Robert Gustavsson wins the 1st round of the Swedish Off-road Cup.
Final results:
1. Robert Gustavsson - XRAY XB8TQ
2. Mikael Palsson
3. Linus Thern
4. Jonas Eriksson
5. Ken Johansson
Race report by Robert Gustavsson
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Stenungsund MS hosted the first nationals for the season this past weekend, and the event went really smoothly with no delays; it was run very well by the organizers. All top drivers were signed up and it was going to be a great event in great weather.
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The lone practice heat on Saturday morning didn't turn out so well for me. A newly-built bridge had too much metal built into it and I had some radio interference which made me end after 4 laps of practice. Qualifying went just fairly well, though I had to struggle to get the rhythm of the track and keep up a good pace before the mains on Sunday. The missed practice showed, but at the end of the day I managed to finish in 2nd place after qualifying. TQ went to Mikael PÄşlsson (Mugen/Ninja), with me in 2nd and Linus Thern (Kyosho/RB) in 3rd.
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By the time it came to the semi-finals on Sunday, the track was very bumpy and much different from qualifying. I manage to lead from the start-to-finish, and I felt that my driving and lines in the bumps were very good, the car's performance was simply awesome, and my time in my semi-final 4sec faster than the first that Mikael PÄşlsson won.
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In the main there were many fast drivers such as PÄşlsson, Thern, Mathiesen; I knew it was going to be a tough main to win. I started in the #1 position, and managed to hold the lead for 10 minutes - with Linus and Micke close behind - but then I made some mistakes and all off the sudden Linus was in the lead by 6 seconds! With my driving and lines being good and the car working great in the bumps, I just tried my best to go fast and avoid traffic and stay out of the bumps. At around the 20 minute mark, Linus made
some mistakes and I got past him and put a gap of 4-5 seconds between us.
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I could hear by the speaker that Linus and Mikael were battling for 2nd place, and I knew they were going to lose time be cause of that, so I knew that if I kept the car on the wheels I would get the win, which is exactly what happened!
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I want to thank Ronny and Häggi who did an awesome job in the pits with the super-fast fuel stops. My XB8-TQ and OS engine were working great all weekend, and I'm looking forward to the next race which is the next weekend in Stockholm.
