Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST) won the fourth round of the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship, ‘Euro RX of Ireland’, at Mondello Park today (July 19). In the Euro RX1 final he beat both Kristoffersson Motorsport drivers Ole Christian Veiby (VW Polo Mk6) and Johan Kristoffersson (VW Polo Mk6), who finished second and third respectively. It was Bakkerud’s second win of the season, matching Johan Kristoffersson’s two victories so far this season. In the Euro RX3 and Euro RX4 categories, event wins went to Rytis Gurklys (Audi A1) and Andréa Bénézet (Renault Clio Mk5).
After Saturday’s black flag, Johan Kristoffersson had two more qualifying sessions on Sunday to improve his position in the intermediate standings and secure himself a good starting position for the upcoming Quarter-Finals. In Q3 he set the fastest time ahead of Joni Turpeinen (Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST) and Andreas Bakkerud. As a result, he climbed from thirteenth on Saturday evening to fourth after Q3, helped by Juha Rytkönen (Hyundai i20), who received a black flag in Q3 for an ‘unsafe rejoin’. In Q4, the final race was all-decisive for the intermediate classification. Kristoffersson again set the fastest time, but with Bakkerud beating Veiby, Bakkerud became the top qualifier ahead of Veiby and Turpeinen, while Kristoffersson eventually finished fourth, securing pole position for Quarter-Final Four.
The first Quarter-Final saw Bakkerud on pole with Patrick O’Donovan (Peugeot 208) alongside him on the front row. Juha Rytkönen lined up on the second row. Bakkerud led from lights to flag and won ahead of Patrick O’Donovan. Rytkönen had to battle Tamás Kárai (Audi S1) for third, eventually prevailing to secure the final Semi-Final qualification spot.
Veiby started the second Quarter-Final from pole with Nils Volland (Audi S1) alongside him on the front row. Here too, the main battle was for third behind the leading duo of Veiby and Volland. Casper Jansson (Peugeot 208) and local driver Michael Leonard (Audi S1) fought over the final qualifying place, with the Irishman coming out on top after managing to stay ahead of Jansson when he emerged from the joker lap on the last lap.
Joni Turpeinen drove to victory in the third Quarter-Final. Irishmen Ollie O’Donovan (Peugeot 208) and Derek Tohill (Peugeot 208) finished second and third respectively to secure their places in the Semi-Finals.
In the fourth and final Quarter-Final, it was Kristoffersson’s turn to secure his place in the Semi-Finals. The Swede was outstanding and won it from Martin Enlund (Ford Fiesta Mk8 ST), while Portugal’s José Oliveira (Peugeot 208) claimed the final qualifying position.
Bakkerud started the first Semi-Final from pole and shared the front row with Turpeinen. Father and son O’Donovan occupied the second row, while Rytkönen and Tohill completed the grid on the third row. Bakkerud won the start, with Ollie O’Donovan taking second on the opening lap. However, Ollie O’Donovan dropped to sixth after taking his joker on lap two. Patrick O’Donovan moved into second, closely followed by Rytkönen. Rytkönen inherited the lead when both Bakkerud and Patrick O’Donovan completed their joker laps. Bakkerud rejoined in second, while Turpeinen, who had taken an early joker, climbed to third. When Rytkönen took his joker on the final lap, he managed to hold off Patrick O’Donovan and qualified for the Final together with Bakkerud and Turpeinen.
The second Semi-Final featured Veiby on pole alongside teammate Kristoffersson. Volland and Enlund occupied the second row, with Leonard and Oliveira lining up on the third. Veiby won the start and led ahead of Kristoffersson. The pair remained first and second until the end of lap four, when Kristoffersson took his joker. Veiby responded a lap later and managed to stay in the lead after rejoining the main track. Nils Volland was best of the rest and qualified for his first Euro RX1 Final of the season.
The Final saw front-row starters Bakkerud and Veiby running first and second after Turn Two, while Set Promotion teammates Turpeinen and Rytkönen battled over third, with Turpeinen coming out on top. Kristoffersson was fourth at the end of the opening lap. Turpeinen took his joker immediately, allowing Kristoffersson to move into third. Veiby dropped to fourth after taking his joker on lap two. Kristoffersson completed his joker on the penultimate lap but was passed by Veiby shortly after rejoining. With only Rytkönen and Bakkerud still to complete their joker laps, Bakkerud kept everything under control and rejoined ahead of both Kristoffersson Motorsport drivers. The Norwegian therefore claimed his second victory of the season following his earlier success in Hungary. Veiby finished second ahead of his teammate, while Turpeinen (fourth) also got the better of Rytkönen (fifth). Nils Volland finished sixth in his first Euro RX1 Final of the season. With today’s victory, Bakkerud has closed the gap to championship leader Kristoffersson to seven points. Kristoffersson now has 132 points, while Bakkerud moves to 125. Veiby climbs to third in the standings on 117 points.
In the RX3 category, Rytis Gurklys led the intermediate standings on Saturday evening after setting the fastest times in Q1 and Q2. On Sunday he added the fastest times in Q3 and Q4 to become the top qualifier. He finished at the top of the intermediate standings ahead of Julien Meunier (Audi A1) and Nicolas Geleyns (Audi A1).
The Lithuanian started the first Semi-Final from pole with Geleyns alongside him on the front row. Gurklys won the start and led ahead of Geleyns, while Dylan Dufas (VW Polo Mk6) ran third. Dufas took his joker on lap four and rejoined in third. A lap later, Geleyns completed his joker while retaining second place. Gurklys enjoyed a comfortable lead and, after taking his joker on the final lap, qualified for the Final together with Geleyns and Dufas. In the second Semi-Final, contested by only four cars, Julien Meunier won from pole, with Libor Teješ (Audi A1) and Tiago Ferreira (Ford Fiesta Mk7) also progressing to the Final.
