Leander in the championship lead ahead of season decider
The fifth round of the Radical Cup Scandinavia at Rudskogen Motorsenter delivered an action-packed weekend as the championship battle heated up. With drivers pushing their limits, the weekend was filled with drama, intense racing, and crucial moments that have set the stage for an epic finale at Ring Knutstorp.
Test Sessions
Friday’s test sessions saw the drivers fine-tuning their setups for the challenging Rudskogen circuit. Championship contenders Stevan Petrovic and Erlend Juan Olsen were among the quickest, but it was clear that the competition was fierce across the grid. Newcomers like Kim Karlsen and Lilo Elise Fyrileiv used the sessions to get acclimated to the track, showing promising pace as they prepared for their race debuts.
Qualifying
Saturday’s qualifying session was dominated by Erlend Juan Olsen, who secured a commanding double pole position. Olsen’s performance set the tone for the weekend, clearly marking him as the driver to beat. Rasmus Hedberg impressed with his best qualifying of the season, securing P2. Championship leader Stevan Petrovic could only manage P4, which added an extra layer of excitement as his rivals saw an opportunity to close the points gap. Kim Karlsen and Lilo Elise Fyrileiv made steady progress, qualifying P10 and P12, respectively, setting themselves up for a competitive race debut.
Full Results – Qualifying
| Pos | No. | Name | Team | Best Time | Gap | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 911 | Erlend Juan Olsen | AutoTech-Sport Norway | 1:24.398 | – | – |
| 2 | 33 | Rasmus Hedberg | FH Racing | 1:24.680 | 0.282 | 0.282 |
| 3 | 64 | Lars Bertil Rantzow | RCR Sweden | 1:24.735 | 0.055 | 0.337 |
| 4 | 42 | Stevan Petrovic | RCR Sweden | 1:25.308 | 0.573 | 0.910 |
| 5 | 55 | Jørn Martin Aalerud | Aalerud Racing | 1:25.398 | 0.090 | 1.000 |
| 6 | 25 | Johan Leander | RCR Sweden | 1:25.511 | 0.113 | 1.113 |
| 7 | 23 | Gustav Emanuelsson | Fast Motorsport Scandinavia | 1:25.895 | 0.384 | 1.497 |
| 8 | 19 | Erik Stillman | ES Racing | 1:26.876 | 0.981 | 2.478 |
| 9 | 14 | Ludvig Bäck | RCR Sweden | 1:26.978 | 0.102 | 2.580 |
| 10 | 74 | Kim Karlsen | AutoTech-Sport Norway | 1:27.313 | 0.335 | 2.915 |
| 11 | 10 | Peter Gustafson | Octagon Sportscars | 1:27.565 | 0.252 | 3.167 |
| 12 | 11 | Lilo Elise Fyrileiv | AutoTech-Sport Norway | 1:28.094 | 0.529 | 3.696 |
| 13 | 69 | Torbjörn Hallenheim | RCR Sweden | 1:31.098 | 3.004 | 6.700 |
| 14 | 70 | Patrik ‘Putte’ Larsson | RCR Sweden | 1:31.746 | 0.648 | 7.348 |
| 15 | 24 | Mikael Lidén | RCR Sweden | 1:34.529 | 2.783 | 10.131 |
| 16 | 44 | Johan Lindberg | RCR Sweden | 1:34.784 | 0.255 | 10.386 |
Race 1
Race 1 kicked off with drama from the start. Lars-Bertil Rantzow made an excellent getaway from the second row, taking the overall lead into Turn 1. The opening corner saw four cars go wide, but thankfully, there were no incidents. Rasmus Hedberg, who started on the front row, lost several positions after being squeezed to the outside.
Jørn Martin Aalerud had a fantastic start, moving from P5 to P3 in the opening laps. However, the race took a dramatic turn when Lilo Elise Fyrileiv and Peter Gustafson made contact, resulting in a DNF for Lilo. Olsen, after losing the lead to Rantzow, fought back and regained P1, pulling away with a strong pace. A late safety car bunched up the field, but Olsen handled the restart perfectly, securing the win in the PRO SR3 category. Aalerud finished P2, with Petrovic taking P3. In the Platinum class, Rantzow claimed the win, finishing P2 overall.
