Johan Kristoffersson (VW Polo Mk6) won his first-ever European Rallycross Championship title on Sunday (September 13). The Swede and eight-time FIA World Rallycross Champion won the seventh round of the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship at Lousada in Portugal and secured the RX1 title after the Quarter-Finals. In the RX3 category, the title went to Rytis Gurklys (Audi A1), while Andréa Bénézet (Renault Clio Mk5) is the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Champion in the RX4 category.
It all came down to a single race to decide who would become the 2026 FIA European Rallycross Champion. In the RX1 category, title contender Andreas Bakkerud (Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST) failed to make it into the Semi-Final on Saturday following a puncture in his Quarter-Final. After his win in Saturday’s race, Kristoffersson had a very comfortable lead of 36 points ahead of the second leg of the 2026 season finale.
In Qualifying on Sunday, Kristoffersson set the fastest time in the three sessions to finish at the top of the standings. Bakkerud’s best result in Qualifying was a third-fastest time in Q2. Together with two seventh-fastest times, he was classified fourth after Qualifying and was therefore on pole for the fourth Quarter-Final. Patrick O’Donovan (Peugeot 208) and Joni Turpeinen (Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST) were second and third in the ranking, while Casper Jansson (Peugeot 208) completed the top five.
For Kristoffersson, who started on pole in the first Quarter-Final, making it through to the Semi-Final was mathematically sufficient to clinch his first-ever European Rallycross title. That first Quarter-Final got underway with five cars, three of which crashed in the first corner. Eventually, Kristoffersson and Casper Jansson made it to the finish line, with Kristoffersson becoming the new European Rallycross Champion.
The second Quarter-Final was won by Fabien Pailler (Renault Mégane Mk4) ahead of Patrick O’Donovan, while the third Quarter-Final ended with a one-two for the Set Promotion drivers Juha Rytkönen (Hyundai i20) and Joni Turpeinen. In the last Quarter-Final, Andreas Bakkerud, who started from pole, was successful in winning the race.
Kristoffersson and Rytkönen shared the front row of the first Semi-Final. Casper Jansson and Joni Turpeinen were on the second row, while the grid was completed by László Kiss (VW Polo Mk6) and Ole Christian Veiby (VW Polo Mk6). Rytkönen won the start and went into the lead ahead of Kristoffersson, with Veiby moving into third. Kristoffersson was the first to take his joker in the penultimate lap, with Rytkönen and Veiby taking their jokers on the final lap. Rytkönen emerged as the race leader, while Kristoffersson reclaimed second place and Veiby finished third to qualify for the final.
The second Semi-Final had Fabien Pailler and Andreas Bakkerud on the front row. Patrick O’Donovan and Nils Volland (Audi S1) were on the second row, while the third row was occupied by Anton Seppä (Škoda Fabia Mk3) and Ségio Dias (Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST). Pailler won the start, with O’Donovan moving into second after the first corner ahead of Bakkerud. O’Donovan then overtook Pailler on the third lap, with Bakkerud close behind the leading duo. On the following lap, Bakkerud struggled with the gears of his Fiesta and dropped to sixth, putting him out of the final and, on top of that, costing him second place in the championship. Pailler suffered a puncture on the rear left tyre on the following lap but nevertheless managed to hold off Nils Volland for second.
The RX1 final had Patrick O’Donovan and Juha Rytkönen on the front row, with Kristoffersson and Pailler on the second row. O’Donovan had the better start and went into the lead, with Kristoffersson going around the inside and overtaking O’Donovan after the first corner. The final was then red-flagged after Veiby hit the wall and subsequently collided with Volland. A re-run was ordered with four cars on the grid.
Rytkönen stalled his car when the green light was shown. Pole-sitter O’Donovan hit the wall shortly after the start, allowing Pailler to take the lead, followed by Kristoffersson. It took until the second lap for Kristoffersson to overtake Pailler, who had to deal with another puncture, and he then cruised to victory. Despite the puncture, Pailler was able to bring the car to the finish and finish second. Rytkönen was lapped by Kristoffersson and was classified third in the final result.
Kristoffersson wins his first European Rallycross Championship title with 235 points. Juha Rytkönen (175 points) finished second in the 2026 championship, with Andreas Bakkerud (171 points) eventually taking third.
In the RX3 category, following the incidents in Saturday’s race, the points gap between the two title contenders, Rytis Gurklys and Julien Meunier (Škoda Fabia Mk3), was eventually down to eight points. However, Meunier’s Audi A1 was severely damaged and could not be repaired overnight. Therefore, the Frenchman took part in Sunday’s race at the wheel of a Škoda Fabia Mk3, a car that had been used by Tom Le Jossec during the event at Lohéac in France three weeks earlier.
In the Škoda, he was fastest in all three Qualifying sessions, finishing at the top of the ranking. Gurklys, on the other hand, was only classified twelfth after some tough Qualifying sessions, including a DNF in Q3. He was the last driver to qualify for the Semi-Final and remained in contention for the 2026 title.
The first Semi-Final had Meunier on pole, with Saturday’s winner André Sousa (Audi A1) alongside him. Meunier also won the race after leading from lights to flag. André Sousa finished second, with André Monteiro (Škoda Fabia Mk3) taking the other qualifying spot for the final.
