Out of 19 Supercar entrants, Marklund Volkswagen drivers Toomas ’Topi’ Heikkinen and Anton Marklund both qualified for the six-lap World RX of Portugal final, with Heikkinen taking fourth and Marklund fifth in their spectacular Polo RX Supercars. Both drivers took their mandatory ’joker’ lap on the fifth lap of the race, which was held in hot and dry conditions.

After the opening round, Heikkinen is third in the drivers’ championship with Marklund three places further back in sixth. Meanwhile, Marklund Motorsport supported by Volkswagen holds second in the teams’ classification heading to the World RX of Great Britain at Lydden Hill later this month.

Heikkinen, who was fourth after the heats with 157 points, was second in his semi-final in the #57 Polo RX, while Marklund made it through to the event-closer in third. He was fifth after the heats on 154 points in the #92 Polo RX.

The Portuguese event, televised live throughout the world, was the first for the all-new Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar developed by the Swedish Marklund team over the winter. The car features a reworked 600bhp turbocharged engine, enhanced suspension, plus all-carbon bodywork. Following pre-season testing, the Montalegre round provided Marklund’s engineers with their first opportunity to gather important data and analyse performance in competitive conditions. Team principal Jan Marklund was more than satisfied with the outcome.

”We can be happy as a team because this is a very positive start to the season,” said Jan Marklund. ”We didn’t know how competitive we were going to be with our new Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars but this weekend showed that we are not far from the very top. It’s also the first event of a long season and the objective was always to get both cars to the final and score some good points, which we did. We have a few things to improve before the World RX of Great Britain but everything is looking good and we can be pleased with the performances of Topi and Anton.”

Heikkinen flies on World RX switch

Toomas Heikkinen’s outing in the World RX season-opener was his first appearance in a major rallycross event in Europe following his switch from competing in the USA, where he is the reigning Global Rallycross champion. It was also his first event driving the Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar. And the Finn, 23, didn’t disappoint with a strong run to fourth in the final. After altering the gearbox ratios to provide more top-end speed following Saturday’s heats, Heikkinen had little trouble progressing to the final.

”It was a promising weekend and I have to be happy to be third in the overall points,” said Heikkinen. ”My Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar has a lot of potential and I’m confident that there is much more to come from the car but also from me. After Petter Solberg got ahead of me at the first corner of our semi-final it was all about securing my place in the final. I made a good start from the second row in the final but I was unable to match Petter’s speed. The Fords took the joker lap at the start and I tried to push to gain enough of a gap for my own joker lap. I took my joker on the second to last lap but the Fords passed me and I finished fourth.”

Final slot a first for Anton Marklund

Anton Marklund’s standout performance in the first semi-final earned the rising Swedish star his first final start since he stepped up to the Supercar category in 2013. The 21-year-old started his semi-final in third and held off intense pressure from double European champion Timur Timerzyanov to seal the final qualifying slot at the Peugeot-driving Russian’s expense. He made a handful of set-up changes to his Volkswagen Polo RX following Saturday’s heats and his only moment of concern came in his Heat 3 race when he suffered a damaged rear wheel following contact with Andreas Bakkerud.

”First I must say that the team did a great job this weekend and has given us a car that we can improve on in the future because it has a lot of potential,” said Anton Marklund. ”I was really happy to be in the final by managing to keep Timur behind me in the semi after I passed him. I didn’t get a good start in the final and I think I was last in the first corner. Petter was untouchable so I just controlled my driving to finish fifth after I made a mistake.”

Provisional drivers’ standings (after round one of 12): 1 Petter Solberg (29 points); 2 Reinis Nittis (24); 3 Toomas Heikkinen (21); 4 Andreas Bakkerud (20); 4 Timur Timerzyanov (19); 6 Anton Marklund (18).

Provisional teams’ standings (after round one of 12): 1 Ford OlsbergsMSE (44 points); 2 Marklund Motorsport supported by Volkswagen (39); 3 PS 110% (38); 4 Team Peugeot-Hansen (33).

Next race: World RX of Great Britain, Lydden Hill, May 24-25.