The Final featured a Gurklys-Meunier front row, with both drivers battling hard into Turn Two as Meunier attempted to pass around the outside. Heading towards Turn Three, Meunier completed the move to take the lead. On lap three, Geleyns, running third, completed his joker while retaining the position. Meunier responded with his joker on lap four and rejoined in second. Gurklys waited until the final lap before taking his joker, allowing both Meunier and Geleyns to move ahead. However, at Turn Two, Gurklys overtook Geleyns to reclaim second place behind Meunier. After the race, the Stewards of the Meeting received a protest lodged by NG Racing Team (with driver Rytis Gurklys) against Julien Meunier, alleging that Meunier had left the track between Turn One and Turn Two, rejoined unsafely and pushed Gurklys. The protest was upheld by the Stewards and resulted in a three-second time penalty for Meunier. As a result, Meunier was classified third, with Gurklys and Geleyns promoted to first and second respectively. Gurklys continues to lead the championship on 122 points, with Meunier on 94 points.
In RX4, Filip Melon (Peugeot 208) narrowly missed out on a clean sweep in qualifying after setting the second-fastest time in Q4, having topped the first three qualifying sessions. Nevertheless, it was enough to become top qualifier. With only six competitors entered, the category went straight to the Final. Melon started from pole, but fellow front-row starter Thomas Quincé (Renault Clio Mk5) overtook the Polish driver after Turn Two, with Andréa Bénézet running third. Bénézet took his joker on lap three. Melon responded a lap later and retained second place. He then closed in on Quincé and inherited the lead when the Frenchman completed his joker. Melon crossed the finish line first in RX4, but the final result was later changed following a Race Director Notification and a Stewards Decision. After the Final, Thomas Quincé was black-flagged by the Race Director for “Pushing and overtaking (unsporting behaviour) car no. 69”, promoting Andréa Bénézet to second and Haotian Deng (Renault Clio Mk5) to third. Three hours after the finish of the Euro RX4 Final, a Stewards Decision was published announcing the disqualification of Filip Melon from the final classification. According to the Stewards Decision, based on a report of the FIA Technical Delegate, “The measurement value of the radiator thickness during final scrutineering was 34mm.” It further stated: “The applicable homologation form for the Peugeot 208 GT 130 Line (Homologation No. A-5780) specifies a radiator thickness of 26 mm ± 1 mm. The measured value therefore exceeded the maximum homologated thickness by 7 mm.” Andréa Bénézet was declared the winner, with Haotian Deng second and Ivo Gabrāns (Renault Clio Mk5) third. Bénézet now leads the championship on 96 points, with Melon second on 72.
The next round of the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship, the penultimate event of the season, is scheduled for the final weekend of August (August 29-30) at Lohéac in France.
Results
Euro RX1 – Final: 1. Andreas Bakkerud (N), Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST; 2. Ole Christian Veiby (N), VW Polo Mk6; 3. Johan Kristoffersson (S), VW Polo Mk6; 4. Joni Turpeinen (FIN), Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST; 5. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), Hyundai i20; 6. Nils Volland (D), Audi S1.
Euro RX3 – Final: 1. Rytis Gurklys (LT), Audi A1; 2. Nicolas Geleyns (B), Audi A1; 3. Julien Meunier (F), Audi A1; 4. Dylan Dufas (F), VW Polo Mk6; 5. Tiago Ferreira (P), Ford Fiesta Mk7; -. Libor Teješ (CZ), Audi A1 – BFL.
Euro RX4 – Final: 1. Andréa Bénézet (F), Renault Clio Mk5; 2. Haotian Deng (CHN), Renault Clio Mk5; 3. Ivo Gabrāns (LV), Renault Clio Mk5; 4. Albert Ako Kokk (EST), Renault Clio Mk5; -. Thomas Quincé (F), Renault Clio Mk5 – BFL; -. Filip Melon (PL), Peugeot 208 – DQ.
Euro RX5 – Final: 1. Armin Raag (EST); 2. Martin Juga (EST); 3. David Kane (GB); 4. Diego Martínez (E); 5. Marek Mičík (CZ); 6. Tim Braumüller (D).
Standings
Euro RX1 (4/6): 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), 132; 2. Andreas Bakkerud (N), 125; 3. Ole Christian Veiby (N), 117; 4. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), 90; 5. Joni Turpeinen (FIN), 90; 6. Casper Jansson (S), 57; etc.
Euro RX3 (4/6): 1. Rytis Gurklys (LT), 122; 2. Julien Meunier (F), 94; 3. Sámuel Kovács (H), 55; 4. Nicolas Geleyns (B), 51; 5. Libor Teješ (CZ), 48; 6. Dylan Dufas (F), 47; etc.
Euro RX4 (4/6): 1. Andréa Bénézet (F), 96; 2. Filip Melon (PL), 72; 3. Albert Ako Kokk (EST), 56; 4. Ivo Gabrāns (LV), 54; 5. Haotian Deng (CHN), 52; 6. Thomas Quincé (F), 40; etc.
Euro RX5 (4/6): 1. Armin Raag (EST), 95; 2. Martin Juga (EST), 93; 3. Diego Martínez (E), 70; 4. Valentin Comte (F), 61; 5. Tim Braumüller (D), 58; 6. Marko Muru (EST), 32; etc.