Euro RX1 Final | Kárai Trans Euro RX of Hungary 2026

And here we are, ready to go for the final of Euro RX1. Anti-lag on, revs are rising. Green light and go. Who gets the best launch? Christophsen's away, okay. But look at Bakkerud and also Torpainen going through on the inside. Rukinen muscles out Christophsen. Christophsen in the wall on the outside. Christophsen's in the wall. Big, big crash there for Johan Christophsen, the championship leader. That's absolutely huge. Bakkerud moves across on Christophsen in the run to the first corner. Forced the Swede wide. He was in the wall on the outside. Tom, disaster for the Swede. That's absolutely massive then for him. So Bakkerud it is that leads. Torpainen in second. Sorry, Rukinen in second. Torpainen is in third place. There's Kasper Jansson up in the fourth place with OC Baby into fifth. Into the Joker on the opening lap we go with Torpainen and Baby who is very, very deep indeed. Did he hit the wall? Just kept out of the wall. I think this is Christophsen on the inside. Torpainen's got up the inside of Christophsen. It has not worked out at all for the eight-time world rallycross champion. He's the leader of those drivers who... Well, he hasn't joked yet. Sorry. So it's Torpainen and Baby. Oh! Kasper Jansson drops it out of Turn 2. Big slide. Big, big slide through Turn 2. Proper style points there for Kasper Jansson. Just about keeps it on the straight and narrow. And he's sniffing an opportunity of a podium. But there's Torpainen. He's already joking with Christophsen. Bearing down on the Finnish driver through Turn 4 here. Look at the attitude of Christophsen's car. They absolutely means business as he's filling the mirrors. Torpainen's Ford Fiesta into the Joker. Thought you heard Christophsen this time around. He's run a little bit wide. But he's going to drop to the back of the pack. Yeah, let's see how this works out then for Christophsen. He's going to drop behind his teammate Osi Baby. It's a salvage job now then here for the championship leader. Needs to secure as many points as he possibly can to not lose that lead of the championship to Andreas Bakkerud. Over the line we go. Bakkerud on the spotter on the radio saying, this is absolutely perfect. Carry on as you are. Drive the race of your life and you'll be securing victory. He's got a second 1.3 now over Juha Rukkinen in P2. Visor down for Andreas Bakkerud. He always means business when he's hiding his eyes behind that visor. Nice and tidy into the standard lap. Jussi Pinnamäki on the radio is the man that gave Bakkerud his opportunity in Super 1600 all those years ago in 2010. Now they're back working together this season. Pinnamäki on the radio. This is Tye Yasson just manages to split the two KMS drivers then. So it goes from bad to worse for Johan Kristoffersen as he doesn't emerge in front of Kasper Jansson there. So now he's going to hope that his teammate OC Baby will play a team game and try and back him up and allow him an opportunity to try and challenge for position. What a remarkable job Johnny Japan has done this weekend. He said yesterday that his tires were gone. He said in the interviews last night that he wouldn't be able to do anything this afternoon unless it rained. Kasper Jansson's got bundles of understeer there coming down the hill. Joker Predictor says Andreas Bakkerud's going to be okay out front back to third position at the moment. But Topainen set for another podium time in a row. Yeah, Bakkerud's going to wait for the last opportunity. Here's Kristoffersen. We're on board with him. Gives a tap to Jansson as we come through into that hairpin. Not able to find his way past him at the moment. There'll be so much frustration behind the wheel of the cockpit of the Swedish driver, the eight-time World Rallycross champion. He'll know that that opportunity has fallen away. Jansson very, very sideways. That's a door open for Kristoffersen who goes through and into fifth place down in Turn 2. That's how championships are won, Tom, by maximizing every opportunity you can. Kristoffersen gets a position. That'll be another point for him at the end of this race. That could prove critical towards the end of the season. Jansson wide again coming down the hill. Rooker then into the Joker then from P2. Where's he going to emerge in relation to Topainen? I think he's going to be all right through it. He goes now. Topainen's had mirrors full of OC Baby for the last couple of laps as he's been soaking up the pressure from the other KMS driver, the Norwegian, who sits in P4. He's trying to get onto the podium for that team. He's trying to muscle his way through as we now begin the final lap of the RX1. Final here. And it's Bakkerud in front with the Joker left to go. 4.1 seconds the margin Andreas Bakkerud has over Juha Rooksen. And now he will be pushing just to extend that margin so he doesn't have to maximize the Joker section. We're going to cross this first split. 