Round 6: World RX of Sweden, Höljes (S)

Date: June 30–July 1, 2018
Track: Höljes Motorstadion, 200 km north of Karlstad (S)
Track length: 1.210 km (Joker Lap: 1.250 km)
Surface: 60 % tarmac, 40 % gravel
Turns: 6 left, 5 right
Longest jump: approx. 38 m
Top speed: approx. 167 km/h
Lap record: Petter Solberg (N), 41.110s (2018)
Average speed: approx. 105.53 km/h
Winner in 2018: Johan Kristoffersson (S), 4m 14.969s

Race facts
Höljes is the “wildest” event of the year. In the midst of the woods in central Sweden, more than 40,000 fans come together for a huge party with music, barbecue and, of course, rallycross. For the Swedish EKS Audi Sport team its round on home soil is a special one. At the Höljes Motorstadion, EKS has celebrated two victories including the first one in the team’s history, in 2014. The track confronts the drivers with challenges from start to finish. When braking into turn 1, the cars have to cross the crest of a small hill that lends maximum space to three of them. This section is followed by the normal route with a small jump or, alternatively, the slower Joker section. Subsequently, in the Motodrom, heated position duels with smoking tires frequently ensue before the drivers accelerate their Supercars to about 180 km/h and tackle the most spectacular jump of the year on their way to the finish.

2018 flashback
On clinching second place on the “Magic Weekend” in Höljes, Sweden, Audi driver Andreas Bakkerud improved from fourth to second position again in the World RX. With a strong home round EKS Audi Sport bumped the Peugeot factory team from position two in the teams’ standings. 51,600 spectators made for a record turnout and a festival atmosphere at the World RX season’s pinnacle event. Particularly active yet again were Andreas Bakkerud’s fans, who flocked to Höljes and fired up the crowd with their chants. The cheers were especially loud when their hero on the last lap of the final clinched second place. For the Norwegian, this marked an amazing fifth consecutive Supercar podium at Höljes. After a collision with Timmy Hansen, Mattias Ekström was handed a penalty retroactively relegating him from third to sixth place.