For the first time this season, neither Marklund driver made the six-lap event final after misfortune struck at the semi-final stage. Nevertheless, Heikkinen remains very much in the thick of the World RX title battle in third overall, 13 points behind Hell winner and new championship leader Reiniss Nitiss, with Marklund sixth in the table, 20 points adrift of Heikkinen. Meanwhile, in the teams’ standings, Marklund Motorsport supported by Volkswagen is second to the Ford OlsbergsMSE outfit.
Contact proves costly for Marklund duo
With Hell, located 30 kilometres from Trondheim, the closest venue to Marklund Motorsport’s base in northern Sweden, hopes were high for a successful weekend. Unfortunately, Anton Marklund just missed out on a final spot by finishing fourth in the first semi-final at the undulating track, while Heikkinen took fifth in his semi as both Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar drivers came off worse following contact with rivals. Marklund dropped back after a nudge from Henning Solberg, while Heikkinen’s hopes effectively ended when erstwhile championship leader Andreas Bakkerud sent him spinning on the opening lap of the second semi.
”This was weekend of bad luck and disappointments,” said Marklund Motorsport team principal Jan Marklund. ”Of course these kind of incidents are part of motorsport but for sure we had the speed to be in the final with two cars, even to win. At least we know that our cars are fast and our drivers are capable. Now we have to get all the bits and pieces together at same time. For sure we will work on our cars as well and we’ll be heading to the next round in Kouvola even more determined to win.”
Heikkinen: points but no prizes
Topi Heikkinen, who was third in the points after day one, said: ”We found the speed in practice and I was second in heat one. I was looking good for a similar result in heat two but I got stuck behind Nitiss and driving in his dust cloud affected my speed and I was only fifth fastest. But we were third in the points after day one and had our sights set on more championship points.”
Heikkinen continued: ”In the third heat I thought it was a jump start and waited for a new start but there wasn’t one so I lost a lot time. I lost some time behind Jacques Villeneuve in the fourth heat but after passing him I set good lap times and scored the second fastest overall time, which left me in fourth position with everything possible.
”I had a good starting position in second semi-final. I took my ’joker’ lap immediately and it was a fierce battle with Bakkerud. I managed to pass him at the hairpin but then he hit me in the back causing me to spin. The front of my car hit the barrier and that ruined my hopes of the final. I’m really, really disappointed. We had the speed to race for the podium, maybe even the win. Now, that win will have to wait until the next race on my home soil in Kouvola.”
Marklund’s promise goes unrewarded
Tied on points with fifth-placed Timmy Hansen after Saturday’s action, Anton Marklund’s hopes of a start in the final were dashed early in his semi, but not before he had impressed in the heats. ”I was bit unlucky in the draw and started in the first heat. Even if I was cleaning up the track for the other guys my lap times were quite good and I was eighth fastest out of 36 cars, which put me in the middle of the group for heat two. I had a good start and did my ’joker’ lap immediately. Unfortunately, one of the Fords broke a driveshaft in front of me and I lost time when he spun. I was second in my heat with the seventh fastest time and sixth overall after day one, so quite confident for the second day.
”In the third heat I had a good start but Ken Block was inside me doing a normal lap so I dived into my ’joker’ lap. After that I was pushing hard and setting the fastest lap time of heat three, which was the third overall fastest time. But I got a bad start in my fourth heat, got between two cars coming into the first corner and spun. I lost about five seconds so my total time was a disaster although I was still seventh after the heats.
”I think I had the fastest car in my semi-final but having bad luck stuck behind Henning Solberg’s Saab. I was knocking on the door in every corner but his car was too big and he didn’t make mistakes to be overtaken. I was really frustrated and disappointed after finishing fourth in my semi-final because I had the pace for the final but this time it wasn’t to happen.”
Finland up next for Marklund aces
Following back-to-back race weekends, Heikkinen and Marklund will take a well-earned rest before World RX resumes on Heikkinen’s home soil at the Kouvola track in Finland from June 28/29.
Provisional World RX drivers’ standings (after round three of 12): 1 Reinis Nitiss (72 points); 2 Petter Solberg (69); 3 Toomas Heikkinen (59); 4 Andreas Bakkerud (57); 5 Timur Timerzyanov (41); 6 Anton Marklund (39); etc.
Provisional World RX teams’ standings (after round three of 12): 1 Ford OlsbergsMSE (120 points); 2 Marklund Motorsport supported by Volkswagen (98); 3 Team Peugeot-Hansen (78).
