Johan Kristoffersson (VW Polo Mk5) claimed victory in the opening round of the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship at Biķernieki Sport Complex on Sunday (May 10). With his second-place finish, Ole Christian Veiby (VW Polo Mk5) completed the success for Kristoffersson Motorsport. Set Promotion’s Joni Turpeinen (Ford Fiesta Mk7) completed the RX1 podium. Frenchman Julien Meunier (Audi A1) won the RX3 category, while his compatriot Andréa Bénézet (Renault Clio Mk4) became the first-ever RX4 winner.
Andor Trepák (Renault Mégane Mk4) set the fastest RX1 time on Sunday morning in Q4 after winning the fourth race and beating the time set by Joni Turpeinen in the opening race. Juha Rytkönen (Hyundai i20), who beat Johan Kristoffersson in the last race, was third. However, Kristoffersson’s fourth-fastest time in Q4 was sufficient to finish on top of the ranking and become the RX1 top qualifier. Rytkönen was second ahead of Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Fiesta Mk7), Veiby and Turpeinen. Q4 winner Trepák qualified sixth.
The top 24 drivers in the ranking after qualifying advanced to this season’s newly introduced Quarter-Finals. The Quarter-Finals – run over five laps – take place when there are at least 16 cars able to participate; otherwise, the top 12 drivers advance directly to the Semi-Finals. For this opening round, 24 cars qualified, leading to four Quarter-Finals with six cars each.
Kristoffersson, as top qualifier, was in the first Quarter-Final (QF). The start went to Turpeinen, who led until the final lap when he passed through the joker lap section and Kristoffersson was able to overtake him at the merge. Casper Jansson (Peugeot 208) finished third and also qualified for the Semi-Finals. The second QF had Rytkönen and Trepák on the front row, with the first named spinning in Turn 1. Trepák won ahead of Zoltán Koncseg (Audi S1), while Rytkönen finished third and qualify for the Semi-Final. QF3 featured Bakkerud and Rokas Baciuška (Hyundai i20) on the front row. The pair finished first and second, with Maiko Tamm (Ford Fiesta Mk7) in third. In the last QF, Veiby, Patrick O’Donovan (Peugeot 208) and Ulrik Linnemann (VW Polo Mk5) claimed the top three spots.
The first Semi-Final, with the top three from QF1 and QF3, had Kristoffersson and Bakkerud on the front row, with Turpeinen and Baciuška on the second row. Bakkerud made the better start, while Kristoffersson battled Turpeinen for second place. Kristofferson quickly closed the gap to Bakkerud and went into the joker lap section on lap three. Bakkerud followed a lap later but was overtaken by Kristoffersson at the merge. Kristoffersson won ahead of Bakkerud, with Turpeinen securing the final qualifying spot for the Final.
Trepák and Veiby shared the front row for the second Semi-Final, with the top three drivers from QF2 and QF4. The race was halted for Trepák shortly after the start when he suffered suspension damage. Rytkönen made a strong start from the third row and moved into second place by the end of the first lap behind Veiby. O’Donovan ran third after starting from the second row. The joker lap didn’t change the positions for the top three drivers.
Following the victories of Kristoffersson and Veiby in the Semi-Finals, the RX1 final had a Kristoffersson Motorsport front-row lockout. Bakkerud and Rytkönen occupied the second row, while Turpeinen and O’Donovan completed the grid. When the green lights were shown both KMS drivers – despite earlier launch issues – made the best start with Kristoffersson leading Veiby. Bakkerud lost positions in the first couple of turns and dropped to fifth in the first lap. He later moved up to fourth when O’Donovan went into the joker lap section. Bakkerud himself then passed through the joker lap section on lap four. Kristoffersson and third-placed Turpeinen followed a lap later, with the latter successfully holding off Bakkerud. The result was a one-two finish for Kristoffersson Motorsport, while Turpeinen secured third place. Bakkerud finished fourth, ahead of O’Donovan and Rytkönen in fifth and sixth respectively.
