Per Eklund News

Eklund startet in Rally Legend 2011 San Marino

2011-10-08T08:20:00.006+02:00

„Rally Legend San Marino“:
Volkswagen startet mit zwei historischen Golf GTI

Wolfsburg, 7. Oktober 2011 –
160 historische Rallyeboliden, dutzende Welt-, Europa- und Landesmeister sowie 50.000 begeisterte Zuschauer – das ist die „Rally Legend San Marino“.
In der kleinen, gleichnamigen Republik findet alljährlich im Oktober das spektakulärste historische Rallyeereignis der Saison statt. Legendäre Rennfahrzeuge, die ansonsten nur in Museen zu sehen sind oder zu eher geruhsamen Ausfahrten hervorgeholt werden, kann man hier zwei Tage lang wie zu ihren Glanzzeiten im vollen Renneinsatz erleben. Eines der Highlights ist dabei ein Golf GTI 2 der Gruppe A; Volkswagen wurde mit dem 170-PS-Fronttriebler 1986 Weltmeister. Ebenso faszinierend: die Replik eines 225 PS starken Golf GTI 1 Rallye von 1980. Volkswagen Classic bringt die Fahrzeuge gemeinsam mit dem technischen Partner KWL-Motorsport an den
Start.

Golf GTI 2 – WM Fahrzeug von 1986: Dieter Depping geht mit Weltmeister Peter Diekmann als Beifahrer auf die zehn Wertungsprüfungen. Selbst für den dreifachen deutschen Rallyemeister und Dakar-Piloten ein ungewohnt pures Erlebnis. Mit nur zwei angetriebenen Rädern und einer Leistung von rund 170 PS ist auf den winkligen Prüfungen voller Einsatz gefragt. Für den 67-jährigen Weltmeister Peter Diekmann ist das Wiedersehen mit „seinem“ ´86er-WM-Golf ein ganz besonderes Ereignis: Diekmann: „Die alten Weggefährten wiederzusehen, die Begeisterung der Fans zu erleben – einfach wunderbar. Und zusammen mit Dieter Depping macht es einfach Spaß, dem Publikum eine gute Show zu bieten“.

Golf GTI 1 – Replik des Rallye Monte Carlo-Fahrzeugs von 1980:Per Eklund wird mit dem Golf GTI Rallye ebenfalls eine eindrucksvolle Vorstellung liefern. Der ehemalige Rallycross-Europameister, zweimalige Pikes Peak-Sieger und frisch gebackene schwedische Rallycross-Meister geht mit einem komplett neu aufgebauten Golf GTI Rallye an den Start.
Und auch dieser Golf hat es in sich: Volkswagen Classic präsentiert in San Marino damit zum ersten Mal jenes Fahrzeug, das dem Rallye Monte Carlo-Einsatzfahrzeug von 1980 nachempfunden ist – die detailgetreue Replik leistet immerhin 225 PS und spornt den erfahrenen Piloten Eklund mit seinem Beifahrer Hans Sylvan zu Höchstleistungen an: „Dank der sehr guten Pirelli-Reifen und dem wirksamen Sperrdifferenzial erreicht der leichte Fronttriebler ein erstaunliches Gripniveau“, erklärt die Rallyelegende Eklund.

Sowohl Depping/Diekmann als auch Eklund/Sylvan waren nach dem Shakedown, dem typischen Auftakt zur Rallye, sehr zufrieden mit ihren Sportgeräten. Die „Rally Legend San Marino“ startet offiziell am Abend mit einer spektakulären Nachtprüfung und wird bis Sonntag dauern.
Neben den Volkswagen Teams treten weitere Legenden für den Volkswagen Konzern an: Jacky Ickx pilotiert seinen Dakar Porsche 911 von 1985, Weltmeister Hannu Mikkola startet mit seinem Beifahrer Arne Hertz im 84er Audi Quattro, und Michael Gerber wird mit dem atemberaubenden Gruppe B Audi S1 an den Start fahren.
Mit Nachdruck geht es zudem in die Zukunft des Rallyesports: Ab 2013 wird Volkswagen mit dem neuen Polo R WRC wieder in das aktuelle Rallyegeschehen auf den Pisten dieser Welt eingreifen. Eben erst auf der IAA in Frankfurt präsentiert, absolviert der Polo R WRC bereits erste Testfahrten; ab dem übernächsten Jahr geht es dann in der WRC um alles – und um die Fortsetzung einer großen Rallyetradition!

Volkswagen Kommunikation
Produktkommunikation
Martin Hube
Tel.: +49 (0) 5361 / 9-49874
Fax: +49 (0) 5361 / 9-26768
Email: martin.hube@volkswagen.de
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Per Eklund drives at Rally legends 2011

2011-10-04T12:53:00.004+02:00

After a successful weekend in Sosnová, Czech Republic, where Per Eklund finished 7th overall in the last ERC rallycross race this year,Eklund will run in the 'rally legend' event this weekend at San Marino (I).
Together with Hans Sylvan, he will drive this event with a Volkswagen Golf I, with the Piersburg adds.
More info of this event:
Click here

Here are the first pictures of this very nice car.

More will follow!

"He’s still got it”, Eklund Swedish champion!

2011-09-26T12:34:00.004+02:00

from www.erc24.com

Per Eklund is crowned Supercar Champion in a dramatic ‘one event’ finale of the Swedish Rallycross Championship.

(c) 2011 Pär Backman

The final weekend of the Swedish Rallycross Championship held at the Kinnekulle circuit near Götene hosted a Supercar final that would be a clean final competition and would thus crown a Swedish Supercar champion, (the championship having this year only hosted Super Nationell, National 2400 and the Swedish Junior Championship). Hedström had initially taken an early lead in the Supercar final but had his lead snatched away from him after his Skoda Fabia ‘Helga’ recently rented from Belgian Rallycross star, Jochen Coox, caught fire. Race Marshalls immediately ‘red flagged’ the race, leaving the race set to be restarted, and Hedström left to exit the circuit deflated and out Championship contention; his car’s damage too significant to enter the Final restart. It was Per Eklund who emerged as leader in the restarted final snatching victory form Swede Stig-Olov Walfridsson. The Swedish legend and Rallycross veteran took the win after passing Walfridsson who was forced to slow due to a puncture.

For Peter Hedström, the events in the race could lead to damaging consequences. Hedström on ‘Facebook’ post-race: “These things happen in this sport, it is just a shame I was struck by such bad luck whilst taking the lead in the final, but it’s the nature of Rallycross.” Peter Hedström had rented the Skoda Fabia with hope of taking the Swedish title in Götene, the place where he grabbed the Swedish junior Rallycross Championship ten years ago. Hedström was reported to have had his sights set on gold here, and then to follow he would compete in the Czech Republic in the ERC, if the car was in good condition for the event next weekend. Speaking to Swedish Newspaper, “Värmland Folkblad” Hedström said: “It will be a tough competiton but my sights are set on gold. We take one thing at a time. But if the car is not too demolished then there is an absolute chance that I had could compete next weekend. You just have to hope that the sponsors are as generous as they are now.” Hedström was focused on a good European Championship effort which could pave the way for a hefty investment in the championship next year for the Swede. The Norwegian Ole Håbjørgtook the touring cars in Sweden ahead of Lars Rosendahl and Irishman, Derek Tohill.

(c) 2011 Pär Backman

1. Per Eklund (S), SAAB 9-3
2. Stig-Olov Walfridsson (S), Renault Clio
3. Tomas Andersson (S), BMW E81
4. Mats Öhman (S), Volvo S40
5. Peter Hedström (S), Škoda Fabia
6. Pekka Mustakallio, Lancer Evo 8

Model news part 8: Subaru Legacy

2011-09-05T21:11:00.000+02:00

IXO models released last July several Subaru Legacy RS models and one of them is the 1992 RAC rally car of Per Eklund and co-driver Johnny Johansson.

Per Eklund finished 12th with this car in de Lombart RAC Rally back in 1992.

IXO Models, nr. RAC217

ERC: Toomas on podium, third place in Sweden

2011-07-07T13:00:00.002+02:00

The youngest driver in the four-wheel-drive main class, 20-year-old Toomas secured fourth place on the grid for the A-final and rose to third place in the course of the race.

The winner of the Swedish round was Tanner Foust, a well-known stunt driver, who also took the lead in the ERC standings. Kenneth Hansen from Sweden was second, with no previous placings this season.

Sverre Isachsen, the current European Champion from Norway, started on pole in Höljes but had to settle for fourth place behind Toomas. In the total scores, Isachsen is second after Foust, two points behind the lead.

After winning the previous round on his home track in Trondheim, Norway, Mats Lysen did not make it to the A-final this time and came seventh. He holds third place in the ERC, five points behind Isachsen. Toomas moved up one place in the total standings and is now in seventh place, only eight points away from third place.

"ABSOLUTELY GREAT"

Toomas, who was fourth, eighth and fourth in the three heats, was very pleased with his upward performance.

"Right from the start of the season my goal has been to achieve podium places, but due to some minor setbacks this never materialised in the previous races. It feels absolutely great to achieve the goal for the first time," he says with a happy smile. "I'm especially pleased that I was able to be at my best in the final, just when it counts."

"The direction is now right. From here, I can confidently go on and pursue my first victory in the season's remaining rounds," said this young driver from Joensuu, with the sixth, disqualified, eighth, fifth and third in the five rounds now behind him.

from: (c) www.erc24.com

Eklund klar för Höljes

2011-06-30T11:52:00.002+02:00

Varken ålder eller Saab:s kris kan stoppa Per Eklunds start i rallycross-EM i Höljes
– Man får inte ge sig så lätt, säger nyblivne folkpensionären inför sin säsongspremiär till helgen.

Men starten i årets rallycross-EM har hängt i en skör tråd eftersom hans unge finske adept Toomas ”Topi” Heikkinen har första prioritet i EM. Det är han som betalar.

– Först Topis bil, sedan min, förklarar Per Eklund.

Med andra ord är det mesta sig likt i Eklunds värld - en ständig kamp mot klockan i garaget och på motorbanan.

Det var i fjol som Per Eklund tog in den då 19-årige finske racingtalangen som ”pay-driver”, detta för att finansiera sin verksamhet. Samarbetet blev ett riktigt lyckokast både för Heikkinen och Eklund. Inte nog med att Topi vann finska rallycrossmästerskapet, han vann även finaltävlingen i det nordamerikanska mästerskapet.

Jättetalang
– Vi pratar om en jättetalang, dessutom är Topi smått otrolig i sin ambition, han är en riktig vinnare, säger Per Eklund och tillägger att nu börjar de riktiga framgångarna komma.

– Han är i A-final, bara vägen dit är lika tuff som att köra finalen. Ja, ännu tuffare.

Per Eklund säger att han hoppas att Topis och hans framfart i rallycross-EM stärker Saab och företagets personal.

– Vi ger oss inte, varken Eklund Motorsport eller Saab Automobile.

Minimalt stöd
I dag är stödet till teamet minimalt från Trollhättan av förklarliga skäl. Per har deltagit i större kundevent som förarinstruktör och arvoderats för dessa inhopp under vintern. Inget mer.

– Och sedan finns det moraliska stödet, det är ömsesidigt, säger Per Eklund.

I tungviktsklassen Supercar är 35 ekipage anmälda. Förutom Per Eklund startar även svenskarna Stig-Olov ”Stecka” Walfridson, Kenneth Hansen, Peter Hedström och Mats Öhman. Stecka vann i Höljes 2009 och var fyra i senaste EM-tävlingen i Norge.

from www.nwt.se

Giving it up for the kid

2011-06-26T22:56:00.005+02:00

Eklund misses Norwegian chance after muddy test with Heikkinen.

Organising a two-day test at Höljes for his young Finnish protégé, Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen, cost Per Eklund his chance of starting in this weekend’s Norwegian ERC round, but the veteran Swede is as philosophical as ever about it, and reckons the test was more than worthwhile.

“I promised Toomas a test before the season began but then we did not get the car finished in time because parts were late and since then it was race, race, race so there was no time for a test. We went to Höljes a couple of weeks ago and did two days with him but it rained a lot and there was so much mud that we had to strip the car completely afterwards and the time we lost doing that made the difference between finishing my car and not,” said Eklund who, true to form, worked marathon hours in a bid to race, “The shell was painted late on Sunday night and we took the shell from the paintshop on Monday and started to build it up. We needed another half-a-day and it would have been finished, I wanted to work through the nights but the rest of them needed to sleep! We could not have tried harder, we got here five minutes before scrutineering finished on Friday.”

Out of action since the end of last year, Eklund is eager to race, but also getting satisfaction from being team boss. “I miss driving but there is not the money for me to race. I know when the tank is empty, not like some of these Norwegians racing on borrowed money. It’s good working with Toomas. He listens to advice and learns fast but he still needs more experience. The test was good for him because these cars are difficult to race in the rain and Rallycross is not like Formula One or Touring Cars where it rains and the drivers say ‘Ooh, we can’t race in this’, they are, what do you call that? Gay!” said Eklund.

Heikkinen also rated the Höljes test as valuable. “It was good to have time in the car, I still need to learn about it and work with the setups. We had one dry day and then it rained so it was good to have different conditions, kind of perfect,” he said, “There’s no time to experiment in a race, you have to learn the track and go for it, so a test like that was very good for me.”

Depending on his progress in Norway and Sweden, and how the car comes through those events, Heikkinen may add the Finnish championship’s ‘Sambacross’ event to schedule. “Mikko Hirvonen will be in that event so it will have more attention and because of that it would be good for us to go there. We are thinking about it but will not make a decision until after Sweden,” he said.

By Tim Whittington, http://www.rallycrossworld.com/

Heikkinen with engineer Per Anders Eklund, son of Per Eklund.

Heikkinen positive, but out

2011-05-15T12:17:00.004+02:00

Still one of the youngest drivers in the paddock, Finnish champion Toomas Heikkinen continues to impress in the second event of this first full ERC season, the 19-year-old running under the watchful eye of team boss Per Eklund.

“It’s going the right way, we are close to the front and the direction is right. Per could be my grandfather but it’s really good work with him, he’s a really smooth guy and he gives me a lot of advice about how I could do things better and that helps me a lot. I also have the experience that I can bring from Formula Renault and that helps also,” says Heikkinen who made the switch from circuit racing to Rallycross last year and feels that his previous racing also plays a role in his form on mixed surfaces. “There are many things from circuit racing that I can use here; the basic car control is the same and this is racing just like Formula Renault was racing, the racecraft is a big part of this. Now there is no problem on the gravel either, I drove a lot in the winter on snow and ice and that has helped me a lot with the gravel speed: here I was fastest on the gravel sections on Saturday so actually we have changed the setup in the car a little bit to try and get better speed on the asphalt.”

The Eklund Motorsport Saab 93 Aero has been extensively re-engineered over the winter, it’s Prodrive transmission replaced by a Sellholm system which has allowed the engine to be repositioned for a better weight balance in the car. “There is now more torque in the engine and now the car handles better, the understeer that we had last year is gone and I can use a more aggressive style, it’s much nicer to drive now,” said Heikkinen who won the final event in last Autumn’s inaugural US Rallycross Championship and who is working together with his father to try and return to the States later this year. “I hope to go back. We are talking about it and there is a good possibility, but we still have some work to do before we can say that we will go there. I want to go because I need to be seen there and to keep my name known, so we’ll see how it goes.”

A puncture on Saturday afternoon left Heikkinen with a lot to do and no margin for error on Sunday and while his second heat brought a respectable ninth place the third taught him a harsh lesson of ERC life: exclusion after a run-in with Marc Laboulle bringing his event to a swift and pointless end.

by Tim Whittington, Rallycross world

Toomas in A-Final!

2011-04-27T10:06:00.009+02:00

At the first race of the FIA European Rallycross championship at Lidden Hill, UK, Toomas Heikkinen finished 6th in the A-final!

The Finnish champion 2010 driver of the Per Eklund Motorsport team drove a very good qualification. The first heat on sunday 24th of April Toomas drive only a 13th time overall. The next day it was much better. The second heat, it was an amazingly good third time overall and in the third heat it was even a second time overall!
These resuls gave the Saab 9-3 driver a direct third place at the start grid of the A-final.

(c) www.erc24.com

In a finale he was less fortunate. Due to a flat tire, he lost a position and finished 6th. A very good result at this first race.

(c) http://www.erc24.com/

Results A-final

Sverre Isachsen (N), Ford Focus

Marc Laboulle (F), Citroën C4

Davy Jeanney (F), Citroën C4

Liam Doran (GB), Citroën C4

Timur Timerzyanov (Rus), Citroën C4

Toomas Heikkinen (Fin), SAAB 9-3 ASS

Here some very great onboard videos!

First race ERC 2011: Heikkinen

2011-04-22T15:20:00.003+02:00

At the first race of the European Championship rallycross at Lydden Hill Race Circuit (Wootton) in England, team Eklund motorsport starts again with 2010 Finnish Rallycross Champion Toomas Heikkinen (SAAB 9-3 ASS).

The young Finn completed the 2010 season with a win in a Rallycross event at New Jersey Motorsports Park at Millville, NJ (USA) back in November.
Heikkinen continues his partnership with Eklund Motorsport in 2011 and therefore Per Eklund and his team build a brand new SAAB 9-3 for the Finn for the complete European Championship. Earlier this week, at Strängnäs Motorstadion in Sweden, the team had their final test session.

from: www.rallycross.com

Eklund missionerar i USA

2010-11-02T12:44:00.000+01:00

From www.nwt.se:

Nu ska rallycross-sporten få en bred lansering i USA.
Per Eklund, 64, är en av missionärerna.
Men han sitter inte bakom Saab-ratten själv den här gången.
Rallycross enligt den europeiska modellen har inte fått fäste på den amerikanska kontinenten.

Per Eklund ingår i gänget som ska ändra på det, men han låter sin unge finländske adept Toomas ”Topi” Heikkinen, 19 ratta bilen.

– Andréas Eriksson har lagt ner ett fint förarbete för att skapa intresse för sporten i USA. Nu kommer vi och även Sverre Isachsen, regerande europamästare, samt några andra EM-förare till den sista deltävlingen i US Rallycross Championship 6-7 november i New Jersey, säger Eklund i ett pressmeddelande.

