I knew early on this season that I would not be able to attend the final race of the five race cup. With one drop race I had to perform good at every race and it didn’t start well in Sandhem with major engine problems. But after that I’ve come back and scored full points in every race I could potentially secure the total win depending on how I scored and my closest competitors would do.

Slottsbron has a new track layout with a new and huge (1.7m high) bridge construction. This would be very interesting to see what the best way to attack this would be. It had been raining during the week and Slottsbron is known for being somewhat in the shades and not dry out quickly so the track was fairly moisty and you would sink down at certain places on the track when you walked it. As described in earlier race reports the track surface is very unique at this track, some type of minced tree bark, it’s very soft and light so it moves easily to create big holes in the track. 

The practice went well, I mainly tried how to take the bridge in the best way as well as finding the racing lines with the new layout. They had raised the driver stand as well so you could see the track much better than before. Only the corner behind the bridge was a little bit secluded. The tire choice for this track is hard Astro Max.
I noticed after practice that the wheel rims were full of wet bark ships and creates almost like tree cement. This affects the rotation of the driveline and the engine, clutch and the center diff has to work really hard, creating a lot of heat.

I started first in the qualifier and kept that position throughout an uneventful heat. I was 0.2 seconds from the fastest lap time and I knew the track was only going to be slower so that was almost a given to be the fastest lap.

I removed the protection shield in the back of the Ultron as the rear diff was almost clogged with bark. Went thru and cleared all gears so the driveline could run freely again. I started first in the 1/8 final and got ahead to a good start. Pulled away and took the win comfortably even if I did som stupid mistakes the end when trying some different things. 

Before the quarter final I removed the rear swayer to make the car more agile and adaptable to the more and more challenging track. The track started to dry up a little bit but I had to still clean out the whole driveline to get it to rotate freely again. In the quarter I got a good start again, but made a little mistake as it became harder and harder to not get in a hole that flips over the car. Have to find new lines and drive with less power, roll over and thorough the big holes. As soon as you drive too aggressively it will bite back. I regained the lead after 2 laps and then could take the win again.

I raised the car a little bit more in the semi final and decided to drive even calmer and more controlled, not make any mistakes. I just needed to win two more heats to take full points again and maybe have a chance for the cup win. In the semi I got a good start again and drove very good, I don’t think I needed any marshalling at all which was good. I could see on the lap times I only had the third fastest lap time. But at this track it’s about making the least mistakes, not going the fastest.

So with three wins I started in pole position for the final where we had 9 cars. I love when we have many cars on the track. It becomes more fun to navigate and manage the passes with more cars. It also increases the risk that an accident happens that you can’t control. It has happened before. I was also a little bit worried about the driveline, the engine and center diff has been pretty hot after a 10 minute race, now we will run double the time. Would that cause any problems? Fortunately the track had now dried out a little bit more which means it doesn’t clog the car rims as much. I went for the same plan as before, make sure to have a good start to get some distance and then slow down to just control the race. It worked really well but I had a couple of mistakes when I was trying different lines as the track now has no good line anywhere. It’s all about how you will take the holes and what holes you will drive through. There were a couple of times where it could have turned into more serious crashes, one car coming in the wrong direction on the bridge and one where a car was under a bridge and I didn’t see it. But I managed to get thorough all those situations and in the end lap the whole field. This brought home the third win in a row, 15 consecutive undefeated heats!

It was really a good feeling delivering such good results under pressure, and now I have done everything in my power to try and win the cup this year as well. The track was a blast to drive, the bridge was really fun, maybe they should lower it 20-30 centimeter so you could actually jump it. Now you mainly roll over it, but some drivers were more daring and jumped. But that doesn’t really save you any time and the risk of breaking the car or having a crash just increases.

After the day was done and calculating the total points in the cup it actually turned out that my main competitors for the cup win didn’t get enough points. There is now no theoretical chance they could win anymore. Which means I have now won the cup for the fifth time in a row. An accomplishment that I’m really proud of because it requires a lot of effort, focus, work to have your car and gear in order and to win all those races. And there are so many skilled and good drivers that are knocking on the door all the time so I have to raise my game every year to be able to win. But that’s what I enjoy, be challenged and raise to the occasion!

Finally I have to say that I have really found my way with the Ultron, I know exactly how it behaves on different tracks. I know how to drive it and also how to drive both fast and with control. My RV295 Pro engine has been solid giving me the power I need, especially on this track where the driveline was not rolling freely. It had to work really hard. This was the third time with the NRP clutch and again it gave me the smooth feeling but never fading even after being hot and working hard in these conditions. The whole package feels very solid and trustworthy. I'm looking forward to hopefully upgrade my Ultron this winter with some new upgrades that was tested at the Euros.