Anyway, reset for the Castlebridge Arena that is one of the most unique tracks due to its surface, its some type of wood shavings that create a very soft surface that holds water very well. The top material disappears very quickly to develop big holes and this year the surface underneath was unusually hard and with the wet it became very slippery. This makes the track very tough to drive fast on, in the end of the day there is no good line, just less worse. The track also has a big bridge that you can really fly (not jump) from if you dare.

Already in the qualification I started having some problems, the car seemed to lock up in the drivetrain somewhere. I've had problems before when larger wood ships get into the differential. I couldtn't see any and started without any problems but on the second lap the car just didn't move. I had to run down and drag it backwards and it was free again. Since we had a record number of driver and 3 heats it's very important to qualify well so you don't miss point already in the first heat. I was quite stressed and did some stupid mistakes but then got settled down and started passing cars and actually managed to win my heat and start on third place. I couldn't really believe it. I was afraid to start in the B or even C group. I guess some others also had problems in the 10 minute qualifier.

In the 1/8 final I managed to climb to second place in the first lap and then to first place in the second lap. After that I tried to control the race and not make any stupid mistakes.

Starting on pole for the quarter final I got away good but then flipped over when I tried to hug the inner line in the first corner. This meant I git hit by maybe 3-4 cars and started dead last. I had to drive myself up through the field but the car felt really hard to control and almost undriveable. I just wanted to finish in a quite good position but actually managed to pass the first car when it was two laps left and win the heat.
What I later found out was the rear shock was completely stuck, that's why the car was so hard to drive. The shock rod had been bent so I needed to rebuild the shock. Thankfully with 4 groups in total I had the time to do this and was finished just in time for the semi final. 

Starting on pole again in the semi I got of to a good start but on lap 2 I spin around and got stuck on the track markings. I was almost last again but this time I at least had a working car so I could pass the field and finish first. 

Now I was in a very special situation. I hade won all previous races in the cup meaning I had a full score of 600 points. I had won all the heats today and was only the main final away to make a full house for the whole season. Something I didn't think was possible because it means you can't have any problems or drive badly. You need to deliver in 16 heats in a row (4 heats count for points in each race). We have 5 races with one drop race, meaning we only count 4 of them.
This actually put some extra pressure on myself for the final, I really wanted to achieve this goal as it would be very special and very hard to make happen. If I wouldn't this last race it would ruin it, but I would have one more chance in the season final in Norrköping but I know that is a very hard track to win at.

The final started great and I got a way from the field. This gave me some confidence so I could relax but I also started driving very carefully as it's so easy to flip over in one on the big holes. After a couple of laps Robin caught me as he was pushing from behind. For the rest of the 20 minute race we were battling it out very cleanly and good. We both made misstakes, I rolled over and Robin passed, then he rolled and I caught up. We were just following each other for probably 25 laps of the 33 in total. I was starting to think about how bad it would feel to loose this, but at the same time it was good and really fun racing. I just keep my head down and really tried to focus on not making any mistakes but still try to drive as fast as possible. And in the end Robin made a couple of more mistakes than me and I could win with a 10 seconds margin.

This was probably the most stressful, fun and nervous race in a long while. I was so happy I managed to pull off the full house and also enjoyed and congratulated Robin on a great race and tanked him for the fun and respectful racing. I hope we will have more of these as this really challenges you as a driver and get the adrenaline pumping!

With this ending I now earned 800 points of 800 possible and have secured my 7:th consecutive win in the Swedish Large Scale Cup. The last race of the season in Norrköping is now a real bonus and I will just try to see if I can win that as well, something I haven't managed for the last 2 years. That will be another nut to crack!

Watch the full A-final here!