Det är inte första gången som Eklund drar över Atlanten till Nordamerika och USA för att tävla i bilsport. Han har bland annat två segrar i backtävlingen Pikes Peak i bagageluckan. Det här är dock första gången han är på plats för att tävla med sitt team, utan att själv köra.

Fruktbart samarbete
I våras inledde 64-årige och forne VM-föraren i rally Per Eklund ett samarbete med unge finländaren Toomas Heikkinen. Utan att tidigare ha kört en enda rallycrosstävling innan premiären i våras, lyckades Heikkinen köra hem det finska mästerskapet under Per Eklunds överinseende.

– Redan under sin första rallycrossäsong har ”Topi” visat på en smått otrolig utveckling som förare. I dag har han kapacitet att mäta sig bland de främsta i EM även om han saknar erfarenhet, säger Per Eklund.

I USA ställs han mot kända förare som X-Gamesstjärnan Travis Pastrana, WRC-föraren Ken Block och driftingföraren Tanner Faust.

Nästa år kommer Toomas Heikkinen att tävla i rallycross-EM.

Mikael Adamsson

2010-10-31T12:35:00.000+01:00

The grapevine had it for some time now that Swedish Rally and Rallycross legend Per Eklund was set to take part in the third and final round of the 2010 'RallyCar U.S. Rallycross Championship' at the New Jersey Motorsports Park on November 6 and 7.

But today it became official that the old warhorse has entered his 19 years old Finnish protégé Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen to drive his own 2010 Saab 9-3 ASS ERC at Millville in New Jersey. Under the fatherly care of Eklund the former Formula Renault 2.0 racer won the 2010 Finnish Rallycross Championship in early August and has his eyes focused on the 2011 ERC now.

After Norwegian Frode Holte shipped his Volvo C30 ERC to the USA about a week ago also the other Swedish car manufacturer will be present at the Lightning Raceway to demonstrate Scandinavian Rallycross machinery on American soil now.

Heikkinen wins again in Finland!

2010-05-30T21:53:00.004+02:00

At the second round of the Finish Rallycross championship in Hyvinkää, Toomas
Heikkinen took a very good start. He managed to stay ahead of his rivals and won again in a thrilling final.

Results:

Toomas Heikkinen (FIN), SAAB 9-3
Atro Määttä (FIN), Ford Focus
Harri Arola (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer
Martti Simonen (FIN), Ford Fiesta
Jukka Lautamäki (FIN), Ford Escort
Janne Kanerva(FIN), Škoda Fabia

Eklund nära sättas på plats av egna adepten

2010-05-24T15:22:00.000+02:00

From www.vf.se:

Det var nära att Per Eklund sattes på plats av sin unge adept Toomas Heikkinen på Westombanan.
Men till slut visade han att gammal är äldst och blev fyra.
– Hade han slagit mig hade jag inte blivit sur, skrattar veteranen.

Norsk triumf i Arvika Skriv ut sidan Tipsa en kompis Kommentera Per Eklund, snart 64, har rutin så det räcker och blir över – så nu han delar med sig till 19-årige Toomas Heikkinen som hyr en Saab 9-3 av Eklund i år.
Samarbetet har burit frukt omgående.
Heikkinen vann sin debuttävling i det finska mästerskapet och i Arvika kvalade han ut nestor Eklund – i teamets tredjebil.
– Men bilen är minst lika bra som min, den är lättare, kortare och hade samma motor som i den ordinarie bilen han kör, säger Eklund.
• Vad säger du om att han besegrade dig i kvalet?
– Jag undrar hur arrangörerna tänkte. Jag hade tre femteplatser och han två sjätteplatser- och en fjärdeplats. Att han skulle starta före mig i finalen kändes konstigt – även om han gjorde det bra.
Finnskogaföraren var dock snabbt förbi finländaren när A-finalen flaggades i gång.
– Jag hade inte blivit sur om han besegrat mig. Men han har fortfarande lite att lära, ler Eklund som själv hade en hård dust med Mats Öhman.
Öhman tvingades bryta efter att bilarna touchat varandra på startvarvet och Eklund kunde gå i mål som fyra i tävlingen, trea i SM.
– Starkast vinner, säger Eklund med ett leende på läpparna.
• Nöjd?
– Det får duga. De andra har ju kört mycket mer än jag i år, säger Eklund
Toomas Heikkinen var också nöjd med sin insats när han för första gången mötte riktiga storfräsare.
– Det här var en väldigt nyttig erfarenhet, säger den unge finländaren som i fjol tävlade i Formel Renault.
– Rallycross är mycket billigare. Det behöver inte kosta lika mycket att ta sig till toppen, förklarar han grenbytet.
Nästa gång Heikkinen ställs mot giganterna blir i Höljes EM-tävling i juli. Men att göra som landsmannen Marcus Grönholm och vinna i Höljesdebuten räknar inte 19-åringen med.
– Den målsättningen får jag nog vänta något år med...

Rallycross Norden: Eklund 4th

2010-05-22T19:47:00.006+02:00

Resuls Division 1 Rallycross Norden, Arvika, Sweden

After a rainy day, Eklund drove to a 4th position in the A-final.
Student Toomas Heikkinen drove with his old 9-3 to a 5th place.

Sverre Isachsen Ford Focus, -
Michael Jernberg Škoda Fabia, 20
Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault Clio, 17
Per Eklund SAAB 9-3 ASS, 15
Toomas Heikkinen SAAB 9-3, -
Mats Öhman Volvo S40, 13
Frank Valle Ford Focus, -
Tomas Andersson BMW 120, 12

Toomas Heikkinen (SAAB 9-3) and Per Eklund (SAAB 9-3 ASS) pictured together during this moorning's free practice. (Photo: © Johan Persson)

*** update ***
from http://www.rallycross.com/:
The young Finn joined Eklund Motorsport and is taking part in the 2010 Finnish Rallycross Championship with a SAAB 9-3 ASS. "Toomas' priority this season is clearly the Finnish Rallycross Championship," says Per Eklund. "He just need as much as possible practice as he is still new to the sport of Rallycross and therefore he is on the entry list. The results he will get here today are less important, he is not here to win. We also decided to let him use the 'old' SAAB 9-3 but after this event i will prepare the SAAB 9-3 ASS again for the next event in the Finnish championship on Saturday at Hyvinkää."

First appearance of the season for Per Eklund (SAAB 9-3 ASS) on his hometrack at Arvika. (Photo: © Johan Persson)

No finish for Eklund at the Nürburgring

2010-05-16T23:40:00.005+02:00

Nico Gasparatos and Per Eklund didn't finish at the 3 hour race ADAC 24h-Classic at the Nürburgring, Germany last Friday.

"At Thursday at the training, everything was running very well", tells Nico Gasparatos, owner of the Saab 900 racing team.
"Per made some small ajustmenst on the settings of the Saab 900 and he was very enthusiastic about the nürburgring!".

In the race on Friday, Per took the start very good, but after 5 laps the bevel gear broke and the car had to stop due to Gear damage.

Heikkinen wins first Finnish rallycross race

2010-05-11T00:25:00.002+02:00

SRC Finnish Rallycross Championship 2010 - Round 1
Division 1

1. Toomas Heikkinen (FIN), SAAB 9-3 ASS T16 4x4
2. Martti Simonen (FIN), Ford Fiesta ST T16 4x4
3. Ari Perkiomäki (FIN), Ford Fiesta ST T16 4x4
4. Janne Taskila (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5
5. Anssi Rytkönen (S), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6
6. Sami Pakkala (FIN), Honda Civic Type-R Mk2 Standings:
1. Toomas Heikkinen (FIN) 20
2. Martti Simonen (FIN) 17
3. Ari Perkiomäki (FIN) 15

Toomas Heikkinen (SAAB 9-3 ASS) won the first round of the 2010 SRC Finnish Rallycross Championship at Hämeenlinna. (Photo: © Toni Ollikainen)

Per kör 900 Turbo i 24-timmars

2010-04-27T00:10:00.002+02:00

Michael Åhman - 2010-04-26 12:13

Tre legender möts den 14 maj: Per Eklund ska köra en Saab 900 Turbo 16S vid 24-timmarsloppet på Nürburgrings nordslinga. Han får ovanligt många svenska konkurrenter.

Här är bilen som Per Eklund ska köra i årets upplaga av 24-timmars på Nürburgring: En Saab 900 Turbo 16S av 1984 års modell. Med "minst" 310 hästar under huven.

- När jag fick erbjudandet att tävla med en klassisk 900 Turbo på Nordslingan så tände jag direkt, säger Per.

Per Eklund, 64-årig legend gör comeback i 24-timmars på Ringen.
Bilen (en 1984 års 900 Turbo 16 S) ställs i ordning och ägs av Saab-handlaren i Hamburg och Nordslinge-experten Nico Gasparatos. Den är ombyggd enligt grupp A-reglementet och motorn ger "minst" 310 hästkrafter.

- Jag blev glatt överraskad när jag provkörde, speciellt över prestandan i motorn. Vi kommer definitivt att ha roligt, säger den nu 64-årige Eklund om att tävla med 900 Turbo på Ringen. Han har kört loppet tidigare - för trettio år sedan.

Bilen har en toppfart på 253 km/h. Men Per lär inte ha några problem att tygla hästkrafterna. Under de senaste åren har mannen som kört nästan alla världens bilmärken i nästan alla världens rallytävlingar kört en 650-hästars Saab 9-3 Turbo 4x4 i EM i rallycross.

Några av er kanske också minns den monster-Saab med 850 hk som Per slog backrekord med uppför Pikes Peak år 2000

Per Eklund fährt ADAC 24h-Classic auf dem

2010-04-26T23:53:00.002+02:00

Rallyelegende Per Eklund fährt ADAC 24h-Classic auf dem
Nürburgring

Hamburg, 23. April 2010.
Über 30 Jahre nach seiner letzten Teilnahme an
einem 24h-Rennen auf dem Nürburgring, tritt Rallyelegende Per Eklund mit
einem Saab 900 Turbo 16S beim ADAC 24h-Classic Rennen am 14. Mai auf der
Nordschleife an. Der Wagen wird vorbereitet und eingesetzt vom Hamburger
Saab-Händler und Nordschleifenkenner Nico Gasparatos.

Normalerweise tritt Per Eklund, einer der erfolgreichsten Rallyepiloten der ´70er
und ´80er Jahre, mit seinem rund 650 PS starken Saab 9-3 Turbo 4x4 in der
Rallycross Europameisterschaft an. Doch beim diesjährigen 24h-Classic Rennen
im Rahmenprogramm des 38. ADAC Zurich 24h-Rennens auf dem Nürburgring,
zieht es den 64jährigen Rallycross-Champion von 1999 in ein Cockpit der
besonderen Art. „Als ich das Angebot bekam, mit einem klassischen Saab 900
Turbo auf der Nordschleife antreten zu können, war ich sofort begeistert“,
kommentiert der schwedische Rennfahrer seinen unerwarteten Einsatz.

Das Fahrzeug, ein Saab 900 Turbo 16S, aufgebaut nach dem Gruppe AReglement,
präsentierte sich bei einem ersten Test auf der Strecke im dänischen Padborg bestens vorbereitet. „Ich war überrascht, wie präzise sich der Wagen
fahren lässt, vor allem die Leistungsentfaltung des 300 PS starken Motors
begeistert – wir werden definitiv Spaß haben“, freut sich Per Eklund aufs Rennen
am Ring.

Oldtimer- und Saab-Spezialist Nico Gasparatos tritt mit seinem Saab 900 Turbo
seit über 10 Jahren erfolgreich in der Youngtimer-Rennszene an und konnte die
Zuverlässigkeit des extravaganten Klassikers entscheidend verbessern. Der Saab
900 Turbo 16S ist aus dem Jahr 1984 und verfügt über die üblichen
Sicherheitsdetails, wie eine eingeschweißte Sicherheitszelle, einen
Sicherheitstank und eine spezielle, der Homologation entsprechende,
Bremsanlage. Besonderes technisches Highlight des Fahrzeugs ist das
sogenannte APC-System, eine elektronische Steuerung des Turbo-Ladedrucks.
Das System schützt nicht nur den Motor vor Beschädigung, es sorgt vor allem für
kraftvolles Drehmoment. Saab war 1982 der erste Hersteller, der eine aktive
Ladedruckregulierung anbieten konnte.

Leistungsdaten:
310 PS bei 6400 U/min, 520 Nm Drehmoment bei 4000 U/min,
Höchstgeschwindigkeit: 253 km/h, maximaler Turbo-Ladedruck: 1,6 bar.

Hinweis:
Diesen Text sowie Bildmaterial finden Sie in der Datenbank von
Gasparatos Automobile GmbH www.saabservice.de

Toomas Heikkinen

2010-04-20T22:25:00.005+02:00

From: http://www.rallycross.com/

The Swedish Rallycross Championship, the 'Rallycross Norden' events and probably eight events of the 2010 FIA European Rallycross Championship is the plan for Per Eklund this year. Like Michael Jernberg yesterday, Andréas Eriksson this last saturday, and Kenneth Hansen last week, Eklund also attended Strängnäs Motorstadion for some testing before the season. He had this time only brought his "old" SAAB 9-3 with him. "Everything underneath is the same – it is only the model that is older – otherwise it is just as fast as my other Division 1 cars,"he explained.

Per Eklund, explains Toomas Heikkinen how Rallycross has to be driven. (Photo: © Lennart Pettersson)

The reason that Eklund is not attending the first two events of the 2010 European Championship this year is that he will be in Finland at the Finnish Rallycross Championship that kicks off at Hämeenlinna on May 8 – though, he will not be driving. This year, Eklund is taking young Finnish driver Toomas Heikkinen under his wings. Heikkinen, only 19 years old, is this year entering the Rallycross stage by renting one of Eklund's Divison 1 SAAB's, and has at the same time gained a mentor in Eklund. Eklund (64 years old in June) realizes the importance of getting young drivers into Rallycross and wants to support them as much as he can with his knowledge and experience. His first step is to act as a 'teacher' for Heikkinen, whom he sees much potential in. "This test is actually for Toomas, though I do of course get into the car as well," Eklund says. Even no matter how experienced as Eklund is, he too needs testing before the season and sat yesterday both in the driver's and co-driver's seat.

Toomas Heikkinen was already very fast in the "old" SAAB 9-3 of Eklund Motorsport. (Photo: © Lennart Pettersson)

He thinks that it is important to help "the new generation of young drivers" forward in their careers. And to be there as a mentor is something he really looks forward to. Even though Toomas Heikkinen has not yet competed in any Rallycross event, nor even driven a Rallycross car before coming to Strängnäs Motorstadion, Eklund sees a big potential in the young Finn. Heikkinen has a background in karting and Formula Renault, and has earlier teamed up with drivers such as Timmy Hansen (son of Kenneth Hansen) and Marcus Ericsson in karting. Yet a few laps on the track in a rented Group A Rally car (a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) and Eklund's Division 1 SAAB 9-3 Rallycross car, he soon learned more about how to make full use of the track, and even came down to laptimes faster than Michael Jernberg initially had yesterday. "He beat Michael!!!," mentor Eklund shouted with a smile when the Finn got out of the car.

Toomas Heikkinen will focus on the Finnish Rallycross Championship in 2010, however he is already making plans for a European Rallycross season in 2011. (Photo: © Lennart Pettersson)

Heikkinen will this year drive in the SRC Finnish Rallycross Championship in a SAAB 9-3 SportSedan of Eklund Motorsport. The biggest difference from Formula Renault to Rallycross was not, as probably expected, the new wider driving style; "the seat is on the left side of the car!" Heikkinen laughed, as he is used to sit in a kart. He is also a little worried over the roughness that sometimes does occur in Rallycross. "In Formula Renault we drive with distance to each other, and you won't get much damage on your car, however in Rallycross – you can," Heikkinen says. Though the fear of rough competition and the trouble of a left-seated car, seem not to be too big problems for the young Finn who plans to have his first and second event as learning events, and then, during the rest of the season he hopes to be competitive in the 'A' finals. In 2011 Heikkinen plans to drive a full season in Division 1 in the European Rallycross Championship. Will he succeed? This is not known yet, however we will for sure keep our eyes on this new young driver.

Heikkinen chooses Rallycross

2010-02-22T22:08:00.000+01:00

from http://www.erc24.com/:

Finn Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen has made the move from circuit racing to Rallycross and will take part in this year’s Finnish 'Super Rallicross' championship in an Eklund Motorsport Saab 93 ERC.
Heikkinen (18) will contest a full season in the Finnish championship as well as driving the Saab in the Finnish round of the ERC in July. Further outings will be considered on the basis Heikkinen’s progress. Starts in the Swedish ERC round, and late season ERC events that fall after the end of the Finnish championship are under discussion.

Having raced karts since the age of eight, Heikkinen progressed to cars in a fairly conventional career path and drove in Formula Renault events in 2008 and ’09. The move to Rallycross is not unique; Finland’s most recent European champion, Jussi Pinomäki, was also an accomplished racer before switching codes.
“It is great to start taking part in a sport in which Finns have a fantastic history and several European champions. My team manager, Per Eklund, has also won the European championship, and Matti Alamäki, the living legend of Rallycross and a five-time European champion, is still driving in the Finnish championship. In company like that, you just have to grab the wheel like a man!” said Heikkinen, “Obviously there is a huge amount to learn. Just to start with, I’m not familiar with the high-powered engine and four-wheel drive of my car. During the winter I have been learning to drive a four-wheel drive vehicle in a Mitsubishi rally car on various Rallycross tracks. Rally driver Riku Tahko has been sitting beside me, and I’m starting to get the hang of it."
In kart racing Heikkinen was a contemporary of Timmy Hansen, Tom Blomqvist and Marcus Ericsson, he was a race winner during the 2009 Formula Renault NEC Cup season.

Eklund has high hopes for his young protege and is looking forward to the task of working with a young driver, "Toomas tested my car at the end of last year, it was just a short run but he drove well. He is going to come to Sweden now and we will work together, driving in the snow and on Rallycross tracks. I’m going to teach him like he was my own son," said Eklund, "He has a lot of experience from karts and Formula Renault, has a very professional attitude and good backup. He’s not quite 19 yet and he wants to learn everything, I’m looking forward to working with him."