Full Results – Race 1
| Pos | No. | Name | Team | Best Lap | Best Lap No. | Best Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 911 | Erlend Juan Olsen | AutoTech-Sport Norway | 1:25.030 | 5 | 137.048 km/h |
| 2 | 64 | Lars Bertil Rantzow | RCR Sweden | 1:25.273 | 9 | 136.658 km/h |
| 3 | 55 | Jørn Martin Aalerud | Aalerud Racing | 1:26.538 | 9 | 134.660 km/h |
| 4 | 42 | Stevan Petrovic | RCR Sweden | 1:26.190 | 5 | 135.204 km/h |
| 5 | 19 | Erik Stillman | ES Racing | 1:26.473 | 6 | 134.761 km/h |
| 6 | 25 | Johan Leander | RCR Sweden | 1:26.664 | 6 | 134.464 km/h |
| 7 | 33 | Rasmus Hedberg | FH Racing | 1:26.361 | 6 | 134.936 km/h |
| 8 | 23 | Gustav Emanuelsson | Fast Motorsport Scandinavia | 1:26.196 | 8 | 135.194 km/h |
| 9 | 14 | Ludvig Bäck | RCR Sweden | 1:26.946 | 5 | 134.028 km/h |
| 10 | 74 | Kim Karlsen | AutoTech-Sport Norway | 1:26.839 | 9 | 134.193 km/h |
| 11 | 24 | Mikael Lidén | RCR Sweden | 1:31.908 | 8 | 126.792 km/h |
| 12 | 70 | Patrik ‘Putte’ Larsson | RCR Sweden | 1:31.617 | 7 | 127.195 km/h |
| 13 | 69 | Torbjörn Hallenheim | RCR Sweden | 1:31.135 | 7 | 127.867 km/h |
| 14 | 44 | Johan Lindberg | RCR Sweden | 1:31.876 | 5 | 126.836 km/h |
| DNF | 11 | Lilo Elise Fyrileiv | AutoTech-Sport Norway | 0.000 | 0 | 0 km/h |
| DNF | 10 | Peter Gustafson | Octagon Sportscars | 1:29.186 | 8 | 130.662 km/h |
Race 2
Race 2 continued the weekend’s excitement. Olsen started from pole, but once again, Rantzow’s strong start saw him take the lead into Turn 1. Hedberg lost ground after being forced wide, while Aalerud made a mistake under braking, cutting the corner and causing a collision that took both Olsen and Petrovic out of the race. Aalerud was able to continue, but the two championship contenders were out, leading to a major shakeup in the points standings.
The safety car was deployed, and at the restart, Leander, Hedberg, and Bäck led the PRO SR3 field. Erik Stillman received a 10-second penalty for overtaking under the safety car, further adding to the drama. A late-race collision between Emanuelsson and Karlsen saw both drivers retire, adding to the list of casualties. In the final lap, Rantzow spun, handing the victory to Leander, with Hedberg in P2 and Aalerud recovering to P3. This result allowed Leander to take a crucial points lead in the championship.