The second Semi-Final had Libor Teješ (Audi A1) and Rogério Sousa (Ford Fiesta Mk7) on the front row, while Gurklys was on the last row. The Lithuanian had a good start and moved up to second behind Teješ after turn three. With Teješ taking his joker in the penultimate lap, he became the race leader; however, he still had to take his joker. Gurklys managed to stay ahead of Teješ at the joker merge on the following lap and, as such, won the second Semi-Final. Teješ was second, with Rogério Sousa taking the other qualifying spot for the final.
The RX3 final got underway with an eight-point difference between Gurklys and Meunier. Both drivers shared the front row. Libor Teješ and André Sousa were placed on the second row, with Rogério Sousa and André Monteiro on the third row.
When the green light was shown, Meunier headed towards the first corner, while Gurklys made contact with the Frenchman, resulting in Meunier’s retirement from the final. Although Gurklys crossed the finish line first, he was black-flagged by the race director for his actions against Meunier. With Meunier classified fifth and earning six championship points, while Gurklys scored no points in the final due to his black flag, the Lithuanian nevertheless became champion by two points.
The RX3 race win went to André Sousa, who, after winning Saturday’s race, also won Sunday’s race of the 2026 season finale. Teješ was second and Monteiro third.
In the RX4 category, prior to the final event, there was also an eight-point gap between points leader Andréa Bénézet and Saturday’s winner Filip Melon (Peugeot 208). Melon, who was fastest in Q2 and Q3, took the top qualifier spot ahead of Bénézet and Ivo Gabrāns (Renault Clio Mk5).
Given the number of starters, no Semi-Finals took place and it was a direct final to decide the championship. Melon was on pole, with Bénézet the other front-row starter. Gabrāns and Haotian Deng (Renault Clio Mk5) were on the second row.
Initially, Bénézet went into the lead but was then overtaken by Deng. Bénézet took his joker in the penultimate lap and was able to merge ahead of Gabrāns, who had already completed his joker. Deng did the same on the final lap, merged as the leader and won his first European Rallycross event.
Estonian Albert Kokk (Renault Clio Mk5) finished second ahead of Bénézet, who is the 2026 European Rallycross Champion in the RX4 category. It is another European championship title for the Bénézet family, 25 years after his father Eddy [Bénézet] won his title.
Bénézet wins the RX4 championship by 14 points over Filip Melon, while Haotian Deng finished third in the championship.
The 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship has now concluded and the champions have been crowned. However, the season continues, as the so-called FIA Rallycross World Cup will take place on December 5-6, 2026, at the Jakarta International e-Prix Circuit in Indonesia.
Results
Euro RX1 – Final: 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), VW Polo Mk6; 2. Fabien Pailler (F), Renault Mégane Mk4; 3. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), Hyundai i20 – DNF; 4. Patrick O’Donovan (IRL), Peugeot 208 – DNF; 5. Nils Volland (D), Audi S1 – DNF; 6. Ole Christian Veiby (N), VW Polo Mk6 – DNF.
Euro RX3 – Final: 1. André Sousa (P), Audi A1; 2. Libor Teješ (CZ), Audi A1; 3. André Monteiro (P), Škoda Fabia Mk3; 4. Rogério Sousa (P), Ford Fiesta Mk7; 5. Julien Meunier (F), Škoda Fabia Mk3 – DNF; 6. Rytis Gurklys (LT), Audi A1 – BFL.
Euro RX4 – Final: 1. Haotian Deng (CHN), Renault Clio Mk5; 2. Albert Ako Kokk (EST), Renault Clio Mk5; 3. Andréa Bénézet (F), Renault Clio Mk5; 4. Ivo Gabrāns (LV), Renault Clio Mk5; 5. Filip Melon (PL), Peugeot 208; 6. Anna Rusek (PL), Peugeot 208.
Euro RX5 – Final: 1. Bryan Neumeyer (D); 2. Armin Raag (EST),; 3. Martin Juga (EST); 4. Diego Martínez (E); 5. Benjamin Bartlett (GB); 6. Valentin Comte (F).
Final Standings
Euro RX1 (7/7): 1. Johan Kristoffersson (S), 235; 2. Juha Rytkönen (FIN), 175; 3. Andreas Bakkerud (N), 171; 4. Ole Christian Veiby (N), 144; 5. Joni Turpeinen (FIN), 111; 6. Patrick O’Donovan (IRL), 108; etc.
Euro RX3 (7/7): 1. Rytis Gurklys (LT), 154; 2. Julien Meunier (F), 152; 3. Libor Teješ (CZ), 106; 4. André Sousa (P), 97; 5. Nicolas Geleyns (B), 82; 6. Sámuel Kovács (H), 77; etc.
Euro RX4 (7/7): 1. Andréa Bénézet (F), 114; 2. Filip Melon (PL), 100; 3. Haotian Deng (CHN), 86; 4. Ivo Gabrāns (LV), 78; 5. Alber Ako Kokk (EST), 74; 6. Thomas Quincé (F), 40; etc.
Euro RX5 (7/7): 1. Armin Raag (EST), 154; 2. Martin Juga (EST), 123; 3. Diego Martínez (E), 91; 4. Valentin Comte (F), 83; 5. Bryan Neumeyer (D), 79; 6. Tim Braumüller (D), 76; etc.