Heikkinen’s switch to Rallycross is already viewed as a multi-year project by his father Jarmo, "We are by no means saying never again to the Formula classes, but for now we are seriously investing in Rallycross and aiming to move to the ERC in 2011," he said, "We are happy to face the new challenges and delighted to have Per Eklund with his tremendous experience by our side, not forgetting the team and the fast, reliable car. Rallycross is very popular in Finland and Europe, and I’m convinced this colourful sport would surely be a hit in the United States too. It is also a splendid thing that both the Finnish and the European Championships will be broadcast on TV."
Heikkinen Senior also pointed out the economic advantages of Rallycross: "After karting we drove in the Formula Renault class, and I must say that they are both excellent ways of draining your funds. When I started to find out about Rallycross as a sport last autumn and had discussions with Eklund Motorsport, I noticed that there is still some sense left in the 'price tags' of this sport. It is not exactly cheap either, but it is a lot more sensible compared to the prices in karting and Formula Renault, where the situation is rather overheated,” he said.

Eklund has yet to confirm his own programme of events for 2010, but is set to contest the Finnish championship rounds in Kauhajoki and Joensuu (Heikkinen’s home town) alongside his young team mate. Eklund Motorsport is the latest of the sport’s established operators to embrace the commercial team model, joining OlsbergsMSE and KHM in expanding its activities by running other drivers.

Finnish Rallycross Championship
May 8, Hämeenlinna
May 29, Hyvinkää
June 19, Oulu
July 17, Kauhajoki
August 7, Joensuu
August 21, Kouvola

Model news part 7: Audi Quattro

2010-01-26T11:43:00.003+01:00

On the site of Gass models (I), I found a Audi Quattro Gr.B from Eklund and his co-driver

Björn Cederberg.

They drove with this car the RAC rally (UK) in 1985 to a 4th position.

Model with scale 1:43
Code Gass 32
Code Gass 32 K (Kit)

Model news part 6: Fiat Ritmo

2010-01-19T13:18:00.003+01:00

On the site of Tron-models I found the Fiat Ritmo Alitalia R. Motec Group 2 Rallycar from 1979.

Eklund drive this car with co-driver Hans Sylvan at the Monte Carlo rally 1979 in Monaco.

Prices:
p273 kit scala1/43 rd scale € 55,00
bb070B model scala 1/43 rd scale € 130,00

Searching on the internet results in these photos of the Fiat Ritmo:

Eklund at "Save Saab" convoy at Trollhättan

2010-01-18T13:48:00.000+01:00

On www.saabsunited.com we found a picture of Per Eklund at the "Save Saab" convoy at Trollhättan.

The “Save Saab” gathering in Trollhättan, Sweden was quite impresssive as the over 2,000 Saabs parked in Saab Automobile’s factory parking lot!

Eklund wins at 'Solberg Extreme Motor Show'

2009-11-21T23:04:00.005+01:00

from www.rallycross.com:

The first edition of the 'Solberg Extreme Motor Show' has come to an end at the Telenor Arena at Fornebu.
Tommy Rustad (SAAB 9-3 from Eklund) won the final of the 'Golden League' from Marcus Grönholm (Ford Fiesta Mk7) after Rustad won from P-G Andersson (Ford Fiesta Mk7) in the semi-final. Grönholm won his semi-final from Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta Mk7).

In the 'Real Deal' class Per Eklund beat Sverre Isachsen (Ford Focus ST) in the final after both drivers won their semi-final from respectively Morten Bermingrud (Citroën C4) and Camilla Antonsen (Ford Focus).

Andreas Mikkelsen (Ford Focus ST) succeeded on Anders Grøndal (Subaru Impreza) in the final of the 'WRC' class while Stian Haugan (Citroën Xsara) beat Terje Morstad (BMW M3) in the final of the Super National class.

Per Eklund and Tommy Rustad celebrating their victories during the 'Solberg Extreme Motor Show'.
(© Johan Persson)

Per Eklund (SAAB 9-3 SportSedan) beat Sverre Isachsen in the final race of the "Real Deal".
(Photo: © Johan Persson)

Tommy Rustad (SAAB 9-3 SportSedan) won the "Golden League".
(Photo: © Johan Persson)

*** update 22-11-2009 ***
Video of the show:
http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/sport/spill/verdi/116127

Eklund hoppas på Koenigsegg

2009-11-10T20:05:00.000+01:00

Per Eklund förbereder sina två bilar för bröderna Solbergs jippotävling i Norge 21 november.Inför nästa säsong hoppas rallycrossnestorn från Arvika på hjälp av Saabköparen Koenigsegg.
– Han är jäkligt intresserad av bilsport i alla fall.

from http://www.nwt.se/

Per Eklund har kört Saab i många år utan särskilt mycket stöd från fabriken.
– Ingen vågar ta något beslut sen konkursen, säger Per.
Nu när Koenigsegg Group är på mycket god väg att köpa det kristyngda svenska märket från General Motors, med hjälp av tre miljarder från utländska finansiärer, ser Eklund nya chanser till uppbackning.
Företagets (Koenigsegg Automotive AB, med säte i Ängelholm) grundare och VD Christian von Koenigsegg är bil- och motorsporttokig. 2005 slog hans Koenigsegg CCR Guinness-världsrekord som den snabbaste serieproducerade bilen efter att ha uppnått 388 kilometer i timmen.
– Christian är mitt hopp. Jag träffade honom i Ängelholm när jag var där med Saab för några år sedan, och då skjutsade jag honom runt, berättar Per Eklund, som passade på att ge bort en videofilm om Pikes Peak-projektet där Per konstruerade en bli som var snabbast uppför den berömda amerikanska backen.
– Det var min dröm och han hade ju också en dröm.
Herrarna har inte träffats efter det mötet, men får Per bestämma sker det så snart Saab-affären är i hamn.
– Jag ska ta kontakt med honom, det måste jag nog om jag ska få hjälp.
Utgången av det mötet blir viktig för satsningen 2010.
Gångna säsongen var en av de tuffaste för den 63-årige värmlänningen som blev 13 totalt i EM och SM-tvåa efter ”Stecka”.
2008 hade han finansierat sin körning genom att hyra ut andrabilen. Men nu sprack den möjligheten när britten George Tracey drabbades av ekonomiska problem och hoppade av mitt i säsongen.
– Det var verkligen sniknivå.
Inte blev det bättre av den våldsamma kraschen i EM-tävlingen i Österrike då Eklund blev påkörd bakifrån och bilen totalskrotad. Till råga på allt elände kvaddades reservbilen i en krasch i Tyskland, men den gick att laga. Det krävde en del pengar och ännu mer arbete.

Division 1 inte i SM
Nästa år siktar Per Eklund i första hand på nordiska serien, Rallycross Norden, som startar på Westombanan i Arvika 22 maj och omfattar ytterligare tre tävlingar.
Nytt är att division 1 inte ingår i SM-serien utan istället omfattar två av deltävlingarna i Rallycross Norden och troligen i Höljes- och Finlands EM-tävlingar, om Svenska bilsportförbundets planer går i lås. Orsaken är att division 1-förarna i allt större utsträckning väljer bort SM.
– Det är bra. I år var det så mycket så det gick nästan inte. Stecka och jag försökte ändå.
Eklunds engagemang i EM beror på ekonomin.
– Höljes kör jag givetvis, men tävlingar som Ungern är så långt borta. Det kostar skjortan. Jag förstår inte varför de är med.

Solbergs motorshow
Närmast väntar dock Solberg Extreme Motorshow som ska köras i takförsedda Telenor Arena, fotbollslaget Stabaeks hemmaplan, på Fornebu utanför Oslo 21 november och direktsändas i norsk tv. Fotbollsplanen ska asfalteras för att kunna ta emot vrålåken i rally och rallycross. Bland deltagarna finns förutom Petter och Henning själva formel 1-världsmästaren Kimi Räikkönen, Marcus Grönholm, Tommi Mäkinen, Mikko Hirvonen och Mattias Ekström.
Per Eklund kör en Saab själv och ska låna ut den andra. Det har varit mycket slit med den som demolerades i Österrike.
– Nu är de bortemot hopsatta, så jag tror vi klarar det, säger Per Eklund.

Bengt Sundler

Eklund wins in Finland!

2009-10-04T12:35:00.003+02:00

This weekend (October 3-4) the third and final 2009 Candidate Event for the FIA European Rallycross Championship takes place at Kouvola in Finland. Greinbach (Austria - May 16-17) and Stjørdal (Norway - June 20) were the other Candidate Events that went underway earlier this season.
The evaluation of those three Candidate Events together with the evaluation of the past ten 2009 events will be discussed among the members of the FIA Off-Road Commission in order to be able to release the 2010 calendar. It is expected that the 2010 calendar will be announced on October 14 following the next FIA Off-Road Commission meeting.

The Finnish event was run in mixed weather conditions and won by Per Eklund who led home new Finnish champion Atro Määttä (Focus) and Harri Arola (Mitsubishi Lancer E6).

Results Division 1

Per Eklund (S), SAAB 9-3 SportSedan
Atro Määttä (FIN), Ford Focus
Harri Arola (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
Jari Järvenpää (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
Sami Pakkala (FIN), Honda Civic Type-R
Ilkka Kiviniemi (FIN), Toyota Corolla

Per Eklund was the only ERC regular present, and won the event.

Eklund 5th at last Rallycross Norden race 2009

2009-09-26T19:48:00.002+02:00

Results race 4 - Rallycross at Norden Lyngås Motorbane - Norway

Michael Jernberg, Škoda Fabia
Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST
Mats Lysen, Ford Focus ST
Morten Bermingrud, Citroën C4
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan
Henning Solberg, Ford Fiesta ST
Frank Valle, Ford Fiesta ST
Kjell Arne Smerud, Citroën Xsara
Stefan Jansson, Hyundai i30
Andréas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta Mk7

Eklund not at start EC Belgium

2009-08-08T21:29:00.000+02:00

from http://www.erc24.com/:

The most notable absentee from the paddock in Belgium is former champion Per Eklund.

The Saab driver has been forced to remain home because he does not have the budget to compete in all events this year, but he has been left in that position as a direct result of the crash in the Austrian ERC round at Melk where one of his Saab 93s sustained heavy damage. “Money is the problem, but it’s because I should have had one car rented out at some events this year. When the old car was damaged in Austria we built up the new one so that I could race but that means I had only car and nothing to rent out,” said Eklund, “We had no time to look at the old car until last week and the damage is even worse than I thought at first, everything behind the driver’s seat is destroyed, we cut it in half and have replaced the whole back end of the car. We decided to stay home and work on the car instead of going to Belgium. I will see how things go, perhaps we can go to Germany next week.”

Eklund remains critical of the organisers at the Austrian ERC event in which his car was damaged. “This has happened because of the crash in Austria, the organisers need to learn that making bad decisions is bloody dangerous but also costs us [teams] a lot of money – if it stops us going racing it is bad for everybody,” said Eklund.

Eklund 8th at 3rd race Rallycross Norden

2009-07-25T20:56:00.000+02:00

Results race 3 - Strängnäs Motorstadion - Sweden

Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST
Michael Jernberg, Škoda Fabia
Kjell Arne Smerud, Citroën Xsara
Morten Bermingrud, Citroën C4
Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Renault Clio
Tony Croon, Ford Focus
Stefan Jansson, Hyundai i30
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan
Åke Holtet, Ford Focus
Atro Määttä, Ford Focus
Silvo Viitanen, Ford Focus

Eklund sixth at second Rallycross Norden race

2009-06-21T10:17:00.000+02:00

Eklund ended in this midsommer weekend on a sixt position in the A-final in Trondheim, Norway.

"There was something wrong with the gearbox, I could not use the second and third gear".
With a 4th time in the first heat, a 6th time in the second heat and a 4th time in the third heat, Eklund starts on a 6th position in the A-final. It was rallydriver Henning Solberg who won the race, just before Isachsen and Jernberg.

Results A-final:

Henning Solberg, Ford Fiesta ST
Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST
Michael Jernberg, Škoda Fabia
Kjell Arne Smerud, Cirtöen Xsara
Tony Croon, Ford Focus
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan

SC Tomelilla: Eklund second with new car

2009-06-15T08:43:00.003+02:00

From www.rallycross.de:

The first round of the 2009 Swedish Rallycross Championship got underway at the Svampabanan at Tomelilla on June 13 under very bad weather conditions for most of the day. Stig-Olov Walfridsson (Renault Clio Mk3) won Division 1.

The track at Tomelilla hosted a Division 1 event counting for the Swedish Rallycross Championship for the last time in 2004. Since that time several changes and improvements to the track were made. Already in 2005 the famous hill on the Svampabanan was completely gone. In preparation for this 2009 event some more changes were made in consultation with the member drivers of Tomelilla Motorklubb. The right turn downhill for example after the long first corner has been made much smoother. Instead of an almost 90 degrees right turn it is now converted to a more 45 degrees right turn allowing drivers to keep up more speed. Further down, the small jump section has been widened as the joker lap was moved from that area on the track to the last corner. Someone of the organizing club told us that from the right turn downhill on, at every section some minor or major changes were done.

The 2009 championship holds four events for Division 1 and 1A with Tomelilla, Höljes, Kalix and Götene. No Division 1A drivers came to Tomelilla while only four Division 1 cars passed scrutineering and were allowed to take part in this season's opener. Winner of the last Division 1 event at Tomelilla in 2004, Per Eklund (SAAB 9-3 SportSedan) was one of them. Stig-Olov Walfridsson (Renault Clio Mk3), Tony Croon (Ford Focus) and Mats Öhman (Ford Focus) completed the Division 1 starting list.
For Per Eklund is was a race against time to get a 'new' car ready to race for Tomelilla as his car was heavily damaged after the last round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship in Austria when two other drivers crashed into the SAAB. "After we came home from Austria we decided to get the new car up and running. The car was already some time in the workshop but we never found the time to finish it but this week after the crash in Austria we were forced to do so", Eklund said on Saturday morning.

As Öhman and Croon were pulled out of the event very early, Division 1 at Tomelilla was down to a duel between Per Eklund and Stig-Olov Walfridsson. The public should be served with four duels, however only three duels took place. In the first heat Walfridsson made two times a jump start and was excluded. "I am used to the starting system in the European Championship", he said. "In the European Championship the red light is only flashed while here we need to wait until the green light is showen and i didn't pay attention to the different system in use here", Walfridsson continued. The first straight duel afterwards went to Eklund, the second to Walfridsson setting the fastest time of the day. The third and final duel of the day (i.e. the so-called 'A' final) went to Walfridsson.

Eklund vill fira - med Koenigsegg

2009-06-13T08:52:00.000+02:00

from www.expressen.se

Motorlegendaren Per Eklund, 62, har tävlat i en Saab sedan 1965. I dag kör han SM-premiären i rallycross på Svampabanan. Eklund välkomnar kompisen Christian von Koenigseggs köp av den svenska biljätten. - Blir det så ska vi ha riktigt roligt, det kan jag lova, säger han.

Med sina 62 år är Per Eklund en av svensk motorsports största profiler. Redan 1972 fanns han med i startfältet på Svampabanan - och vann med en Saab V4.
- Jag tänkte på det nyss när jag stod i duschen, att det är helvete vad en håller på.
- Detta blir väl min 45:e säsong.
Sedan 1965 har han kört Saab, och välkomnar Christian von Koenigseggs intresse i att köpa bilföretaget.
- Jag känner ju honom sedan tidigare. För tre år sedan körde jag min rallycrossbil över hans parkering vid fabriken i Ängelholm.

"Intresserad och kunnig"
- Han är ju jäkligt motorintresserad och kunnig, så han sprang ut för att se vad som stod på.
Per Eklund fick visa och berätta om sin modifierade Saab - och fick sedan provköra en Koenigsegg.
- Vi tog en sväng tillsammans i bilen. Det vore ju en jäkla kovändning om han köpte Saab, då ska vi ha riktigt roligt, det kan jag lova dig.

Leran stör inte Eklund
Regnet vräkte ner över södra Sverige under hela gårdagen. Något som inte gjorde förutsättningarna bättre inför SM-premiären i rallycross på Svampabanan i dag.
- Äh, den var lerig redan innan det började regna. Visst blir det halt men det är lika för alla, säger Per Eklund.
- Jag har kört på Svampabanan hur många gånger som helst, men nu var det länge sedan sist.
Vad blir segerreceptet i leran?
- Enda receptet är att komma först.
- Blir det dessutom klart mellan Saab och Koenigsegg i morgon tror jag vi tar en sväng förbi fabriken i Ängelholm på hemresan till Värmland, säger Per Eklund.

Av Erik Terneborn

Eklund till start i SM

2009-06-12T09:00:00.002+02:00

From: www.nwt.se:

Per Eklunds Saab blev helt demolerad i kraschen i EM-tävlingen i Österrike förra helgen.Men han kör ändå SM-premiären i Tomelilla på lördagen.

– Vi har byggt en annan bil, säger den 62-årige rallycrossnestorn från Arvika.
Den kraschade bilen, som blev påkörd i bakändan, kommer det ta många timmar att laga. Den går inte att rikta utan måste sågas av på mitten.
Som tur var hade Per en annan Saab stånas, en bil som han inför säsongen planerade att hyra ut.
Sedan hemkomsten från Österrike har det skruvats febrilt i garaget för att flytta över motor och andra vitala delar. I går var det mesta klart.
– Vi har haft igång den, men jag måste provköra också. Det är en ny bil som aldrig gått tidigare så det kan vara mycket som krånglar.
– Det räcker om jag är där nere klockan nio i morgon kväll (i kväll) för då går besiktningstiden ut. Men det är stormvarning i Skåne så det kanske inte blir någon tävling.
Division 1 har bara åtta anmälda varav två värmlänningar – Eklund och ”Stecka”.
Men Per Eklund är inte så oroad över att statusen kan bli dålig.
– Nu kanske, men Höljes ingår ju i SM och finalen i Götene har Kenneth Hansen och de lovat köra.
Supernationella klassen är störst med 19 anmälda. Där finns bland andra Urban Bergström, Finnskoga.