In the RX3 category, Julien Meunier was the top qualifier after setting the second-fastest time in Q4. Rytis Gurklys (Audi A1), who was fastest on Sunday morning, was second in the ranking. The first Semi-Final required two attempts to get it underway as after a first chaotic start the red flag was brought out. The second start was clean, with Meunier taking the lead and holding it to the finish. The race ended chaotic as both Dylan Dufas (VW Polo Mk5) and Markus Røsrud (Škoda Fabia Mk2) crashed out just before the finish line.
The second Semi-Final was also incident-filled with Dominik Senegacnik (Škoda Fabia Mk3) rolling his car and Václav Tůma (Škoda Fabia Mk3) parking his car into the wall. The race ultimately resulted in a Lithuanian one-two-three finish, with Gurklys ahead of Audrius Kragas (Škoda Fabia Mk2) and Valdas Mikužis (Škoda Fabia Mk2).
The RX3 final saw Gurklys make the better start and going into the lead ahead of Meunier. Meunier opted for the joker lap on lap four while maintaining second place. Gurklys did the same a lap later, while Meunier was able to position himself on the inside for the next turn after the merge, successfully overtaking the Lithuanian. Nicolas Geleyns (Audi A1) finished third to claim the final podium spot.
In the new RX4 category, Andréa Bénézet was the top qualifier and later won the first Semi-Final. Second in the ranking was Albert Ako Kokk (Renault Clio Mk4), who won the second Semi-Final. Bénézet lead the Final from shortly after the start until the finish, becoming the first-ever RX4 winner in the European championship. Kokk secured himself second place, while the battle for third was won by Thomas Quincé (Renault Clio Mk4) holding off Haotian Deng (Renault Clio Mk4).
The championship continues with the second round of the series on May 30-31 at Nyirád (Nyirád Racing Center) in Hungary.
Results
Euro RX1 – Final: 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), VW Polo Mk5; 2. Ole Christian Veiby (N), VW Polo Mk5; 3. Joni Turpeinen (FIN), Ford Fiesta Mk7; 4. Andreas Bakkerud (N), Ford Fiesta Mk7; 5. Patrick O’Donovan (IRL), Peugeot 208; 6. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), Hyundai i20.
Euro RX3 – Final: 1. Julien Meunier (F), Audi A1; 2. Rytis Gurklys (LT), Audi A1; 3. Nicolas Geleyns (AG), Audi A1; 4. Valdas Mikužis (LT), Škoda Fabia Mk2; 5. André Sousa (P), Audi A1; 6. Audrius Kragas (LT), Škoda Fabia Mk2.
Euro RX4 – Final: 1. Andréa Bénézet (F), Renault Clio Mk4; 2. Albert Ako Kokk (EST), Renault Clio Mk4; 3. Thomas Quincé (F), Renault Clio Mk4; 4. Haotian Deng (CHN), Renault Clio Mk4; 5. Filip Melon (PL), Peugeot 208; 6. Ivo Gabrāns (LV), Renault Clio Mk4.
Euro RX5 – Final: 1. Tim Braumüller (D); 2. Armin Raag (EST); 3. Martin Juga (EST); 4. Roberts Purmalis (LV); 5. Marko Muru (EST); 6. Diego Martínez González (E).
Standings
Euro RX1 (1/6): 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), 40; 2. Ole Christian Veiby (N), 33; 3. Joni Turpeinen (FIN), 25; 4. Andreas Bakkerud (N), 25; 5. Patrick O’Donovan (IRL), 19; 6. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), 17; etc.
Euro RX3 (1/6): 1. Julien Meunier (F), 34; 2. Rytis Gurklys (LT), 27; 3. Nicolas Geleyns (AG), 22; 4. Valdas Mikužis (LT), 17; 5. André Sousa (P), 14; 6. Audrius Kragas (LT), 13; etc.
Euro RX4 (1/6): 1. Andréa Bénézet (F), 34; 2. Albert Ako Kokk (EST), 27; 3. Thomas Quincé (F), 22; 4. Haotian Deng (CHN), 17; 5. Filip Melon (PL), 16; 6. Ivo Gabrāns (LV), 11; etc.
Euro RX5 (1/6): 1. Tim Braumüller (D), 32; 2. Armin Raag (EST), 27; 3. Martin Juga (EST), 24; 4. Roberts Purmalis (LV), 19; 5. Marko Muru (EST), 14; 6. Diego Martínez González (E), 11; etc.