| Pos | Competitor | Total Time | Diff | Best Lap | Best Speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johan Leander | 22:51.161 | 0.000 | 1:25.955 | 135.573 |
| 2 | Rasmus Hedberg | 22:52.941 | 1.780 | 1:25.641 | 136.070 |
| 3 | Jørn Martin Aalerud | 23:02.038 | 10.877 | 1:25.530 | 136.247 |
| 4 | Ludvig Bäck | 23:02.192 | 11.031 | 1:26.804 | 134.247 |
| 5 | Lars Bertil Rantzow | 23:06.311 | 15.150 | 1:25.645 | 136.064 |
| 6 | Erik Stillman | 23:11.673 | 20.512 | 1:26.194 | 135.197 |
| 7 | Lilo Elise Fyrileiv | 23:35.277 | 44.116 | 1:28.497 | 131.679 |
| 8 | Mikael Lidén | 23:44.048 | 52.887 | 1:31.036 | 128.007 |
| 9 | Torbjörn Hallenheim | 23:44.396 | 53.235 | 1:30.482 | 128.790 |
| 10 | Peter Gustafson | 23:50.985 | 59.824 | 1:31.607 | 127.209 |
| 11 | Patrik ‘Putte’ Larsson | 23:51.318 | 1:00.157 | 1:31.284 | 127.659 |
| 12 | Johan Lindberg | 23:59.572 | 1:08.411 | 1:32.437 | 126.066 |
| DNF | Gustav Emanuelsson | 14:34.793 | 0.000 | 1:28.821 | 131.199 |
| DNF | Kim Karlsen | 14:47.348 | 0.000 | 1:29.206 | 130.632 |
| DNF | Erlend Juan Olsen | 0.968 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| DNF | Stevan Petrovic | 1.313 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Race 3
The final race of the weekend saw perfect conditions for racing. Aalerud and Hedberg started from the front row, but it was Rantzow who once again made the best start, taking the lead into Turn 1 and holding it until the checkered flag. Aalerud maintained the lead in the PRO SR3 category, while Hedberg lost a position to Stillman early on.
Meanwhile, Petrovic and Olsen, starting from the back, began their charge through the field. However, Petrovic’s championship hopes took a hit after contact with Kim Karlsen forced both to retire. Olsen managed to climb to P3 but was hit with penalties for a jump start and overtaking under the safety car, dropping him to P6. Rantzow took the overall victory, while Aalerud, Stillman, and Hedberg rounded out the PRO SR3 podium.
As the series heads to the final round at Ring Knutstorp, the championship is wide open, with five drivers still in contention.
| Pos | No. | Name | Make | Nat | Best Tm | Diff | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 64 | Lars Bertil Rantzow | Radical SR10 | SWE | 1:26.521 | – | 12 |
| 2 | 55 | Jørn Martin Aalerud | Radical SR3 | NOR | 1:27.031 | 1.425 | 12 |
| 3 | 19 | Erik Stillman | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:27.097 | 2.880 | 12 |
| 4 | 33 | Rasmus Hedberg | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:27.379 | 2.257 | 12 |
| 5 | 14 | Ludvig Bäck | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:27.880 | 1.982 | 12 |
| 6 | 25 | Johan Leander | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:27.580 | 1.131 | 12 |
| 7 | 911 | Erlend Juan Olsen | Radical SR3 | NOR | 1:26.253 | 4.864 | 12 |
| 8 | 11 | Lilo Elise Fyrileiv | Radical SR3 | NOR | 1:30.144 | 14.769 | 12 |
| 9 | 70 | Patrik ‘Putte’ Larsson | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:30.511 | 1.623 | 12 |
| 10 | 69 | Torbjörn Hallenheim | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:32.352 | 8.356 | 12 |
| 11 | 24 | Mikael Lidén | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:32.356 | 1.017 | 12 |
| 12 | 44 | Johan Lindberg | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:32.142 | 0.235 | 12 |
| 13 | 23 | Gustav Emanuelsson | Radical SR3 | SWE | 1:28.021 | 3 Laps | 9 |
| DNF | 74 | Kim Karlsen | Radical SR3 | NOR | – | DNF | 1 |
| DNF | 42 | Stevan Petrovic | Radical SR3 | SWE | – | DNF | 0 |
| DNS | 10 | Peter Gustafson | Radical SR10 | SWE | – | DNS | – |
Championship Standings (Top 5)
- #25 Johan Leander – RCR Sweden – 337 points
- #42 Stevan Petrovic – RCR Sweden – 325 points
- #911 Erlend Juan Olsen – AutoTech-Sport Norway – 315 points
- #19 Erik Stillman – ES Racing – 304 points
- #14 Ludvig Bäck – RCR Sweden – 289 points
The final round at Ring Knutstorp promises to be a nail-biting conclusion to the season. With five drivers still in contention for the title, every point will be crucial. Don’t miss the action as the 2024 Radical Cup Scandinavia crowns its champion!