Per Eklunds Saab visar tydliga spår efter kraschen under EM-deltävlingen i österrikiska Melk. Som tur är har han en reservbil som han kan använda i helgens SM-premiär.

EC Austria: Heat 1 race suspended, Eklund out

2009-06-06T21:13:00.008+02:00

News from http://www.erc24.com/:

The third of the five Division One races in the first qualifying heat was stopped after a crash involving Jussi Pinomäki, René Münnich and the car of Per Eklund.
The incident has brought the first day of the Austrian ERC event to a premature end, the Stewards of the Meeting suspending racing in the wake of the crash and holding over the re-run of the third race as well as the last two races in the heat until tomorrow.

There was pushing and contact between several cars in the first corner of the race, the result of which was that Per Eklund's Saab was left stranded in the middle of the track just at the end of the downhill gravel section.
"Someone hit me in the first corner, it broke the steering and the car was stopped in the middle of the track. I couldn't move it so I got out and ran away. When they come round again, Walfridsson and Procter just missed it but then there was dust and Pinomäki had no chance. He hit my car flat out and then Münnich hit Pinomäki. My car is complete finished. There should have been a red flag when I stopped there, it's crazy," said Eklund.

The incident happened in full sight of many competitors from Divisions One-A and Two, as well as team members who had gathered to watch the race at the point."I was watching from the top of the hill and half-a-lap before the cars came back here I knew this was going to be a big accident," said D2 racer Knut Ove Børseth, "The race should have been stopped immediately that Eklund stopped, his car was in the middle of the track.

"The crash followed a controversial incident in the fourth D1-A race in which Johan Larsson rolled in the long gravel corner at the end of the lap. "I told the organiser that they are not thinking about our safety because it was the same in our race," said D1-A racer Timur Timerzyanov, "Larsson's car was left in the middle of the track, it was on the racing line and we had to drive round it. And then this…
"Clerk of the Course Karl Staudinger denied that a red flag had been necessary in the D1 race. "The marshal said that the car [Eklund's Saab] was outside the racing line so I let the race continue but with two yellow flags on that post," he said.
Münnich got out of his car by himself but then collapsed on the ground where he was treated by the medical team who fitted a neck brace before removing him on a stretcher. Pinomäki was kept in his car talking with the medics until they were ready to move him to a stretcher.

A video of the accident you can find here:
http://www.rallycross.hu/massive_crash_in_melk.html

EC Hungary: 10th place for Eklund!

2009-05-31T20:01:00.005+02:00

Eklund is working hard in the economic circumstances and has been hit by the troubles surrounding General Motors and the impact that has had on Saab.“There’s nothing from Saab this year, that is a mess. It looks like it might get sorted out in a few weeks but the Swedish government does not want to give any money to GM, so perhaps Saab will go bust and then start again as a new Swedish company,” said Eklund.
“We improved the car a little bit in the winter, but everybody else has moved forward too. We could do more, there is more power to come from the engine but you need a really big budget to do that and this year we are just happy to continue.”

At the fourth race for the European championship in Hungary, Eklund qualifies for the C-final. With an 11th, 12th and an 11th overall time in the qualification heats, Eklund starts at the third position in the C-final. And the old Swede from Arvika managed to win this c-final and and secured himself a ticket for the Division 1 B-final.
In this B-final he finish on a 5th position, a 10th place overall! A good result for this weekend!

photos: (C) 2009 by www.erc24.com

Results EC Hungary 2009:

Michael Jernberg, Skoda Fabia, 20
Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST, 17
Jussi Pinomäki, Citroën C4, 15
Kenneth Hansen, Citroën C4, 13
Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo S40 Mk2, 12
Andréas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta Mk7, 11
Jean-Luc Pailler, Peugeot 207, 10
Frode Holte, Volvo S40 Mk1, 9
Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Renault Clio Mk3, 8
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan, 7
Ole Kristian Nøttveit, Ford Focus ST, 6
Pavel Koutný, Ford Fiesta ST, 5
Liam Doran, Ford Fiesta ST, 4
László Kiss Jr., Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, 3
Olivier Anne, Citroën C4, 2
Guttorm Lindefjell, Skoda Fabia Mk1/6Y, 1

Per Eklund ger tummen upp för moderklubben

2009-05-18T12:47:00.005+02:00

Med en snygg andraplats efter Michael Jernberg markerade Per Eklund sin comeback på Westombanan i Arvika och nu öppnar han även för en återkomst till moderklubben Team Westom.– Det är lite Ola By-stämning i föreningen nu igen.

Den 62-årige långköraren har levt i ”exil” hos Finnskoga MK i några år, men nu är det nytt styre på Westom och drag i verksamheten efter några magra år. Det bekräftades i lördags, vid premiären av nya Rallycross Norden. Flera tusen på läktaren, dramatik och bra flyt.

– Tycker det gick strålande, men vi har också slitit som djur sedan november för att få till det, säger Bengt Karlsson, Team Westoms nye ordförande.Den nye bossen har fått en bra start, med hjälp från många händer och fötter numera.
– I fjol var vi 6-7 personer på våra möten. Nu är vi runt 40. Vi försöker få till en förening där alla ska känna sig delaktiga.
Så som Per Eklund minns att legendariske bilbärgaren Ola By byggde verksamheten. Då lockar det att köra för Team Westom igen. Välkommen är han enligt ordföranden.
– Men jag är inte så påflugen av mig. Han ska känna för det själv, konstaterar Bengt Karlsson lugnt.
Faktiskt var det som att Eklund levde upp av förnyelseinjektionen där hemma. Efter att ha börjat säsongen med placeringar en bra bit från A-finalen i EM-serien var han nu med i segerstriden.
– Under träningen var något fel med fjädringen. Allt gick sönder, till och med instrumentbrädan ramlade ner, men vi plockade delar från gamla bilen, jobbade till långt fram på natten och sedan gick det bättre och bättre.Till A-finalen kom han via seger i B och tog sig nästan fram till täten.
– Jag var uppe vid bakhjulet på Micke ett par gånger, men då slog laddtrycksspärren till, så motorn la av.Jernberg bekräftade den hårda uppvaktningen.
– Per fick till det bra från depåkurvan och uppåt medan jag hade lite problem med väghållningen just där.
Underlaget fick viss kritik, men det var mest en följd av generösa träningsmöjligheter under fredagen. Det var inte heller av den anledningen finalfältet liknade ”tio små negerpojkar”. I första startförsöket la sig Andreas Eriksson på taket. Stallkollegan och rallystjärnan Henning Solberg tog starten från pole position även i andra försöket, men försvann i första böjen.
– Det var visst en växellåda som gick sönder, bara att styra åt sidan, berättar Solberg, som ändå ser fram mot nästa gästspel på rallycrossbanorna, i Trondheim i juni, del två av Rallycross Norden.EM-ledaren Sverre Isachsen tog över , men bakifrån ville Stig-Olof Walfridsson också åt 100 000 i förstapris. Isachsen försvann upp i grässlänten och ”Stecka” ut i depån med svartflagg.
– Inte mycket att säga om. Jag var på honom, så det är bara att acceptera bedömningen. Det var inget illa menat, summerar ”Stecka” som hade bra fart under dagen och nu slutade sexa.
– Det var långt ifrån bra gjort, men han är inte den som brukar hålla på med sånt, konstaterar Isachsen lugnt och nöjd med sista pallplatsen.Överhuvudtaget var det osedvanligt glada miner. Rallycross brukar präglas av heta dueller på banan följt av ännu hetare diskussioner i domartornet. I lördags var det händelserikt men utan bråk.
– Klara direktiv på förarmötet, snabbt och effektivt genomfört. Då behöver det inte bli diskussioner. Ett kjempekoncept, tycker Sverre Isachsen om utmanaren till mästerskapsserierna i Sverige och Norge. Kenneth Hansen saknades bland de allra största, men i övrigt var startfälten av hög klass. Att det sedan stod prischeckar på spel, för ovanlighetens skull, gjorde förstås inte saken sämre. Micke Jernberg la beslag på den största för segern i division 1.
– Men min motortrimmare står nere i depån och väntar, så jag lär knappt få se pengarna, skrattar Jernberg.

FOTO: MORGAN CARLSSON

Per Eklund i Saab nästan flyger förbi Sverre Isachsen, Volvo, i kvalheatet. Efter den läckra andraplatsen öppnar Per Eklund för en comeback i Team Westom.

from http://www.vf.se/

Eklund second at first Rallycross Norden race

2009-05-16T16:38:00.005+02:00

At his home circuit in Arvika, Per Eklund finished second in the first of four races in the Rallycross Norden series.
Eklund drove a 4th time in the first heat, a 5th time in the second heat and a 6th time in the third heat.
He had to start in the B-final, which he won.

Results A-final:

Michael Jernberg, Škoda Fabia
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan
Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST
Henning Solberg, Ford Fiesta ST
Andréas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta
Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Renault Clio

Photo: Backmansfoto.se

Bräck laddar för comeback

2009-05-14T22:16:00.000+02:00

Kenny Bräck kör EM-deltävlingen i rallycross i Höljes i en likadan bil som Europamästaren Kenneth Hansen kör. – Det här ska bli jäkligt kul, säger Kenny och berättar om ett erbjudande från Per Eklund

Det är nästan exakt fyra år sedan Kenny Bräck körde sitt sista lopp. Han kvalade in till Indy 500 år 2005 med snabbaste tid, men fick bryta beroende på mekaniska problem.
Sedan dess har han ägnat mest tid åt mentorskapet för Marcus Ericsson, som i år kör japanska formel 3-serien.
Men när Leif Halvarsson från Finnskoga Motorklubb ringde och frågade om han ville testa rallycross sa han ja.
– Det är fortfarande kul att köra bil och när de erbjöd mig en konkurrenskraftig bil av en typ jag aldrig kört förut sa jag ja, säger Kenny, som aldrig sett tävlingen i Höljes, trots att han på sin mammas sida har släkt där.
– Det är ju potenta bilar med 600 hästar, men samtidigt är allt runt omkring väldigt back to basic, forsätter han om folkfesten som lockar över 20.000 och i år körs 4–5 juli.
– Jag lovar full satsning. Samtidigt är jag ju inte alls van vid att ställa in bilen och får lita till 100 procent på teamet. Jag har kört bilen en gång i Strängnäs, men hoppas på ett par testdagar till, säger Kenny mitt i flyttbestyren från Belgien till nya hemmet i London.

På startlinjen i Höljes väntar 62-årige värmlänningen Per Eklund.
– Det är ju en legend, säger Kenny och skrattar förtjust över att få möta honom.
– När jag hade kraschat där i Texas och låg där i respirator med slangar överallt, då ringer telefonen. Det var Per. Han frågade hur det var och jag sa att det har väl varit bättre.
– Då fortsatte han och sa att nu ska du väl inte köra nåt mer sånt där Indy. Ska du inte köra Pikes Peak med mig i sommar i stället, berättar Kenny och skrattar åt inbjudan, som han dock tackade nej till.

Pikes Peak är en backtävling som körts i Colorado sedan 1916, med en stigning på drygt 1.400 meter på den två mil långa banan. 2000 och 2002 vann Per, som hittills ende svensk, sin klass i en hemmabyggd Saab.
Sven Gustavsson
sven.gustavsson@dn.se

Eklund and Brack at Maasmechelen 2008

EC France - no final for Eklund

2009-05-10T21:20:00.002+02:00

Not a good weekend for Per Eklund at the third race of the 2009 FIA European Rallycross Championship at the Circuit des Ducs at Essay, France on May 9-10.

On Saturday he drove a 18th time overall at the timed practice.
The first heat wasn't much better, also an 18th time overall, almost 9 seconds behind leader Sverre Isachsen. In the second and third heat, Eklund ended n a 17th and 20th place overall.
He ended on a disapointing 23th place overall.

Next race: Rallycross Norden, 16 may at homebase Arvika!

(pictures : (c) www.erc24.com)

Eklund trotsar finanskrisen

2009-05-04T13:04:00.000+02:00

From: www.sbf.se

Nestorn i svensk Rallycross - Per Eklund - ger inte upp trots ekonomisk kris och det faktum att han är 62 år.- Klart jag ska köra i sommar. Vi måste ju hjälpas åt med SM!
Finanskrisens svallvågor gjorde så att Piteå MS tappade sina tyngsta sponsorer och därför hopas klubben av sitt SM-arrangemang i år. Och i Sturup finns en osäkerhet efter konkursen som gör att Svedala MK siktar på att köra nästa år istället.- Vi måste tyvärr backa ur SM då vi har tappar flera sponsorer, men vi tar nya tag och kommer igen 2010, säger Kurt Pettesson från Piteå MS.
En som absolut inte kastar in handduken är Per Eklund.- Alla har det jobbigt med ekonomin, men vi måste hjälpas åt och se till att Rallycross-SM 2009 blir så bra som det bara går. En får ente ge upp, säger värmlänningen.SM-serien kommer att koncentreras till fyra deltävlingar för alla klasser.- Det ökar möjligheterna för ännu fler förare att köra SM, säger Kenth Bergström, ordförande i Rallycrossutskottet.
Med knappt sex veckor kvar till premiären intensifieras marknadsföringsinsatserna,både till förare och media. Specialinbjudan skickas till alla finska och norska toppförare och publiceras på de största hemsidorna. Radioreklam och annonskampanjer inför premiären drar snart igång.- Vi släpper en hel del nyheter som aldrig tidigare testats inom rallycrossen. Samtidigt fortsätter vi diskussionerna med TV-bolagen, säger Peter Norman, VD Xtreme Event Scandinavia.
Totalt är cirka 30 förare anmält sig till serien, och med fyra deltävlingar har föraravgiften justerats neråt. Föraren har också möjlighet att välja mellan att satsa enbart på prispott eller PR-avgift.- Där har vilyssnat på kritiken hos de förare som inte ville ha aktier i bolaget, säger Peter Norman

Eklund 10th at first EC race 2009

2009-04-15T08:41:00.008+02:00

The opening round of the 2009 FIA European Rallycross Championship brought Rallycross back to Lydden Hill, the location in England where the sport of Rallycross was born 42 years ago.
The last European Rallycross event at Lydden Hill Race Circuit was hosted already back in 1996.
Winner of that event was Kenneth Hansen, Eklund second and Michael Jernberg third. All these drivers are still present in todays race.

In the winter period, Eklund has improved his Saab 9-3 and found more HP.
Together with the Peugeot 307 CC of George Tracey he arrived on time at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit.

Results Heat 1:

Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 03:13:34
Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 03:14:87
Michael Jernberg, Skoda, 03:15:83
Ole Kristian Nøttveit, Ford, 03:17:92
Jean-Luc Pailler, Peugeot, 03:18:07
Jussi Pinomäki, Citroën, 03:18:67
Pat Doran, Ford, 03:18:96
Guttorm Lindefjell, Skoda, 03:19:95
George Tracey, Peugeot, 03:20:30
Per Eklund, Saab, 03:20:84

Results Heat 2:

Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo, 03:14:53
Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 03:15:40
Jean-Luc Pailler, Peugeot, 03:15:58
Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 03:16:26
Michael Jernberg, Skoda, 03:16:74
Guttorm Lindefjell, Skoda, 03:17:22
Ole Kristian Nøttveit, Ford, 03:18:18
Jos Kuypers, Ford, 03:18:33
Andréas Eriksson, Ford, 03:18:68
Per Eklund, Saab, 03:19:02

Results Heat 3:

Michael Jernberg, Skoda, 03:15:41
Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 03:16:18
Jussi Pinomäki, Citroën, 03:16:86
Jean-Luc Pailler, Peugeot, 03:17:99
Pat Doran, Ford, 03:18:00
Ole Kristian Nøttveit, Ford, 03:18:96
Per Eklund, Saab, 03:19:87
Guttorm Lindefjell, Skoda, 03:20:00
Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 03:20:20
George Tracey, Peugeot, 03:20:26

With these results, Eklund starts at the 5th position in the B-final!
On motorsportmad, we found the video of the B-final, just watch!

Results Finals:

Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 20
Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 17
Jean-Luc Pailler, Peugeot, 15
Jussi Pinomäki, Citroën, 13
Guttorm Lindefjell, Skoda, 12
Michael Jernberg, Skoda, 11
Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo, 10
Pat Doran, Ford , 9
Ole Kristian Nøttveit, Ford, 8
Per Eklund, Saab, 7
Andréas Eriksson, Ford, 6
Christopher Evans, Opel, 5
Koen Pauwels, Ford, 4
Edwin Geraerts, Ford, 3
Jos Kuypers, Ford, 2
George Tracey, Peugeot, 1

Some pictures from (c) http://www.erc24.com/

Tia – men EM är i fara för Eklund

2009-04-14T11:52:00.001+02:00

by Johan Hedlund

Per Eklund, 62, tog en tiondeplats vid EM-premiären i England.
Men nu är resten av mästerskapssäsongen i fara.
– Det är svårt med ekonomin, säger veteranen.
Det slutade som vanligt när Lydden Hill, i engelska Wootton, var tillbaka i EM-kalendern efter tolv års frånvaro.
Med Kenneth Hansen högst upp på pallen, alltså.

– Superhärligt att dra till med en seger direkt, säger Hansen i ett pressmeddelande.
– Han vann senast vi var här och jag blev tvåa, säger Per Eklund som fick se Hansen vinna före Sverre Isachsen, Norge, och Jean-Luc Pailler, Frankrike.
Värmlänningen kunde inte matcha den regerande Europamästaren den här gången.
– Vi kom igång bättre och bättre för varje heat. Men det är svårt när vi inte hinner testa något innan tävlingen, jag hade inte kört ett meter med bilen.
Eklund noterades för placeringarna 10-10-7 i kvalheaten och tog sig till B-final där han startade i tredje led.
– Jag hade förhoppningar om att nå A-finalen men fick en pyspunka och hade inget med tätstriden att göra, säger Eklund som blev femma i B-finalen och tia totalt med sin Saab.
• Nöjd med en tiondeplats?
– Det får vi väl vara ändå.
Trots ett starkt resultat i premiären är det högst osäkert om Per Eklund kan köra samtliga tio EM-tävlingar i år.
– Det är svårt med ekonomin. Vi får se hur det blir framöver.
• Påverkar Saabs kris dig extra hårt?
– Nej, jag får inte särskilt mycket pengar av dem ändå. Det är lika för alla nu, det har blivit mycket tuffare att få sponsorhjälp. Det är väl Kenneth Hansen och Michael Jernberg som har det bra.
För den andre värmlänningen i EM, Stig-Olov Walfridson, blev EM-premiären en missräkning. ”Stecka” drabbades av en punktering i det första kvalheatet, i det andra körde han sönder styrstaget i sin Renault efter en incident i alternativspåret.
I det tredje och sista kvalheatet tog värmlänningen ledningen och höll den i tre varv – då var oturen framme igen.
– Det blev stumt och styrväxeln small av, berättar Walfridson i ett pressmeddelande.
Naturligtvis var det färdigkört efter det.
– Bilen går väldigt bra, när den går. Tyvärr hade vi lite stolpe ut men det är sånt som händer. Nu fokuserar vi på nästa tävling, säger Walfridson.
Nästa EM-deltävling avgörs i Portugal 2-3 maj.

