Juha Rytkönen (Hyundai i20) goes into the second day as the leader in RX1 during round 5 of the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship, Euro RX of France, at Lohéac in France. In the RX3 category, French driver Julien Meunier (Audi A1) is currently leading the standings.
The traditional Lohéac event, held at the end of August or the beginning of September each year, might be one of the most anticipated events of the 2026 Rallycross season. Apart from celebrating its 50th edition this weekend, the event also features races for the French and British championships, bringing a total of 53 Supercars to the track for the spectators. The European championship features only the RX1 and RX3 categories this weekend, while the RX4 and RX5 drivers resume their championships at the season finale in Portugal in mid-September.
Given the busy schedule, the event got underway already on Friday evening, instead of Saturday morning, with two free practice sessions. Johan Kristoffersson (VW Polo Mk6) set the fastest time in both sessions.
On Saturday morning, in wet race conditions, Kristoffersson was out on the track in the third Q1 session and was able to win his heat. In the next session, Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot 208), who made his return to Rallycross for this event, was joined by Juha Rytkönen as well as Fabien Pailler (Renault Mégane Mk4). Loeb led the race for most of the time, but Rytkönen was able to pass him on the final lap at the joker merge, setting the fastest time at that point, with Loeb taking the second-fastest time. Pailler came in third and also beat Kristoffersson’s time to become the third-fastest overall. In the remaining sessions, only Kristoffersson’s teammate Ole Christian Veiby (VW Polo Mk6) was able to set a time that moved him into third overall. Eventually, Rytkönen topped Q1 ahead of Loeb, Veiby, Pailler and Kristoffersson. Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Fiesta ST Mk7), who is second in the championship behind Kristoffersson, won his session in very wet conditions, but was classified sixteenth in Q1.
Q2 got underway on Saturday afternoon on a dry track in sunny conditions. Bakkerud was out first among the championship contenders and scored a solid win in his session. With the final session, featuring the five fastest drivers from Q1, still to come, Bakkerud was topping the overall list. When the green light was shown, it was initially Loeb who took the lead, but after the first corner, Veiby was leading the field from Rytkönen and Kristoffersson. Kristoffersson then immediately took the joker and merged ahead of Loeb. He moved into second when Rytkönen took his joker. In the end, it was close at the joker merge between the two KMS Motorsport teammates, but Kristoffersson won the battle while Rytkönen saw his chance to move the Hyundai into second place. Overall, however, Kristoffersson came 0.1 seconds short of beating Bakkerud’s time set earlier. Therefore, Q2 went to Andreas Bakkerud ahead of Kristoffersson, Patrick O’Donovan (Peugeot 208), winner of the penultimate Q2 session, and Rytkönen.
In Q3, Joni Turpeinen (Ford Fiesta ST Mk7) set the benchmark in the opening session. It was only in the penultimate session that his time was beaten by Fabien Pailler. Then, in the final session, Bakkerud, Kristoffersson and Rytkönen lined up together, with Bakkerud making the better start from pole. Kristoffersson decided to take the joker on the opening lap. When Rytkönen did the same afterwards, he was able to merge ahead of Kristoffersson. Bakkerud, meanwhile, led into the final lap, took the joker and won his session ahead of Rytkönen and Kristoffersson. Overall, Fabien Pailler won Qualifying 3, with Turpeinen second and Bakkerud third. The overnight lead belongs to Rytkönen, with Pailler second. Kristoffersson, Bakkerud and Veiby, in that order, complete the top five.
In the RX3 category, the fastest times today were set by Audrius Kragas (Škoda Fabia Mk2) in Q1 and by Julien Meunier in Q2 and Q3. Meunier holds the overnight lead, while championship leader Rytis Gurklys (Audi A1) from Lithuania is currently sixth.
Q4 is scheduled for Sunday 10:30 local time, followed by the Quarter-Finals (RX1 only) and the Semi-Finals and Finals for all categories.
Results
Euro RX1 (ranking after Q3): 1. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), 130; 2. Fabien Pailler (F), 127; 3. Johan Kristoffersson (S), 122; 4. Andreas Bakkerud (N), 120; 5. Ole Christian Veiby (N), 117; 6. Sébastien Loeb (F), 113; etc.
Euro RX3 (ranking after Q3): 1. Julien Meunier (F), 142; 2. Audrius Kragas (LT), 137; 3. Markus Røsrud (N), 118; 4. Nicolas Geleyns (B), 116; 5. Václav Tůma (CZ), 113; 6. Rytis Gurklys (LT), 110; etc.