Third place in the World RX after dramatic finish in Argentina

“This was a weekend where we were thrown between hope and despair and it feels really good that we managed to get that bronze medal after all” said Johan when the dust had settled on the track in Rosario.

It was a tough journey to the championship podium for Johan. He had the speed in his Volkswagen Polo, but drivers’ draw, difficult starting positions and conditions with extremely low visibility in the dust on the track meant that he really had to fight to defend the third place he came to Argentina with.

“We have been among the top three in the championship for almost the entire season and it would have been awful to fall on the finish line.”

After three qualifying heats, Johan was the third VW driver in the field. Both his teammate Ole Christian Veiby and manufacturer colleague in Marklund Motorsport, Toomas Heikkinen, were ahead of him in the standings.

The fourth and last qualifying heat got cancelled. It started, was called off and was supposed to run after watering the track, but due to lack of time the organizers decided to cancel it.

Veiby did not start in the semi-final, which gave Johan the chance he needed and he advanced from the third start row to third place in the first tricky corners.

“I’m very happy with my driving in the semi-final, because I have never in my career felt more pressure than I did before that heat.”

Despite the heroic effort, Johan did not make it to the finish line. He was third and on his way to the final when his Volkswagen Polo suddenly slowed down and stopped. Fortunately it did not change the standings. Andreas Bakkerud, the Norwegian that Johan had a fight for third place with, also retired from the same semi-final.

“I did not notice that myself. I was told that Bakkerud had stopped through the radio.”

The fact that both Johan and Bakkerud retired from the semis resulted in Johan finishing ahead of the Norwegian in the overall classification. With a margin of only two points.

“It was a dramatic ending and we really had to dig deep in the final to reach this success. But I definitely do not think we need to apologize for this medal. We won the premiere in Portugal and have taken several podiums in addition to that and we have been fast throughout the season. I think Johan and the team deserve a podium finish in the championship” said team manager Tommy Kristoffersson.