Rallycross Norden

2009-02-25T19:50:00.005+01:00

A new Nordic rallycross event will be held on 4 tracks in Norway and Sweden.
Drivers as Morten Bermingrud, Andreas Eriksson, Michael Jernberg, Sverre Isachsen, Per Eklund and more subscribe already.

The racing calender 2009:

May 16, Arvika, Sweden
June 20, Trondheim Norway
July 25, Strägnäs Sweden
August 22, Lyngas

For the latest news, see the official homepage: http://www.rallycrossnorden.se/

Eklund hyr ut för att klara krisen

2009-02-04T21:47:00.004+01:00

Translate this article with Google, click here

from: http://www.nwt.se/

Ekonomiska krisen drabbar även rallycrossförarna. När sponsorerna sviker planerar Per Eklund att finansiera sitt tävlande med att hyra ut en bil. Han bygger en ny Saab i garaget i Arvika.

Trots de kärva tiderna räknar den 62-årige rallycrossnestorn med att komma till start – han har ju tävlat i obruten följd sedan 1969.
– Något måste en köra, säger han. Första EM-tävlingen går ovanligt tidigt, redan 12-13 april på Lydden Hill i England.
– Målet är att köra där och sen får vi se efter hand.SM är också aktuellt liksom den nya Nordiska cupen som inleds i Arvika 16 maj.
Per tror att startfälten kommer att krympa 2009. För honom själv är det också svårare än vanligt, men i mycket.– Ligger en redan ner på golvet kan det inte bli värre, skojar han. Den galghumoristiska vitsen är dubbeltydig. Per mekar väldigt ofta och dessutom är han van att kämpa in i det sista för att få ihop ekonomin.

Tvillingbror till Saaben
Just nu skruvas det febrilt. Per Eklunds Saab 9-3 som han körde i EM och SM gångna säsongen håller på att få en tvillingbror.
– Det är en exakt likadan vi sätter ihop nu. Bygget påbörjades i fjol men slutfördes inte. Nu verkar uthyrning av den andra bilen vara enda utvägen för att komma till start själv.
Hänger det på det?
– Ja, i princip.Planen är att hyra ut både bil och support, helst för en hel säsong.– Det ska bara var att sätta sig i och köra. Frågan är vem som kan hyra, alla har ju finanskris.Någon kund finns inte än, men Per har idéer.
– P-G kan ju inte bara sitta i Årjäng och sen har vi Tommy Kristoffersson som måste ha något att göra.

Har vinnarbilar
Per ville inte börja med bygget förrän han förbättrat fjolårsbilen och därmed hade något bra att kopiera.
Två års jakt på bättre prestanda bar äntligen frukt för en månad sedan. På Trollspeed i Trollhättan förbättrades motorn. Bilen kördes sen på rulle och visade siffror som tyder på att åkdonet framöver väl kan mäta sig med Kennet Hansens och Michael Jernbergs fartmonster.
– Är det något så är det bättre. Vi har 50-60 hästar mer än förut när den varvade ur, och den varvade ur 1 000 varv tidigare. Europamästaren från 1999 var bara tia i EM 2008 men har uppenbarligen nu två vinnarbilar.

Han har också kvar George Traceys Peugeot som teamet supportade förra säsongen. Tracey har drabbats av finanskrisen på Irland, men kanske ändå kommer till start. Fortsatt samarbete är ett alternativ sätt att få in pengar.
– Om han vill kan vi lägga jobb på det, så vi kan åka också. För Pers del lockar Nordiska rallycrosscupen, som körs i Arvika, Trondheim, Strängnäs och Drammen, extra mycket.
– Henning Solberg har lovat åka, Petter är intresserad och Marcus Grönholm lär vara klar ihop med Andreas Eriksson.
En miljon i prispengar i division I gör inte saken sämre.
– Det skulle bli en miljon i SM också, men det tror jag inte de får ihop. Där kostar det 20 000 att vara med istället. Det är som om hockeyspelarna i NHL skulle betala för att få spela. Jag tycker det är helt fel, säger Per Eklund.

Bengt Sundler
bengt.sundler@nwt.se

Eklund till attack mot rally-VM

2008-12-17T21:55:00.000+01:00

Veteranen Per Eklund, 62, går till attack mot motorsporten i allmänhet och rally-VM i synnerhet efter den senaste tidens turbulens.– De måste komma ner på jorden, de har varit så långt från verkligheten man kan komma.

Per Eklund planerar i dagsläget för ännu en säsong i rallycross. Planen är att köra EM – och något av de inhemska mästerskapen.
– Det blir ju ett SM, men två tävlingar ska köras i Norrland. Jag vet inte om jag är så intresserad av att åka upp dit. Det finns även planer på en konkurrerande serie där två av tävlingarna ska köras i Norge, det låter mer intressant, säger Eklund.

Arvikalegendaren jobbar som bäst med att jaga pengar för ännu en satsning.
– Det blir hårdare och hårdare. Men jag tror allt att det ska kunna gå ett år till.Eklund riktar samtidigt skarp kritik mot pengakarusellen i motorsportbranschen, speciellt i rally-VM.
– Det är ofattbart vilka pengar det handlar om där numera. Att hyra en bil för att köra en tävling kostar lika mycket som en hel säsong, tio tävlingar, i rallycross-EM. Det borde de själva ha förstått att det inte är hållbart.

Kritiken är även besk mot dagens unga motorsporttalanger.
– De måste vara beredda att lägga ner lite jobb, få lite skit under fingrarna. Det verkar som de tror att allt ska vara serverat. Men de förarna blir inte långlivade, säger Per Eklund.
• Tror du rallycrossen klarar sig undan bilkrisen?
– Visst kommer det att märkas av och det blir svårt att få ekonomi i det. Men det kommer inte att bli som i rally-VM eftersom vi inte är lika beroende av tillverkarna, säger Per Eklund.

by Johan Hedlund

Dutch Per Eklund Trophee

2008-10-30T18:30:00.000+01:00

The Dutch Saab Club introduced this year the "Per Eklund Trophy", a trophy for the best driver in four events in orientation rally's.

The Historic Saabclub rallyteam organize this year three orientation rally's and together with the annual 'Vikingtocht' the results count for the "Per Eklund Trophy". The person who collects the most points in the sports tour or class of that journey is the winner of this nice trophy.

This year the winner is Henri Dommerholt and Jens Håkansson, driving with a Saab 96 TT Monte Carlo from 1965.

Results Per Eklund trophy 2008 :

Henri Dommerholt and Jens Håkansson, Saab 96 tt, 34 points
Kjel Postema and Nittert Postema, 28 points
Michiel Klinge and Jurryt Jannink, 22 points
René Hut and Cobi ten Wolde, 22 points

Per Eklund with the Dutch Trophy, together with Esther Smith and Caroline de Greeff

Per Eklund demo from 2001

2008-10-10T23:34:00.005+02:00

An nice video from www.motorsportmad.com

Last race 2008: Eklund A-final!!!

2008-10-05T20:18:00.004+02:00

At the last race of the 2008 European Rallycross season, Eklund had a great weekend!

At saturday, in the timed practice he drove a 8th time overall. The car runs very well.
In the first qualification heat, Eklund took a great start and went first into the first corner.
He managed to hold his first position to the finish line and was ahead of the new european champion Kenneth Hansen. With this victory, he has a 4th time overall!

(c) http://www.erc24.com/: Eklund during the first heat, in front!

During the evening and the morning on sunday, a lot of rain came from above and the track was very wet. Conditions Eklund likes a lot.

Eklund drove in the 2nd and 3rd heat also very good, both a 5th time overall!
With these results, Eklund starts on the 5th position in the A-final!

Bad conditions during the second and 3rd heat.

Eklund starts the A-final with Jernberg, Eriksson, Hunsbedt, Smerud and c-final and b-final winner Walfridsson.
But luck didn't went with Eklund in the final. In the first lap, Eklund went off and could not go on.
He finished 6th on this last event of the year.

Results:

Andréas Eriksson Ford
Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault
Ludvig Hunsbedt Volvo
Michael Jernberg Škoda
Kjell Arne Smerud Citroën
Per Eklund Saab
Kenneth Hansen Citroën
Olivier Anne Citroën
Jimmy Holmkvist Ford
Sverre Isachsen Ford

Last race SC: Eklund 8th

2008-09-27T23:36:00.000+02:00

report from http://www.rallycross.de/:

Before Strängnäs five drivers in Division 1 were still able to obtain the title of '2008 Swedish Rallycross Champion in Division 1'. Michael Jernberg (Škoda Fabia) was on top of the standings with 108 points. Five points ahead of Andréas Eriksson (Ford Fiesta ST) who counted 103 points. Also Stig-Olov Walfridsson (Renault Clio RS CR1N) with 99 points, Tony Croon (Ford Focus) with 97 points and Per Eklund (SAAB 9-3 SportSedan) with 90 points had an option on the 2008 Division 1 title.

Walfridsson, Croon and Eklund all qualified for the 'B' final, with the first two sharing the front row. Eklund was on the second row. Peter Hedström (Ford Fiesta ST), Jokinen and Mats Öhman (Ford Focus) were the other 'B' final qualifiers. Öhman had a brilliant start and lead the final until the last lap when he went into the joker lap.
In the mean time Croon and Walfridsson were battling it out, however Walfridsson wasn't able to overtake Croon. When Öhman left the joker lap he re-joined the main track behind Croon but ahead of Walfridsson resulting in Croon and Öhman moving up to the 'A' final and a seventh place overall for Stig-Olov Walfridsson.
Eklund finished on a 8th place.

With this result, Eklund ends on a 5th place overall in this Swedish championship.

EC Poland: not a good weekend again

2008-09-14T17:53:00.007+02:00

Again not a good result for Per Eklund at a European Rallycross round, this time at the Slomczyn track in Poland.
Things look great at the timed practice. The car runs good and with a 11th time the team was ready for the weekend.
But after the first qualification heat, things didn't look great afterall. Eklund lost a rear wheel of the Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan. He managed to drive to the finishline, but the time wasn't good. A last position, a 22th time overall.

photos: (c) www.erc24.com

Eklund fought back in the second and third heat, but the results were not enough to take a position in the A, B or C final. He drove twice a 13th position overall in these heats.
With these results, he had a 17th position overall, just outside the c-final. Only the first 16 qualify for the finals..........

Resuls:

Sverre Isachsen (N) , Ford Focus, 20
Ole Kristian Nøttveit (N), Ford Focus, 17
Andréas Eriksson (S), Ford Fiesta, 15
Kenneth Hansen (S), Citroën C4, 13
Ludvig Hunsbedt (N), Volvo S40, 12
Michael Jernberg (S), Škoda Fabia, 11

With these results, Kenneth Hansen is for the 14th time European champion rallycross. Congratulations, Kenneth!!!

Next race: Swedish championship, September 27 at the Strängnäs Motorstadion.

EC Czechia: Eklund in B-final on 5th position!

2008-09-08T20:36:00.006+02:00

Last weekend, Eklund drove the 9th race in the European rallycross season 2008 in the Czech Republic.

In the timed practice, he drove a 12th time overall.

The first qualification heat on Saturday, he took also a 12th time.
The sunday went better. Both heats, second and third he drove to a 8th time overall.
This gave him a 9th position overall, equals a 4th position in the B-final.

In this final, he drove with Jos Kuypers, Andréas Eriksson, Sverre Isachsen, Frode Holte and c-final winner Michael Jernberg.
At the start it was Isachsen with the best start. Eklund took a 6th position, but Eriksson went wide in the first corner and Eklund could pass. The rest of the final was very close racing. Eriksson tried to overtake Eklund, but didn't succeed.
Eklund went on 5th position over the finish line, a 10th position overall.

Look at the on-board film of Eriksson, see a clear view on Eklund! Great!

Thanks to: (c) http://www.mediasport.cz/rallycross/videa

Results:

Kenneth Hansen Citroën C4 20
Ludvig Hunsbedt Volvo S40 17
Pavel Koutný Ford Fiesta ST 15
Sverre Isachsen Ford Focus ST 13
Olivier Anne Citroën C4 12
Ole Kristian Nøttveit Ford Focus ST 11
Jos Kuypers Ford Focus ST 10
Michael Jernberg Skoda Fabia 9
Frode Holte Volvo S40 8
Per Eklund SAAB 9-3 SportSedan 7
Andréas Eriksson Ford Fiesta ST 6
Pat Doran Ford Fiesta ST 5
Jean-Luc Pailler Peugeot 207 4
Guttorm Lindefjell Skoda Fabia 3
Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault Clio RS 2
Kjell Arne Smerud Citroën Xsara 1

Next weekend: Poland, round 10

Model news part 5: Triumph TR7 V8

2008-09-02T22:33:00.009+02:00

The company IXO models released in July the Triumph TR7 V8 with number 15.
Per Eklund and co-driver Hans Sylvan drove this car at the 1000 Lakes Rally 1980.

Eklund drove to a third place overall in this rally

Not a good weekend for Eklund

2008-08-17T20:56:00.004+02:00

Per Eklund didn't had a good weekend at the European Rallycross round 8 in the Netherlands.

With the results from the qualification heats (19th, 14th and again 19th) he didn't qualify for any finals. His overall position for this weekend is a 20th place.

EC Maasmechelen, day 2: Eklund 12th

2008-08-10T21:42:00.007+02:00

The team worked until 22:30 with the gearbox and change the differential.
In the morning the wheather is very wet, a lot of rain. The team changed the car to wet setup by bchanging the roll bars, suspention and full wet tires.
Eklund has a good feeling about the setup of the car during the warm-up laps.

Heat 2:
Eklund starts with van Mechelen, Holte, Evans and Pauwels. The best start was for Eklund, just before Holte, Mechelen, Evans and Pauwels.
Eklund could extent his lead to almost 9 seconds ahead of Holte and the others drivers.
In the last lap Eklund took the joker lap and was still in front. In the corner on the Duivelsberg, Eklund went to wide and the car slips.
He could not drive away and the other cars were hold up, even some drivers hit the Saab 9-3. Eklund could manage to drive the car away and is still on first position. Van Mechelen managed to overtake during this action from last position to second. Eklund finished before van Mechelen, Holte, Pauwels and Evans. He has a 17th time overall, with a 3rd quickest laptime!
If he did not made the mistake, he probely had a 4th overall.

Results:
later

Heat 3:
Just before this heat, it starts to rain and the track who was drying up, is more slippery again.
Eklund starts with Bermingrud, Walfridsson, van Mechelen and Holte.
Per Eklund makes a good start and went second into the corner after Holte.
Holte and Eklund can drive easy at the front, Eklund has to drive very hard to catch up with Holte. In the second lap, Eklund takes the jokerlap and stays at second position.
At the finish it is Holte on first position, Eklund 2nd, Bermingrud 3rd, van Mechelen 4th and Walfridsson 5th.
Eklund has a 11th time overall. More rain is falling and the other topdrivers can't set a good time.
Results:

A. Theuil (F), VW Golf, 3:08.623
J. Kuijpers (NL), Ford Focus, 3:08.956
K. Pauwels (B), Ford Focus, 3:09.694
L. Hunsbedt (N), VOlvo S40, 3:10:138
M. Jespersen (DK), Peugeot 206, 3:12.970
R. Scheveneels (B), VW Golf, 3:15.290
R. Munncih (D), Skoda Fabia, 3:16.486
F. Holte (N), Volvo S40, 3:16.726
H. Wild (D), VW Polo, 3:17.734
E. Geraerts (B), Ford Focus, 3:17.966
P.Eklund (S), Saab 9-3, 3:18.375

With a 12th, 17th and a 11th time. Per Eklund starts at the last position in the C-final (16th position).

C-final:

Nottweit, Holte, Munnich, Bermingrud, Kuijpers and Eklund start in this final. It is Holte with the best start, Nottveit second and Eklund from the back of the grid to third position. After the first corner, Eklund takes the jokerlap and has to let pass Kuijpers.

In lap 2 Kuijpers makes a mistake and takes the first corner very wide, Eklund can pass to position 3 again. In lap 3 Nottveit takes the jokerlap and Eklund can pass to position 2.
Eklund pushed very hard to get to Holte, but Holte can hold his first position when he crosses the finishline.

With his second position, Eklund is 12th overall.

Next weekend: EC Valkenswaard, the Netherlands

350th European race for Eklund!

2008-08-09T21:51:00.003+02:00

According to Belgium rallycross fan Alex Schijvinck, today it is Eklund's 350 European rallycross race!

Per Eklund is the only driver who started from the beginning in 1973 until now. Some years, Per was not driving in European rallycross (1979 until 1989 and in 1992).

In this period, Eklund took one EC title, in 1999.

Photo: Alex is presenting the data to Eklund

EC Maasmechelen, day 1

2008-08-09T21:35:00.004+02:00

Today it is sunny weather 25 degrees The last few days there was a lot of rain.
Eklund made some improvements the last 3 weeks after Höljes. The turbo has been inproved, also some electric systems. They found some extra horsepower!

Timed practice
The track was dry and sunny, with a lot of dust. Per had a clean run. He drove a 9th time overall.

