After a first experience behind the wheel of the FC2 late last season in the Swedish Championship, Lukas Andersson has already demonstrated that he has the potential to establish himself among the leading contenders of the 2026 campaign.
Despite finishing outside the Top 6 in the opening two qualifying heats, the Swedish driver responded in Q3 by setting the outright fastest time in the Open 4WD category before securing a place on the third step of the podium in the final, just behind Oliver Eriksson and Niclas Grönholm.
“It’s very encouraging to already have their pace in my first RallyX event,” Lukas explained.
“The day actually started very badly, with two hits on track markers that damaged the suspension. But winning Q3 was a real boost of confidence, both for me and for the whole team.”
Revitalised by that performance, the JC Raceteknik driver was able to rise to the occasion in the knockout stages.
“In the semi-final, I managed to stay close to Oliver, then move up to P2 after a very good start from third on the grid. The goal was then to hold position. I even had a chance to fight for the win in the final, but Oliver Eriksson took the joker right in front of me, and from that moment I knew it would be difficult to do better than third.”
Although victory slipped away, Andersson nonetheless emerged as one of the standout performers of the opening day, displaying a level of pace capable of matching the category’s benchmarks, as illustrated by his second-fastest lap time in the final showdown of Race 1.
“When you look at the lap times, I was faster than Niclas Grönholm and some of the other reference drivers in the category. But I’m really very happy with this third place, and the whole team is as well.”
The result forms part of a positive trajectory heading into what remains a long weekend, where consistency is likely to prove decisive.
“You know me, I always go for the win. But you can’t have it every time. I’m very pleased with third place, but tomorrow we’ll keep pushing. Of course, I’ll try to win, but a podium here against this level of competition is already a very strong result.”
Buoyed by a successful opening day, Andersson now approaches the remainder of the meeting with clear ambitions.
“It’s obviously a big boost of confidence to achieve this result today. The goal will be to be even more consistent in the heats tomorrow and to keep building on this momentum.”