The Swedish squad celebrated its maiden World RX victory when guest driver Tanner Foust triumphed in round four at Kouvola in Finland on June 29. Now the Marklund team is looking to build on that success when Heikkinen and Marklund take to the Höljes Motorstadion track in their Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars.
”World RX of Sweden is our team’s home event so many fans and friends are coming to Höljes,” said Marklund Motorsport team principal Jan Marklund. ”Höljes is a really special place and something different compared to other tracks. There are lots of enthusiastic fans and a really special atmosphere. The win in Finland was the perfect reward for lots of hard work by everyone in the team. Having shown so much pace all season, it was great we had some luck too and the target is to build on that success with a strong weekend at Höljes.”
It’s a kind of magic for Anton Marklund
Anton Marklund, who led after the opening two heats at Kouvola and is currently fifth in the drivers’ standings, can’t wait to tackle his home round of the World Rallycross Championship. The 21-year-old Swede continues to demonstrate pace and potential aplenty and will be looking to make the most of his in-depth knowledge of the 1210-metre Höljes track in Sweden’s Värmland region, where the country’s World Rally Championship round takes place each February. ”Taking part in your home event is always something special,” said Anton Marklund, the son of Marklund head Jan Marklund. ”I’ve been doing most of my testing and races there and I think our Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar will suit the high-speed track very well. Normally we have 30,000 spectators coming along, including many family and friends, and it really lives up to its reputation for creating a magic weekend.”
Heikkinen excited by ”exceptional” Höljes
Toomas ’Topi’ Heikkinen will be in catch-up mode when the World Rallycross Championship resumes in Sweden. Out of luck in his home round in Kouvola, Heikkinen has slipped to fourth in the drivers’ rankings, six points behind Petter Solberg, who won the opening round in Portugal. ”Höljes is really exceptional track,” said the reigning Global RallyCross champion. ”It’s very fast and beautiful, a true rallycross track and one of the best in the world. These weeks are special for all of us in the team having three Scandinavian races in a row: Norway first, then Finland and now Sweden. Anton and me receive a lot of media attention during these weeks but we really enjoy this time a lot.”
The track action at Höljes for the Supercar runners begins with practice and the first heats on Saturday July 5. There are more heats on Sunday morning followed by two-semi finals and the six-lap final on Sunday afternoon.