Results:

S. Isachsen, Ford Focus ST, 38,977
M. Jernberg, Skoda Fabia, 39.342
P. Koutny, Ford Fiesta, 39.493
K. Hansen, Cirtoën C4, 39.515
A. Eriksson, Ford Fiesta, 39.652
O. Nottveit, Ford Focus, 39.725
L. Hunsbedt, Volvo S40, 39.853
M. Bermingrud, Citroën Xsara, 39.964
P.Eklund, Saab 9-3, 39.984
G. Lindefjell, Skoda Fabia, 40.000

Heat 1:
Eklund starts with Bermingrud, Lindefjell, Walfridsson and Evans. Lindefjell takes the best start and went first into the corner.Eklund on the inside on place 2, just before Evans, Bermingrud and Walfridsson.
Lindefjell and Eklund drove away fron the rest of the field. In lap 3 Lindefjell and Eklund took both the Jokerlap. Lindefjell holds his leading position, Eklund is passed by Evans.
Lindfjell takes the heat, followed by Evans, Eklund, Bermingrud and Walfridsson.

With this result, Eklund has a 12th time overall.

Eklund told: "I lost 3rd gear during this heat, I could drive better". The team replaced the gearbox after the heat and the car is ready for tommorow.

4th SC Strägnäs: Eklund 4th

2008-07-31T21:24:00.000+02:00

After almost 3 weeks after Höljes, the 4th race fr the Swedish championship rallycross was held at the Strägnäs Motorstadion.

Eklund drove in the qualification heat a 5th, a 3rd and a 7th time. The last qualification he had a puncture. The times equals a 4th in the A-final.

In the A-final, Norwegian Sverre Isachsen started the A final from pole ahead of Michael Jernberg who set fastest time in the second heat. Andréas Eriksson and Per Eklund qualified third and fourth

Hedström then made a remarkable start and grabbed the lead of the A final away from Isachsen with Eklund initially running third. Eriksson passed Eklund to gain a podium finish, Eklund holding on to fourth place ahead of Croon and Jernberg, the latter retaining the championship lead ahead of Eriksson.

Results:

Peter Hedström, Ford Fiesta ST, 30
Sverre Isachsen, Ford Focus ST, 27+3
Andréas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta ST, 25+1
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 SportSedan, 23
Tony Croon, Ford Focus, 22
Michael Jernberg, Škoda Fabia, 21+2
Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Renault Clio, 20
Stefan Jansson, Hyundai Accent, 19
Silvo Viitanen, Ford Focus, 18
Guttorm Lindefjell, Škoda Fabia, 17
Frode Holte, Volvo S40, 10

EC Höljes day 2: Eklund 9th with problems at start

2008-07-06T23:06:00.006+02:00

Day 2 of the European championship Rallycross at Höljes (Sweden) ended for Eklund on a 4th place in the B-final, meaning a 9th place overall.

In the 2nd heat, Eklund drove a 8th time overall, in the 3rd heat a 11th overall.

Results heat 2:

Marcus Grönholm Ford 03:18:83
Michael Jernberg skoda 03:20:14
Tony Croon Ford 03:20:83
Ludvig Hunsbedt Volvo 03:21:03
Andréas Eriksson Ford 03:21:77
Kenneth Hansen Citroën 03:22:38
Harald Sachweh Opel 03:22:55
Per Eklund Saab 03:23:10
Kjell Arne Smerud Citroën 03:23:41
Sverre Isachsen Ford 03:24:14

Results heat 3:

Andréas Eriksson Ford 03:14:36
Michael Jernberg Škoda 03:14:96
Kenneth Hansen Citroën 03:15:46
Ole Kristian Nøttveit Ford 03:15:66
Kjell Arne Smerud Citroën 03:17:15
Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault 03:17:58
Marcus Grönholm Ford 03:18:38
Linas Norkus Ford 03:19:21
Jean-Luc Pailler Peugeot 03:19:23
Olivier Anne Citroën 03:19:37
Per Eklund Saab 03:20:29

With these results, Per Eklund has a 10th place overall, that will give him the 5th position in the B-final.

In the B-final he had to start with Pailler, Smerud, Walfridsson, Croon and c-final winner Nöttveit. At the start, the Saab 9-3 didn't move at all. Just after half a lap suddenly the car moved again and Eklund could drive his laps. Perhaps it was some moist sensor he told later.

It was Walfridsson who won the b-final, Smerud and Nöttveit did not finish. Eklund could not follow the man in front of him and went 4th over the finish.

Results B-final:

S.O. Walfridsson, Renault Clio, 4.01,97
T. Croon, Ford Focus, 4.02,50
J.L. Pailler, Peugeot 207, 4.06,93
Per Eklund, SAAB 93, 4.26,34
K.A. Smerud, Citroën Xsara, DNF
O.K. Nöttveit, Ford Focus, DNF

"Now it's time for some holiday, Christmas presents for the famlily and and to find 50 HP in the Saab before the next race", Eklund said. The next race will be in 3 weeks.

EC Sweden, Höljes day 1

2008-07-05T17:43:00.002+02:00

It was a busy week for Eklund. The Saab 9-3 went back to Trollhattan for new electric wiring and the team in Arvika was very busy with the car of George Tracy.
At the press conference at thursday, Eklund arrived late after he worked the whole night on the car. But could drive at the press race and guess what, the fastest time!!
"It is just a practice", said Eklund "but the car is running fine. There is more in the car but we we have a busy scedule and there are just 24 hours in a day".

At the time practice this afternoon, Eklund could set a ninth time overall. The track was not dry. Some drivers made a false decision which tires they use.

In the first heat it was Kenneth Hansen with the fastest time, followed by the rallycross rookie and multi world champion rally driver Marcus Grönholm. Eklund drove a 9th time overall.

Results heat 1:

K. Hansen, Citroën C4, 3.07,72
M. Grönholm, Ford Fiesta, 3.09,11
JL/ Pailler, Peugeot 207, 3.09,79
L. Hunsbedt, Volvo S 40, 3.10,40
M. Jernberg, Skoda Fabia, 3.10,55
A. Eriksson, Ford Fiesta, 3.11,76
G. Lindefjell, Citroën C4, 3.12,10
S.O. Walfridsson, Renault Clio, 3.12,30
P. Eklund, Saab 9-3, 3.12,82
F. Holte, Volvo S 40, 3.12,85

And the weather forecast for tomorrow: rain!! Hopefully the chance for an A-final for Eklund!

Eklund sist men snabbast

2008-07-04T09:25:00.004+02:00

RALLYCROSS: Inför Höljes by Bengt Bengt Sundler

Per Eklund var sist till presskonferensen. Men snabbast på banan.
– Allt kan vi inte ha gjort fel i alla fall, säger den 62-årige nestorn från Arvika.

Toppförare och hemmahopp i division I var samlade till torsdagens presskonferens med tillhörande uppvisningskörning (2x3 varv) på banan.”Men var är Per Eklund”, undrade alla.
När de andra förarna gick ut från pressrummet kom herr Eklund med andan i halsen.

– De var färdiga fem i morse med bilen i Trollhättan, pustade han. Man kan tro att Saaben var uppe i varv efter all stress, för det blev sannerligen åka av.
Nestorn från Arvika och tävlande för Finnskoga åkte ifrån alla de andra och lämnade storfräsare som Sverre Isachsen, trefaldig segrare i Höljes, Ludvig Hunsbedt, trea i årets EM-serie, EM-ledaren Kenneth Hansen, EM-tvåan Michael Jernberg, ”Stecka”, fransmannen Jean-Luc Pallier och EM-fyran Andreas Eriksson bakom sig.

Eklund avverkade snabbaste varvet på 45.83. Isachsen var tvåa med 45.99 och Hunsbedt hade 46.31.
Tiderna på ett pressrace har kanske ingen avgörande betydelse.
Men Per var klart nöjd med körningen.Han har inte varit tillfreds med bilen hittills och ligger bara tia i EM-tabellen, med blott en A-final (första tävlingen i Portugal).
Teamet hade jobbat med elektroniken på Saaben, men hann inte riktigt klart till Momarken.
Nu blev det färdigt i sista momangen i verkstaden i Trollhättan. Sju på morgonen var bilen i Arvika och då skulle skärmar och annat sättas på.
Enligt Per beror tidsbristen på att Trollspeed haft fullt upp med Steckas och Jernbergs bilar och att han själv hjälpt irländaren George Tracey med dennes WRC Peugeot.
Det handlar också om ekonomiska resurser.
– Jag har inte råd, svarar Per på frågan om varför han halkat efter konkurrenterna.
Det lär ha fattats 40-50 hästar i toppeffekt och och en del fattas fortfarande.
Pressracet gav dock ett värdefullt kvitto på att teamet är på rätt väg.Att Per Eklund inte hunnit träna på favoritbanan inför årets EM-lopp kompenserar han med otaliga års praktik.
– Jag körde här innan de andra var födda. Jag var med när banan byggdes, säger han.
Är det lika roligt nu när du inte är med i toppen?
– Jag ska vara med i toppen bara jag får ordning på motorn.Är det här roligaste tävlingen?
– Ja, det är ju tätt med folk här redan på torsdagen. Det kokar. Det är som Arvikafestivalen.

Per Eklund varnar för irländare och bilen han har byggt

2008-07-04T09:16:00.001+02:00

by JOHAN ERIKSSON

Med nytt elsystem hoppas Per Eklund, 62, på succé i favorittävlingen.
Fast samtidigt höjer han ett varningens finger för irländaren George Tracy – i bilen Eklund har byggt.– Den bilen kommer ta starten varje gång, säger värmlänningen.

62 år gammal har Per Eklund fortfarande kvar suget för motorsporten. Men samtidigt kommer det inte något kaxigt svar i stil med ”jag kommer åka i från dem allihop” när han får frågan vad han siktar på under helgens EM-deltävling i Höljes.– Det gäller bara att köra så bra om det går, säger han istället ödmjukt.
Kanske till viss del med tanke på att våren varit ovanligt hektisk för honom. Förutom att hålla sin egen Saab 9-3 ASS ERC i kördugligt skick har Eklund och hans mekaniker haft fullt upp med att bygga och få till inställningarna på irländaren George Tracys Peugeot 307 ERC.
– Det är lika roligt fortfarande, men väldigt mycket jobb. Dygnet räcker inte till.Men Eklund är väldigt nöjd med det jobb han och hans kompanjoner gjort med Tracys bil.
– Det är den bilen som går bäst, den bilen som kommer att ta starterna varje gång.

• Så han kan överraska?
– Ja, senast vann han C-finalen före allihop. När vi testade i två dagar gick bilen riktigt bra, säger Eklund.
Men efter att han nu fått ordning på Tracys bil kunde han slutligen lägga ned lite extra kraft på sin egen. Under veckan har Saaben varit nere i Trollhättan där hela elsystemet bytts ut.Samtidigt innebär det att Eklund måste börja om från noll när det gäller inställningarna, därför var torsdagens träningsvarv extra viktiga för honom då de nu har lite färska data att analysera.
– Den här helgen kommer jag att ha de bästa förutsättningarna för i år. Bilen fungerar bra men samtidigt vet jag att det finns mer att hämta ur den framöver.
I fjol var Per Eklund på väg mot A-final i Höljes, men fick svartflagg och missade den. Givetvis hoppas han ta revansch i år.Den här helgen är som sagt den roligaste på hela tävlingssäsongen.
– Ja, titta i slänterna. Det är torsdag och redan proppfullt. Det kokar här i Höljes. Det är lite som Arvikafestivalen, säger Arvikabon Eklund.

Stecka vann 75.000 efter riktig fräckis

2008-06-14T19:32:00.001+02:00

Det blev Stig-Olov ”Stecka” Walfridsson, som triumferade i den stenhårda Div 1-klassen vid Xtreme SM i Kalix. EM-ledaren Mikael Jernberg såg länge ut att även vinna årets första SM-seger, men när han på sista varvet gick in i alternativspåret, kunde ”Stecka” med minsta möjliga marginal smita förbi i sin Renault Clio Sport. Då kom han direkt från segern i B-finalen.
- Otroligt härligt och kul att min chansning gick vägen, skrattade ”Stecka” när han tog emot den stora segerchecken på 75.000 kronor.
Det blev stor dramatik direkt efter starten, när Per Eklund kom först in i första kurvan, men fick en riktig ”kyss” av Andreas Eriksson, tappade ledningen och till slut kom in som femma.
- Andreas är en j-a skitstövel, dundrade Eklund efter målgången. Nästa gång ska jag sätta dit honom rejält.
Mikael Jernberg blev tvåa, vann 50.000 kronor, medan Andreas Eriksson tog tredjepriset på 25.000 kronor.
Xtreme SM i Kalix blev återigen en riktig folkfest i strålande solsken. 6450 åskådare njöt av fart, fläkt och dramatik i alla klasser, samt en premiärstreakare med bara hatten på rätt ställe.

Ove Andersson killed in rally crash

2008-06-11T21:39:00.001+02:00

Former Toyota team principal Ove Andersson was killed on Wednesday in an accident during a classic rally in South Africa.

The Swede, who managed Toyota's European motorsport arm for over 30 years, is believed to have been involved in a head-on collision with a truck during the Milligan classic rally.

Andersson oversaw Toyota's Formula One programme when the Japanese manufacturer made its grand prix racing debut in 2002.

He left his role as team principal in 2003, becoming an advisor to the team.

Eklund rates Ove Andersson to one of his favourite people in motorsport. He says about former Toyota rally boss: "He was a mastermind of African rallies like the Safari and Ivory Coast"

Andersson was 70.

Our sincerest condolences go to all he knew him well - especially his family and his beloved wife.

Mike Jager

EC Austria: Eklund 9th

2008-06-08T14:42:00.006+02:00

In the time practice, Eklund could drive a third time overall.

The first heat, It was Eklund with the best start in dry conditions. In the first lap he could hold of Eriksson, but not for long. Eriksson could set the fastest time overall, Eklund took the 9th position overall.

Eklund first in heat 1. (c) www.erc24.com

During the second qualifing heat, it starts to rain. Best conditions for Eklund, here we see the experienced rally drive at his best. He took a good start and could hold of Kenneth Hansen. Eklund went first over the finish, just half a second before Hansen. Eklund had a 6th time overall.

Eklund enjoys the rain in heat 2. (c) www.erc24.com

The third heat, it was still a wet track. Eklund drive a second time behind Jernberg, 5th time overall.
This results in a 7th place overall, a second position in the B-final. Other drivers in the b-final are Hansen, Hunsbedt, Anne, Walfridsson and the winner of the c-final Lindefjell.

Results finals:

Michael Jernberg Škoda 20,
Ole Kristian Nøttveit Ford, 17
Andréas Eriksson Ford, 15
Guttorm Lindefjell Ford, 13
Jean-Luc Pailler Peugeot, 12
Sverre Isachsen Ford, 11
Ludvig Hunsbedt Volvo, 10
Kenneth Hansen Citroën, 9
Per Eklund Saab, 8
Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault, 7

Only a 15th place at EC Hungary

2008-06-01T21:15:00.001+02:00

A disappointing weekend for Per Eklund. At the third race for the European Championship rallycross 2008 at the Nyráid circuit in Hungary he finished only on a 15th place.

(c) 2008 by www.erc24.com

The qualification heats he has a 13th, a 13th and a 8th time overall. This gave him a pole position at the C-final.

In this C-final he had the lead until the last lap, looking for a start in the B-final. But Eklund had to take the jokerlap and took this alternative in the last lap. Homedriver Zoltan Harsányi took the leed, when Eklund just 15 meters before the finish hit the tirewall and could not move the Saab 9-3 to the finish.

Eklund is leading the C-final, (c) 2008 by www.erc24.com

With this 15th place he took just 2 points. In the ranking he moves down to the 11th place.

Results:

Kenneth Hansen Citroën, 20

Michael Jernberg Skoda, 17

Andréas Eriksson Ford, 15

Jean-Luc Pailler Peugeot, 13

Frode Holte Volvo, 12

Sverre Isachsen Ford, 11

Ole Kristian Nøttveit Ford, 10

Guttorm Lindefjell Ford, 9

Zoltán Harsányi Mitsubishi, 8

George Tracey Peugeot, 7

Morten Jespersen Peugeot, 6

Linas Norkus Ford, 5

Jos Kuypers Ford, 4

Péter Kotán Ford, 3

Per Eklund Saab, 2

Olivier Anne Citroën , 1

Eklund 4th at first SC

2008-05-17T08:00:00.005+02:00

The Saturday at the Knutstorp circuit began very good for Per Eklund. At this first race for the Swedish Championship he had a first time overall in the first qualification heat.

The second and third head he had a fifth time overall, putting him on a third position in the a-final.

Photo:(c)Mikael Persson

Report A-final by http://www.rallycross.com/:

Stig-Olov Walfridsson, who was on the innerside as pole sitter Eriksson opted for the outerside of the grid, went into the lead when the green(!) light was showen ahead of Eklund and Hedström. Eriksson faced some issues during the start and joined the field in sixth position. Already in the first corner Eklund went off the track as Peter Hedström was too enthousiastic to try to gain second place in the race. Eventually Hedström was blackflagged by the Clerk of the Course for pushing on Eklund. Eklund on the other hand lost a lot of time with this incident but continued racing and joined the track again in last position. By the end of the first lap Walfridsson was leading the field ahead of Tony Croon, Eriksson, who worked his way up to third place after missing the start, Jernberg and Eklund. During the second lap, Walfridsson who was chased by Croon and Eriksson slowed down. Croon was forced to brake and Eriksson hit Croon by accident. Eriksson damaged the turbo and intercooler of the Fiesta and his final was reduced to driving the remaining laps at a very low speed. By the end of that second lap Walfridsson went to the startgrid again. "I noticed a red flag and i supposed the race was stopped. Therefore I went back to the startgrid," Walfridsson declared afterwards. "Yeah, i also saw a red flag," said Croon. "I was forced to brake behind Walfridsson, but then i realised that the race still was going on, so I continued," he said. Racing went on with Croon in the lead while Jernberg climbed to second place. Jernberg went into the joker lap in the penultimate lap while Croon passed through it in the last lap. However, the joker lap didn't change the positions anymore. Croon came in first and won surprisingly his first Division one event of his career. Jernberg, with a puncture (back left), was second while Eriksson and Eklund finished the race on places three and four.

