".
But Per was never close to Lasse Larsson in final and behind Per there was nearly the same gap to number three, Stig-Olov Walfridsson. "Stecka" this season in Kenneth Hansen's Citroën Xsara from last year.
" I'm not satisfied with a third place he declared, the earlier heats had promised more. But we will work hard with the road setup".
After the final in division 2, Per Gustafsson - Peugeot 206 RC - was very lucky.
"Last weekend we were in Austria but our bus broke down so we had to borrow an old lorry - Per told us - and that one didn't start when we were going to Tomelilla. So a victory after all those problems was just fine".
Second in the class was Niklas Hagström in a Peugeot 306 followed by the Dane Mads Leth Sörensen in a 206 RC.
The bikers in the new Supermotard Championship introduced themselves to a new audience. Fifty-seven (57) drivers started in the qualifying heats on Saturday - held in miserable weather conditions - pouring rain and no summer heat. The weather grew steadily better and on Sunday at the for the final there was sun and dry conditions. After a spectacular final Ola Eifrém - on a KTM 525 - took the first ever victory in a Swedish Supermotard Championship race. Second was Johan Ejdehage - also KTM - and third Joakim Karlsson - Yamaha 501
Results from Swedish Rally cross Championship, Tomelilla, 20 June.
Round 1 of 4.
Division 1: 1) Lasse Larsson, Skoda Fabia, 2) Per Eklund, Saab 9-3, 3) Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Citroën Xsara, 4) Michael Jernberg, Ford Focus, 5) Marko Jokinen, Peugot 206 WRC, 6) Morgan Antonsson, Mitsubishi Lancer.
Division 2: 1) Per Gustafsson, Peugeot 206 RC, 2) Niklas Hagström, Peugeot 306, 3) Mads Leth Sörensen, Peugeot 206 RC, 4) Mattias Thörjesson, Opel Astra, 5) Jimmy Farsbo, Honda Civic, 6) Peter Hedström, Renault Clio.
Swedish Super motard Championship: 1) Ola Eifrém, KTM 525, 2) Johan Ejdehage, KTM, 3) Joakim Karlsson, Yamaha 501, 4) Bo Högberg, KTM 525, 5) Joakim Engström, Kawasaki 500, 6) Kenneth Boding, Honda CRF 500, 7) Ståle Björdal, Yamaha 450, 8) Carl Johansson, Honda 450, 9) Jörgen Huvell, Husaberg 650, 10) Martin Lind, Husaberg 650.
