WRX Canada 2018

07.08.2018

Canada - one of the best tracks in the championship - our own V.Gryazin has said so himself. 

This was a very challenging race for our driver - qualification stages lead to a gearbox change and it was up to Vasiliy now to get into the finals. And he did - by winning his semi-final and that meant starting his final from the first standing. 

Unfortunately, the start was slow and that allowed for Oliver Eriksson, Guillaume De Ridder, Cole Keatts to make the podium. Vasiliy took 4th place this time. 

Semi-finals

As his pursuers scrapped amongst themselves – Nilsson and De Ridder taking advantage of a mistake by Gundersen at the end of the opening lap to move up to second and third – Keatts held sway at the head of the order, but an early joker from Gryazin allowed him to leapfrog them all.

Final

Eriksson converted pole position into the lead at lights-out, with De Ridder also making a sprightly getaway to dive up the inside of the slow-starting Gryazin – but both were outfoxed by Martell, who pulled off his trademark maneuver by storming around the outside and up to second.

Trogen’s challenge ended abruptly in the Turn Two tyres as he came unstuck while trying to relieve Keatts of fourth, and the next to fall was Martell, who was really beginning to turn up the wick on Eriksson when an ill-judged overtaking attempt at Turn Five saw the Team Färén ace clip the tyre stack, spinning him broadside across the track.

That delayed the pursuing De Ridder and Keatts – albeit not enough to drop them into the clutches of Gryazin – and the pair duly went on to follow Eriksson home in second and third to secure a famous podium lock-out for OMSE.

For Eriksson, it completed a perfect weekend’s score that has opened his championship lead back out to 11 points, with a total of 60 remaining in play – at Lohéac in France on 1/2 September and Cape Town in South Africa on 24/25 November.

Final Result

1. Oliver ERIKSSON (SWE) Olsbergs MSE 6 laps

2. Guillaume DE RIDDER (BEL) Olsbergs MSE +2.721s

3. Cole KEATTS (USA) Olsbergs MSE +4.636s

4. Vasiliy GRYAZIN (LVA) Sports Racing Technologies +6.170s

5. Sami-Matti TROGEN (FIN) SET Promotion +43.137s

6. Conner MARTELL (USA) Team Färén +4 laps

Championship Standings

1. Oliver Eriksson (SWE) 125 points

2. Guillaume De Ridder (BEL) 114 points

3. Henrik Krogstad (NOR) 89 points

4. Vasiliy Gryazin (LVA) 85 points

5. Ben-Philip Gundersen (NOR) 83 points

6. Sondre Evjen (NOR) 71 points

7. William Nilsson (SWE) 66 points

8. Jami Kalliomäki (FIN) 59 points

9. Conner Martell (USA) 54 points

10. Sami-Matti Trogen (FIN) 41 points