Per Eklund (SAAB 9-3 ASS) in close contact with Peter Hedström (Ford Fiesta ST). The latter got blackflagged for this action on Eklund. (Photo: © Lennart Pettersson)

Results:

Tony Croon Ford Focus 30

Michael Jernberg Skoda Fabia 27

Andréas Eriksson Ford Fiesta ST 25+3

Per Eklund SAAB 9-3 ASS 23

Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault Clio RS 22+2

Peter Hedström Ford Fiesta ST 21+1

George Tracey Peugeot 307 CC 20

Jakob Teil Hansen Ford Escort RS 19

George Tracey confirmed for Knutstorp

2008-05-13T21:49:00.005+02:00

From http://www.rallycross.com/:

Irish Rallycross driver George Tracey (Peugeot 307cc) participates in the first round of the 2008 Swedish Rallycross Championship that goes underway next Saturday May 17 at Kågeröd (Ring Knutstorp) in the south of Sweden. The news of his participation, already known for some time, was confirmed on Tuesday.

The participation of the Irishman at Kågeröd is a result of the close collaboration between the teams of George Tracey and Swede Per Eklund in 2008. Over winter Eklund Motorsport already prepared the Peugeot 307cc for Rallycross. After the ERC round in France the car left for Arvika in Sweden, hometown of Eklund Motorsport, where it will be prepared for the Swedish season's opener.

George Tracey (Peugeot 307cc) pictured during the 2008 Portuguese ERC round. (Photo: © Jan Kåre Rafoss)

C-final for Eklund at second EC in France

2008-05-11T21:33:00.002+02:00

At a sunny and dusty Kerlabo circuit in France, Eklund could make it to the c-final.
"The car was quick and good, there were no defects. The whole weekend was only a littlebit dusty", Eklund reports.
Per had a 10th time overall in the first qualification, a 16th time in the second and a 12th time in the third heat.
"I could not make the difference, in every heat I lost second at the start and in some corners".
With 22 points he had an 4th position in the c-final.

In the c-final the could make up to the third place, just a few laps before the finish, it was Frode Holte who hit his car into Eklund. Instead of chasing to the heat leader, Eklund has to be satisfied with a 4th place in this c-final, a 14th place overall.

After two races, Eklund has a ninth place in the championship.
"All the things we try will result in a better car, but the competition is tough. It is never been so tough as this year!"

Results 2nd EC France:

Jean-Luc Pailler Peugeot 20
Ludvig Hunsbedt Volvo 17
Kenneth Hansen Citroën 15
Michael Jernberg Škoda 13
David Meslier Renault 12
Guttorm Lindefjell Ford 11
Andréas Eriksson Ford 10
Sverre Isachsen Ford 9
Kjell Arne Smerud Citroën 8
Morten Bermingrud Citroën 7
Olivier Anne Citroën 6
Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault 5
Frode Holte Volvo 4
Per Eklund Saab 3
Marc Laboulle Citroën 2
Ole Kristian Nøttveit Ford 1

Eklund 6th at first EC 2008!

2008-05-04T20:21:00.003+02:00

Today, the new season of the European rallycross started, and not so bad!

Eklund managed this week with a lot of work to finalize the new Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan. Just in time he arrived in Portugal for the first race.

In the first heat, Eklund drove to a 12th time, the second heat to a 11th time overall. In the third head, Eklund drove to a good 7th time. This means together a 5th place in the B-final.
Eklund managed to win the B-final! In the A-final he couldn't make any progression, so a 6th place overall!

Results:

Ludvig Hunsbedt (N), Volvo S40

Kenneth Hansen (S), Citroën C4

Ole Kristian Nøttveit (N), Ford Focus ST

Sverre Isachsen (N), Ford Focus ST

Michael Jernberg (S), Škoda Fabia

Per Eklund (S), SAAB 9-3 ASS

Next race in Cohiniac, France next weekend!

Regards,
Mike Jager

Pressconference at Stockholm

2008-04-15T12:13:00.002+02:00

The SBF Rallycross commision together with Xtreme Events Scandinavia AB and the leading Rallycross teams organize a pressconference in the city of Stockholm.

Time: 13.00
Date: wednesday 16-04-2008
Place: Kungsträdgården at the large podium
Program:

The rallycross commission view on the Swedish Championship
presentation of Xtreme Events Scandinavia AB
News of the teams, drivers and there cars

from www.sbf.se

Eklund during the Saab Ice Experience

2008-03-20T10:20:00.007+01:00

From carsguide.news.com.au

Sliding sideways on a sheet of ice at 120km/h isn't something you do every day in Australia.
Actually, it's something I've never done in our wide, brown land.
Neither is sitting beside a 60- something crazy man; as he flings a Saab 9-3 Turbo X along a snow-covered forest track at close to 200km/h with nothing but a wall of snow between us and a disastrous trip into the trees.
Yet this is all everyday stuff for one-time rally champion Per Eklund and the team from Saab Ice Experience.
Every year, they take small groups of journalists for a deep-frozen dip into the history of Saab, the engineering of its cars, and what makes Sweden different from the rest of the world.

It's all done deep inside the Arctic Circle, in a white wonderland that's as far from Australia as you can possibly imagine.
It's beautiful in a desolate way that contrasts with the hot, dusty plains of the outback, but a huge shock when you land at minus 20 after taking off from Australia at plus 30.
There's a special hook for the Saab Ice Experience this year, as the company is about to bring its first all-wheel-drive cars into showrooms.
If that sounds a little unusual, given the ultra-slippery winter conditions in Sweden — and most of Europe — it has taken Saab a while to gather the money and enthusiasm to upgrade from its traditional front-wheel drive.

But it's about to feed more than 200kW to the road with the limited-edition 9-3 Aero X and Turbo X models, which are close to local showrooms.
These are family vehicles, not Lancer Evo-style road rockets, so Saab felt it was essential to upgrade to all-paw grip.
“If it works here, it works anywhere,” Saab engineering chief Anders Tysk says.
“We do it the Saab way, with the latest Haldex drive system. It's always on, always all-wheel drive."
“We want to eventually have it on all our models, because of the safety.”
Saab calls its system cross-wheel drive, written XWD, and there's no doubt it has put a lot of work into the task, from the gearbox hook-up to the electronic brain that controls the active rear differential fitted to the Aero X.
The technical talk is nice, and the Saab people — who now operate as part of the GM Premium Brands team in Australia, where the family includes Hummer and Cadillac — are warm and welcoming. But we want to drive.
Soon enough, we're standing on a frozen Swedish lake alongside a line-up of pristine silver Turbo X automatic wagons.
Per Eklund, a one-time World Rally Championship firebrand who still wins in rallycross with a very special Saab 9-3, introduces us to the event.
The idea is that we will run through some safety demonstrations and exercises before a bit of fun against the clock on a twisting course; that has been carved through the 60cm-deep snow covering the ice.
“We start a little bit slowly, to get a good feeling; later, we maybe have some fun,” Eklund says. “Here, you have a chance to try all the things in these new Saabs, like the cross-wheel drive and the turbo engine.”
Eklund points to the 100 steel studs in each tyre, their to give some grip, but also points to the waiting bulldozer — with a tow rope that gets plenty of action each day — as he gets to the warning about driving technique.
“A lot of people close their eyes when something goes wrong. This is not a good solution,” he says, with typically deadpan Swedish humour.
“You have to drive the cars. Eventually, computers will do it for you, but not today."
“Always do something. Do not stop driving. Otherwise, there will be some problems — and you have the chance to take some nice pictures while the tractor comes to tow you out.”
So we get down to action and quickly learn that a simple braking exercise is much, much tougher on sheet ice than it is on dry bitumen.
Try turning the wheel as well, to steer away from a make-believe moose (a man in a snow suit with antlers on his head), and it's easy to trigger a potential disaster.
When we head to the twisty forest track for some fun, and to see what cross-wheel drive can really do, things hot up. A lot.
It seems impossible that any car can go so quickly with so much control, although it's easy to slide over the limit and into the powdery snow banks. The tractor gets some work, including one tow for us.
We learn about the need to be gentle, smooth and elegant to drive well in these conditions — lessons that should flow back to everyday driving without the white, icy edge.
Then Eklund and another rally champion, Kenneth Backlund, show us how it's really done when they jump into a pair of black Aero X weapons equipped with narrow snow tyres and giant rally studs for extra grip.
Whereas we struggled to get through the icy corners at 60km/h, Eklund and Backlund are sliding sideways at well over 100km/h on the ice lake, before uncorking the Saabs on a mock-up rally stage through deep snow in the forest.
They are silly fast, with the speedo needle twisting around past 190km/h, yet the cars feel safe, secure, comfortable and toasty warm.
So, what is different? Apart from the drivers and the studs, absolutely nothing. These are showroom-stock Saabs, exactly the same as the cars that are coming to Australia. And that is massively impressive.
So, what did we learn? Probably not a huge amount, beyond the quality of the new cross-wheel-drive Saabs and the potential for a significant Saab sales boost in Australia once the Aero X and Turbo X hit our shores.
But the ice-driving experience was a reminder of the need to learn to drive well — really well — to get the best from your car and to avoid the sort of nasty incidents that are so common on Australian roads.
Make a mistake on the ice track, and you get an embarrassing tow out of the white stuff for another go, but there's no second chance on the road in the real world.

- The Sunday Telegraph

New Fancard and an article from the U.K.

2008-03-09T22:23:00.005+01:00

From Saab Sweden I received two nice things.

First, the new Fan Card 2008 from Eklund motorsport.

During the Rallycross races, this card will be available at the trailer of Eklund.
Also a larger picture is available at the fansite under pictures/cards.
I made also a wallpaper under pictures/wallpaper.

Second, an article from "Motorsport News" in PDF is available at this link (1.54 MB).
In this article, Eklund gives an interview about his history as rallydriver, his friends in motorsport and ofcource rallycross.

Eklund is Tired of All the Whining

2008-02-10T20:22:00.001+01:00

Swedish rally legend Per Eklund, 61 years old, who's now driving the safety car that drives first and examins the state of the tracks (and the state of the spectators) during the Swedish Rally. Eklund, who won the rally in 1976 in a SAAB 96, isn't that impressed by all the whining by the WRC drivers.

"They have both driver's licence and a rally licence. Some are pretty well paid too. Some gravel on the road isn't anything to whine about. They've never driven the Safari Rally. Back then we couldn't just call our mommies when it got difficult. Just back of five or ten percent when it gets tricky and you're ok. What are they expecting when they're running with eight millimeter studs? There's no ice in the world that can cope with that."

from www.nwt.se

Eklund drives the WRC Swedish Rally 2008

2008-01-24T22:19:00.000+01:00

Eklund will drive the Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2008, the second round of the world rally championship (WRC).

The Swedish Championship part of Uddeholm Swedish Rally starts on Friday evening February 8 at 08:00 with the Super Special Stage at Färjestadstravet, located just a few kilometres from the city of Karlstad. The 2km stage has a 30m jump in its route.

In terms of road distances, the event will be significantly shorter because the stage held previously in the north of the Varmland region will not be run this year. The other novelty this year will be the use of remote service parks each day, held firstly in Sunne then twice in Hagfors.

Per Eklund will drive the '00' car, one of the three cars who will inspect the tracks ahead of the WRC drivers.

The '0' drivers of this year are:

0 Björn Waldegård
00 Per Eklund
000 Björn Johansson

Eklund also drove this event last year. Here are three pictures I found:

After this event, Eklund will drive to the north of Sweden to work as instructor for six weeks at the 'Saab ice experiance 2008' (just as last year, see here)

Eklund vann historisk rallycross

2007-12-12T10:21:00.000+01:00

Ett bakhjulslager skar på motorvägen i Holland. I övrigt gick trippen till England som på räls för Per Eklund - som vann helgens historiska rallycrosstävling i centrala London.

"Nåt straff ska en ha!" utropar Per Eklund just som han rullat ombord på färjan i Kiel. För så länge det var tävling gick allt Per Eklunds väg, men sedan var de tvungna att ta landvägen hem.
- Någonstans i Holland började andra bilister blinka åt oss, berättar Per.Han stannade och då gav bakhjulslagret upp till ena hjulet på kärran. Uppe på släpet stod Pers Saab 9-3 Aerosport Sedan som gick som en klocka i London Masters Rallycross. Det tog en stund att fixa släpet innan de kunde ta sig vidare till Kiel, glada över att hinna med onsdagskvällens färja till Göteborg.

I England kom som väntat det hårdaste motståndet från engelsmannen Ollie O'Donovan.
- Men vi vann nästan allt, säger Per glädjestrålande.
- Jag missade honom i ett kvalheat, men det var mitt eget fel för jag var inte riktigt med i starten.Och starten visade sig bli väldigt viktigt.
- Det var regnigt hela tiden och den nygjorda banan blev gropig och lerig. Låg du efter såg du ingenting...

Efter tre omgångar gick de sex bästa i varje klass vidare till en speciell cup som körde i strålkastarsken på lördagskvällen. Per hade förstås en fight med O'Donovan, men det blev svensk seger i denna historiska tävling, utanför mässan London Motorsport Show.På söndagen kördes sedan en fjärde omgången i huvudtävlingen. När det var dags för final räknades samtliga omgångar och det var två favoriter längst fram: Per Eklund och Ollie O'Donovan.
- Jag sa till honom att "vi syns i första sväng", säger Per.

Så blev det. Ingen släppte och det bar iväg in i en snabbsväng utan större gassläpp.
- Vi åkte dörr i dörr, hoppa och flög!Sedan hamnade engelsmannens Peugeot lite för långt ut i bankanten och han drog av, snett in i avbalkningen.
- Sedan var det en lätt resa. Jag kunde åka de sex varven och vinka till publiken, hälsar Per.
Ytterligare en historisk rallycrosseger av Per Eklund - som vann den svenska premiären i grenen 1971. Nu fick han som sagt problem för när de skulle hem med tävlingsbilen på släp.

Artikeln publicerad 2007-12-11 av Annemo Friberg

Eklund won the London Rallycross Masters

2007-12-09T19:54:00.001+01:00

Eklund won the London masters today!

After qualifying 2nd despite not having the ideal tyre (Avon cross-ply heavy wet pattern) Per made a fantastic start with London-based Irishman Ollie O`Donovan the pole-sitter also getting off the line with a good start, the two cars alongside eachother into the first left-hand kink.

Both cars were launched skyward and contact was made in mid-air, fortunately Pers Saab 9-3 4x4t landed better than O`Donovan who`s Tony Bardy prepared Peugeot 306 4x4T16 ended up hitting the barriers and sustaining damage to front and rear right-hand suspension and stranded just off the racing line.

The race continued with Tony Proctor (Yorkshire) in his Harry Hockley prepared Ford Puma 4x4t taking up the chase to catch Per Eklund with Dublin Based Irishman Dermot Carnegie Fiesta ST4x4T and Steve Hill Mitsubishi Evo 9 also in hot persuit.

Proctors chase ended a few laps later after spinning-out and stalling, leaving Carnegie to pick up 2nd place and Hill to complete the honours with 3rd.

Jeremy Roberts Photographs @ fotopic.net

After the race Per picked-up hitch-hiker Ollie O`Donovan, who then drove Pers Saab with the 61 year old Eklund standing proud out of the side of the drivers door to enjoy the cheers of the crowd, whilst the other drivers enjoyed a feast of donuts, Carnegie in particular who managed to treat Tommy Grahams Escort to a sand-blasting.

by: John Foley

***Update***
A video from the final:

A video from the finish:

Per Eklund competes in London Masters Rallycross

2007-11-27T15:41:00.000+01:00

Pressrelease

RALLY LEGEND PER EKLUND COMPETES IN LONDON MASTERS RALLYCROSS

World rally legend Per Eklund is competing in the inaugural 2007 London Masters Rallycross
competition, held at ExCel on Saturday and Sunday 8/9 December. A World Rally Championship round winner and former European Rallycross Championship titleholder, Per has been competing in motorsport for around 40 years.

Swedish-born Per began his driving career in 1968 at the Swedish Rally, which he won in 1976. From 1970 to 1979, he was a Saab works driver, using a Saab 99 Turbo before progressing to a Saab 900 Turbo, which he raced in the British round of the 1997 World Championship. During the 70s and 80s, Per was a regular participant in the RAC Rally, competing in a mix of cars including a Toyota Celica, Saab 96 V4 and 99 EMS, and a Lancia Delta, before driving for British Leyland and Audi.

Per started driving in rallycross by winning the first-ever Swedish rallycross event at Hedemora, on 17 October 1971. He drove a Saab 96 V4, then a Saab 99 in its various sporting evolutions. He was always prominent, and became seventh overall and fourth overall respectively in the first and second European Championship series of 1973 and 1974. His greatest successes have been in more modern times, when he won the FIA European Rallycross Championship in 1999 and he remains one of the fastest competitors, finishing eighth in this year's competition.

Race and show organiser Philip Bunn said: "We are thrilled that Per will be competing at the London Masters. His involvement, along with drivers such as Ollie Donovan and 'Mad' Mark
Watson, confirms that this is a major event for the motorsport calendar and as such is attracting major competitors. The final preparations are being made to the circuit, so that we can ensure
that the surface is perfect for a high-performance motorsport competition."

The circuit is a minimum of 14.5 metres wide, with an approximate length of 650 metres. The lap time for a Division 1 car is expected to be between 30 and 35 seconds, with an average speed of approximately 80mph. The circuit has been constructed with fast-flowing corners, featuring two spectacular yumps. With Division 1, Super National, Procar 1600 and 2000, Revivals, Junior Rallycross and Minicross categories, visitors will be on the edge of their seats watching the exhilarating live action.

The London Masters is just one of the exciting features of the 2007 London Motorsport Show,
which covers all disciplines of motorsport – from karting through to Formula One - and is a must for any motor racing enthusiast. Doors open each day from 10.00 and the show closes at 18.30 on Saturday (with the rallycross event finishing at around 20.00) and 15.30 on Sunday. For information and to book tickets, visit http://www.londonmasters.co.uk.

