Last weekend RamonaRX competed in the fifth round of the Swedish National Rallycross championships in Solvalla, their inaugural appearance at this track just outside of Stockholm. After some exceptionally busy weeks of preparation following the engine failure at the last European Rallycross Championships in Hell, Norway, Ramona was able to start with a new engine in Solvalla.
“We were very lucky to make this start in Solvalla. We made it with no time to spare but I’m really glad that we succeeded.” Ramona recounts.
The new engine however required some further setup adjustments after losing power in the first heat resulting in a 3rd place finish. With some subsequent troubleshooting, the mechanics fine-tuned the engine solving the engine’s earlier under performance. RamonaRX went on to secure two firsts in the remaining two qualifying heats. The chances of a place in the finals looked bright until suddenly the Scirocco was struck with transmission problems.
“The car lost traction in one axle and became very difficult to drive, so naturally I was now worried.”
It was time for the semi-finals and Ramona knew it would be very tough to chase fast track times with a now two-wheel drive car.
“I still wanted to try of course. Anything can happen in rallycross and once you are in the semi-finals you must not give up. My optimism was soon reduced by the realisation during the race that it would be impossible with the technical problems we had and couldn’t overcome.” explained Ramona who consequently finished 4th in the semi-final race, missing the final.
“It’s disappointing, but at the same time this is very useful ‘rehearsal’ and practise for this weekend’s upcoming competition.” concluded Ramona.
Team RamonaRX are now on their way to the next event in the European Rallycross Championships Series to be held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona 18-20 Sept.
Event updates will be posted both here and more frequently on RamonaRX’s Facebook page during the event.
Updates can also be found on the official FIA Rallycross site www.rallycrossrx.com
Photo: CooperKinetix