21.9 for Andreas Bakkerud. And it is 21.8 for Rooksen. I don't think it's going to be enough. Bakkerud nice and calm here in the Joker. Beautiful stuff there from Andreas Bakkerud. He's timed this one absolutely perfectly, barring a mistake in this Joker section. I think he's going to come out ahead of Juha Rooksen. And he does. What a job from Andreas Bakkerud and the Bergen Motorsport team. He comes around the final corner. And it will be victory in Hungary for Andreas Bakkerud. What a drive from the Norwegian here in Norad ahead of Juha Rooksen and Jonny Topainen on the podium. Disaster for KMS with OC Baby and Johan Kristoffersen missing out on the podium after that drama on the opening lap. Look at Bakkerud. He's shaking in the car. He has won at every level in rallycross. But to win with your own team, having created it from scratch over the winter, he was delighted to get a qualifying win in Q1. Look at him now. He's going to get out of the car. What a brilliant performance from Andreas Bakkerud. They're going absolutely mad right by our commentary position. I've just seen the Bakkerud Blue fans. They've got their arms up. They are delighted with that. They're delighted with it here in the grandstands as well. And what a performance from Andreas Bakkerud. Let's not forget, of course, he wasn't on the grid here last year. He was in co-commentary this time at 12 months ago. Back on the grid with that Ford Fiesta. The driver from Bergen in Norway at 34 years of age takes victory here in Hungary. Patrick O'Donovan joining me in commentary post that race. Patrick, that was absolutely brilliant. What do you make of it? Right then, Andreas Bakkerud then. Delight for the Norwegian as he takes the win and I'm sure will be taking the lead of the championship as well. Let's have a look at the race results then here with the celebrations now ongoing. It's a set promotion 1-2-3 effectively. Of course, a lot of promotion and support from the set promotion team for Andreas Bakkerud and his team this year. But confirmation of the results in Euro RX1 final. Andreas Bakkerud takes the win from Juha Rukkinen and Jonny Torpainen. OC Baby and Johan Kristoffersen losing out in the battle for victory here for KMS. And then Kasper Jansson over the line in P6 in his first final. Andreas Bakkerud, you have won at every level in rallycross but never with your own team in a car run by your friends and family and people you've worked with for a long time. How does this victory feel? It means the world. We fight hard and I'm not meaning to stand here crying but it means a lot. It was good. So important to get a good start in the final. You came across a little bit on your way just to give yourself that opportunity in the first corner and then it's just about hitting your marks. How much pressure did you have going into that one? A lot. There's not often you get the chance to go next door to door next to an eight-time world champion. Johan is such a beast, he's such a character, such a driver. So, I mean, we come here with a car painter, a ventilation guy, a paint, yeah, sticker guy. We do a good job. And to do this with your Supinamacchi on the radio, he gave you that opportunity in Super 1600 all of those years ago. Even more special. It does. And qualifying top qualifier as well. First into the semi, pole in the final. Last time I was pole, Barcelona 21 with GCK, I think. So it's been forever. Oh, it's just, it's been many years, you know. Tough time in America, coming back here, racing, starting a new chapter and all the, feel the sport is back, supporting us. I'm just sorry here. It's a lot of things going in. Thank you, Andreas. Make sure you enjoy it. Confirmation of those championship standings once again. Andreas Bakker now has a point over Johan Kristoffersen. OC maybe still there in third place as well. Further down the audience, you can see Damian Litvinovic, who we saw at his fan club behind us a couple of moments ago, just ahead of Fabian Payer, who catapults himself up the order. Zoltan Konchek, who wasn't here this weekend, down to P11. Johannes Rathaus also making some ground. And likewise, Ulrich Lindemann as well. We had him in commentary earlier on during the semifinals for RX3. He's now up into 14th place, ahead of Paulius Plaskovas, who was into the semis, the Lithuanian driver. Mike O'Tan there down in 16th position as well.