Eklund's cars at Rallycross Superprix

2007-11-06T16:42:00.000+01:00

04-11-2007

The 2007 Jersey Farm Hotel Rallycross Superprix is a rallycross event who took place on November 3rd & 4th at Croft Circuit (near Darlington).
Per Eklund used to participate some years ago with some other Swedish top drivers, but this year he rent his cars to two English drivers: Ollie O'Donnovan who use to drive with his MSA British Rallycross Championship winning Peugeot 306 and Dave Bellerby, who use to drive with a Lotus Exige.

Both drivers made is to the semi finals. Dave Bellerby, who drove the classic Saab 9-3, blew up his engine in his semi final and the team raced against time to fit a new engine, which they did in 35 minutes, only ten minutes too late for him to make the start for the finals.

For Ollie it went much better. He finished on a nice 4th place in the final. He drove very good with a car he is not used to drive with. Kenneth Hansen won the finals, just in front of
Christopher Evans (Vauxhall Astra) and Kevin Proctor (Ford Puma).

(c) 2007 by www.erc24.com

Superprix Result (6 Laps)

Kenneth HANSEN Citroen C4 4:16.18
Christopher EVANS Vauxhall Astra 4:18.89
Kevin PROCTOR Ford Puma 4:21.49
Ollie O'DONOVAN Saab 9-3 4:24.28
Mike MANNING Ford Escort 4:30.44
Mad Mark WATSON Citroen Xsara 4:35.44
David BINKS Mitsubishi Lancer 4:38.83
Bob GOODING Ford Escort 4:58.49
Tony BARDY Peugeot 306 DNF
Pat DORAN Ford Fiesta DNF

After this event normally ends the season for Per Eklund, but Ollie O´Donovan persuaded Eklund to take part in a rallycross event in Central London on 8-9 December, at the Londen Motor Sport Show, the London Masters!. Ollie will drive with his Peugeot and Eklund with his Saab 9-3 SportSedan. Eklund left his Saab 9-3 in Engeland and he will repair the Saab to be top fit for the race in London. After his, he will travel with his bus and the old Saab back to Arvika and return to England in December.

Björn Berglof/Mike Jager

Round 8 BC Croft: Eklund first!

2007-11-04T18:43:00.000+01:00

21 October 2007

Croft Circuit - Croft on Tees - England

British Rallycross Drivers Association Rallycross Championship 2007- Round 8

Results Supercar:

Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 ASS
Dermot Carnegie, Ford Fiesta ST
Kevin Procter, Ford Puma
Andrew Jordan, Ford Focus
Steve Hill, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9
Pat Doran, Ford Fiesta ST
Ollie O'Donovan, Peugeot 306

MSA British Rallycross Championship 2007 - Round 8

Results Superfinal:

Dermot Carnegie, Ford Fiesta ST
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 ASS
Andrew Jordan, Ford Focus
Ollie O'Donovan, Peugeot 306
Steve Hill, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9
Andy Grant, Ford Escort RS 2000

Round 7 BC Mondello Park: Eklund 8th

2007-11-04T18:38:00.000+01:00

Round 7 of the British Rallycross Rallycross Championship Mondello Park, Ireland

Results Supercar:

Olivier Anne, Citroën C4
Andrew Nesbitt, SAAB 9-3
Tommy Graham, Ford Escort RS 2000
Ollie O'Donovan, Peugeot 306
Andrew Jordan, Ford Focus
Dermot Carnegie, Ford Fiesta ST
George Tracey, MG Metro 6R4
Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 ASS

Last EC 2007: Eklund again a-final, 6th!

2007-11-04T12:50:00.000+01:00

23 September 2007

Results round 10 at Sosnová, Czech Republic

Lars Larsson, Škoda Fabia, 20

Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo S40, 17

Andreas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta ST, 15

Pavel Koutný, Ford Focus, 13

Jos Kuypers, Ford Focus ST, 12

Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 ASS, 11

EC Poland: Eklund 4th!

2007-11-04T12:46:00.000+01:00

16 September 2007

Results EC round 9, Słomczyn, Poland.

Lars Larsson Škoda Fabia, 20

Kenneth Hansen, Citroën C4, 17

Andreas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta ST, 15

Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3 ASS, 13

Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo S40, 12

Rolf Volland, Škoda Fabia, 11

5th in last SC race at Götene

2007-09-09T13:20:00.000+02:00

Today, Saturday 8th September, was the final round of the Swedish championship rallycross division 1 season 2007 at the kinnekulle racetrack at Götene.

Heat 1:

K. Hansen
M. Jenrberg
A. Eriksson
T. Croon
I. Gunnarsson
L. Larsson
P. Eklund

Heat 2:

P. Eklund
L. Larsson
T. Croon
A. Eriksson
S.O. Walfridsson
K. Hansen

Heat 3:

T. Croon
P. Eklund
L. Larsson
K. Hansen
M. Jernberg
M. Eriksson

With these results, Ekund has the pole position in de A-final!

A-Final:
With Eklund on pole and T. Croon on second place, it was Hansen and Larson on second row, Erikson and Jernberg on third row.
The start was for Hansen, followed by Larsson and Eriksson. Eklund didn't make a good start and followed the field with some seconds delay. He could not catch up with the rest of the field.
Eriksson went of the track in the last lap and Eklund finished on 5th position. Because radstrom had a bad weekend, Eklund finished on 3th position overall in the championship!
Lars Larsson (98 points) wins the 2007 championship while Andreas Eriksson (84 points) finishes the Swedish series as second and Eklund (59 points) as third.
So our congratulations to Larsson and his team!!

K. Hansen, 20+3
M. Jernberg, 17+2
L. Larsson, 15
T. Croon, 13
P Eklund, 12
A. Eriksson, 11+1

EC Valkenswaard: Eklund 14th again

2007-08-19T23:33:00.000+02:00

Time practice:
1. Michael Jernberg, Ford, 00:38:19
2. Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 00:38:81
3. Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo, 00:38:85
4. Morten Bermingrud, Citroën, 00:39:09
5. Lars Larsson, Skoda, 00:39:26
6. Guttorm Lindefjell, Ford, 00:39:28
7. Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 00:39:65
8. Jos Kuypers, Ford, 00:39:72
9. Christopher Evans, Opel, 00:39:80
10. Per Eklund, Saab, 00:39:83
22. Andrew Nesbitt, Saab, 00:40:96

Heat 1:
1. Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 02:37:07
2. Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 02:38:80
3. Michael Jernberg, Ford, 02:39:16
4. Andreas Eriksson, Ford, 02:39:44
5. Guttorm Lindefjell, Ford, 02:39:48
6. Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo, 02:39:92
12. Per Eklund, Saab, 02:43:23 2
7. Andrew Nesbitt, Saab, 02:51:20

Heat 2:
Eklund starts with Nottveit, Pauwels Carnegie and Wicik (no start).It is Nottweit who has the best start and goes first into the first corner. Eklund and Pauwels are next to each other, but in the second corner it is Pauwels who takes the second place, followed by Eklund and Carnigie.
All drivers are very close to each other and driving there laps.
But in the last lap, Nottveit goes wide and Pauwels and Eklund can overtake him.Pauwels is first over the finish line, followed by Eklund, Nottveit and Carnegie.

Ekund drives a 13th time overall.

1. Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 02:39:75
2. Michael Jernberg, Ford, 02:41:45
3. Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 02:41:53
4. Guttorm Lindefjell, Ford, 02:41:97
5. Christopher Evans, Opel, 02:44:41
6. Stig-Olov Walfridsson, Renault, 02:44:51
13. Per Eklund, Saab, 02:46:98
18. Andrew Nesbitt, Saab, 02:49:72

Heat 3:
Eklund starts with Nottveit, Pauwels, Doran and Walfridsson.
All drives take a good start and 5 cars drive next to each other to the first corner. It is Nottveit, Doran and Walfridsson onthe outside hitting eachother. Doran drives next to the track and lands on his top in the sandbank. Walfridsson brakes his rear wheel.
Eklund is in front of Pauwels and drives first into the corner, followed by Pauwels. But the officials give a red flag.
At the second start it is Pauwels who went first into the first corner followed by Ekluns and Notweit.Eklund follows Pauwels in short distance. In the second lap, Pauwels is driving wide into the "Per Eklund" corner and Eklund canput his Saab 9-3 on the inside and overtakes Pauwels.
Eklund wins this heat, Pauwels 2nd and Nottveit 3rd.
With this time, he has a 8th time overall.

1. Michael Jernberg, Ford, 02:37:65
2. Lars Larsson, Skoda, 02:38:68
3. Pavel Koutný, Ford, 02:39:27
4. Morten Bermingrud, Citroën, 02:39:96
5. Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo, 02:40:86
6. Morten Jespersen, Peugeot, 02:41:76
7. Jos Kuypers, Ford, 02:41:83
8. Per Eklund, Saab, 02:42:63
18. Andrew Nesbitt, Saab, 02:46:63

With a 12th, 13th, and a 8th time, Per Eklund starts on a 4th place in the c-final, a 14th time overall.

C-final:
It is Kuypers on pole, followed by Anne, Walfridsson, Eklund, Pauwels and Jespersen.
It takes 3 starts before the C-final is really underway.
The first jumpstart is for Kuypers, the second for Pauwels.The third start is good and it is Kuypers who is first into the "Eklund corner", followed by Eklund, Anne, Walfridsson, Pauwels and Jespersen. But after the first corner, Anne is bumping very hard into Eklund's Saab. Eklund is pushed to the ouside and loses 2 places.
Pauwels is out in the first round. Kuypers can hold his first place to the finish line and the rest is just following.

1. Kenneth Hansen, Citroën, 20
2. Sverre Isachsen, Ford, 17
3. Lars Larsson, Skoda,15
4. Michael Jernberg, Ford, 13
5. Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo, 12
6. Guttorm Lindefjell, Ford, 11
14. Per Eklund, Saab, 3
23. Andrew Nesbitt, Saab, -

After the race, Eklund says: "It's very hard to get a good result. There is so much competition, a lot of good drivers with good cars. We are going back to Sweden and prepair ourselves and the car for the next race at Kinnekulle".
Also Andrew Nebitt said: "I hope to race also in Poland and Czechia with a Saab, I liked it so far, great fun!".

(C) 2007 by Mike Jager

EC Belgium: Eklund 4th in C-final

2007-08-12T21:53:00.000+02:00

The weekend didn't start well, Eklunds mobile home bus broke down near Hamburg. "A hydrolic problem", he said. But they made it right on time with an emergency reparation.

Time practice:
01. M. Jernberg, Ford Focus, 0.39.71
02. L. Larsson, Skoda Fabia, 0.39.95
03. S. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 0.40.05
04. A. Eriksson, Ford Fiësta, 0.40.25
05. L. Hunsbedt, Volvo S40, 0.40.37
06. P. Koutný, Ford Focus, 0.40.40
12. Per Eklund, Saab 9-3, 0.40.87
27. A. Nesbitt, Saab 9-3, 0.42.75

2 Saabs on a row for Eklund Motorsport

Heat 1:
After the division 1A, the organiser watered the track. The drivers of Division 1 wait 20 minutes for the track to be dry again. The track didn't dry up totally, so Nesbitt cold not set a perfect time, also for Eklund.

01. M. Jernberg, Ford Focus, 2.46.29
02. L. Larsson, Skoda Fabia, 2.47.04
03. S. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 2.47.31
04. A. Eriksson, Ford Fiësta, 2.47.75
05. P. Koutný, Ford Focus, 2.48.83
06. K. Hansen, Citroën C4, 2.49.41
12. Per Eklund, Saab 9-3, 2.53.23
27. A. Nesbitt, Saab 9-3, 3.02.03

Eklund at the start of heat 2.

Heat 2:
At the warm-up, the car of nesbitt didn't start at ones. The mechanics had to change the ignition system. Eklunds car runs very well, no changes to the car, just some set-up changes.

Eklund had to start with Kuypers, v. Mechelen, Bermingrud and Lindefjell.
The start was good, on the outside in 3th position, after the first corner, Eklund moves to second.
But in the last lap, Eklund got a puncture left front and was forced to drive more carefull. He had to let pass v. Mechelen and Kuypers, but could made it over the finish in 4th position. He had a 14th time overall.

01. A. Eriksson, Ford Fiësta, 2.44.40
02. M. Jernberg, Ford Focus, 2.45.45
03. G. Lindefjell, Ford Focus, 2.46.83
04. S. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 2.46.97
05. K. Hansen, Citroën C4, 2.47.57
06. P. Koutný, Ford Focus, 2.47.62
14. Per Eklund, Saab 9-3, 2.52.69
23. A. Nesbitt, Saab 9-3, 2.57.17

Andrew Nesbitt behind the steering wheel

Heat 3:
Eklund had to start with Kuypers, Bermingrud Nottvet and Doran.
Eklund had a very good start and came second behind Kuypers.
But then Doran was pushed and got sideways and cause a red flag situation.

At the second start, it was Kuypers and bermingrud who took the lead in front of Eklund.
It was a very close race to the finish line, Nottvet and Doran went out.

With these results, Eklund has a 15th place overall, the 5th start position in the c-final.
Andrew Nesbitt has a 27th, 23th and 20th time, a 25th place overall. He is going faster every heat. Perhaps he is also coming to Valkenswaard.

01. M. Jernberg, Ford Focus, 2.44.49
02. L. Larsson, Skoda Fabia, 2.45.98
03. K. Hansen, Citroën C4, 2.46.29
04. P. Koutný, Ford Focus, 2.46.36
05. S. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 2.47.05
06. L. Husbedt, Volv S40, 2.47.56
16. Per Eklund, Saab 9-3, 2.50.95
20. A. Nesbitt, Saab 9-3, 2.53.89

Eklund at the Duivelsberg

Results:
01. M. Jernberg, Ford Focus, 20
02. S. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 17
03. G. Lindefjell, Ford Focus, 15
04. K. Hansen, Citroën C4, 13
05. L. Larsson Škoda Fabia, 12
06. A. Eriksson, Ford Fiesta, 11
14. Per Eklund, SAAB 9-3, 3
25. A. Nesbitt, SAAB 9-3, -

Irish rally superstar to drive Eklund Saab in Belgium

2007-08-08T21:34:00.000+02:00

From ERC24, by Tim Whittington:

Ulsterman Nesbitt has raced in Rallycross twice before, driving Pat Doran’s Escort WRC at Brands Hatch in 2004 and racing George Tracey’s MG Metro 6R4 at Mondello Park last winter. It is Tracey who has encouraged Nesbitt to try his hand in the ERC.

“I’d spoken with George [Tracey] about doing an event or two a couple of times and we got to a stage where logistics meant it was going to best to use a car from Per Eklund. I was away on business recently and when I came back it was all arranged,” said Nesbitt, for whom Rallycross is an addition to his rally events.
“I hope to do one or two more rallies this year, Rallycross is a good way to keep my hand in, I’m certainly not ready to hang up my gloves and stop rallying yet. I enjoy Rallycross, it’s a very sociable event and you can do your racing and then be back in the office the next day, it’s less time consuming than rallying.”

Nesbitt first came to prominence in 1996 when he won the Donegal International Rally in a Toyota. In a successful period driving Subarus he subsequently won the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002 and took an historic hat trick (2002, ’03 and ’04) of wins in the Jim Clark Rally.
Nesbitt also drove a Subaru in Sweden in 2004 where he made his WRC debut. More recently he has driven for Mitsubishi in WRC and Irish events.

At present Nesbitt is only certain to race in the Belgian event, although there is a possibility that he may extend his deal to include the following weekend’s Dutch ERC round. Although Nesbitt has relatively little experience of driving in Rallycross he is familiar with the sport and regular in the BRC paddock where his younger son Matthew races in Junior Rallycross.

Per Eklund tar storbråket med ro

2007-08-06T21:33:00.000+02:00

Det var ihopkörningen som slutade med rena hoten.
Efter rallycross-SM i Strängnäs gick Thomas Rådström till full attack mot Per Eklund.
- Han skulle ta livet av mig, säger Eklund.
B-finalen i torsdagens SM-tävling tog en dramatisk vändning. I en kurva körde Eklund och Rådström ihop.
Enligt Arvikaföraren gick det till så här:
- Jag hade innerspåret. Han var kanske en meter framför mig och försökte vika in, men jag släpper aldrig till Rådström så han åkte in i mig och jag blev svartflaggad, säger Eklund.
Thomas Rådström snuvades på chansen att ta sig till A-final och i Västerbottens Folkblad går han till hård attack mot Per Eklund.
- Han har inte alla jävla får hemma i sin hjärna. Dom skulle knyckt hans licens.
- Han körde på mig bakifrån och vände runt mig. Man skulle inte få tävla om man är över 60 år, han är bara i vägen och det blir värre och värre, rasar Rådström till tidningen.
Per Eklund tar det hela med ro.
- Efter tävlingen i Knutstorp sa han att han skulle döda mig. Nu sa han igen att han skulle ta livet av mig. Den där Rådström håller alltid på, det är alltid han. Det är heta känslor, men det är så det är.
I stället för munhuggande med Thomas Rådström vill Per Eklund se en standardhöjning av domarkåren.
- De måste få bättre utbildning så de förstår vad de håller på med. Domarna är ungefär lika jobbiga som poliserna. Nu blev jag svartflaggad och har inte längre någon chans på SM.
Härnäst väntar helgens EM i Belgien för Eklund.

SOFIE GUSTAFSSON
sofie.gustafsson@vf.se 054-7 55 32
http://www.vf.se/

SC at Stägnäs: Eklund again black flag...

2007-08-02T20:45:00.000+02:00

Today, the 5th race for the Swedisch championship rallycross at the Strängnäs Motorstadion, ended in the B-final.
Per Eklund drove at the time practice a second time.

1 Lars Larsson Skoda Fabia ( 0.33,93 ) 0.33,80
2 Per Eklund Saab 9-3 0.33,99 ( 0.34,28 )
3 Michael Jernberg Ford Focus ( 0.34,35 ) 0.34,04
4 Andreas Eriksson Ford Fiesta ( 0.34,48 ) 0.34,06
5 Stig-Olov Walfridsson Renault Clio ( 0.34,13 ) 0.34,11

At the qualification heats, Eklund drives a 5th, 5th and a 7th time overall. This results in a second place at the startgrid in the B-final. Walfridsson and Jokinen are going to the A-final.

In the A-final, it is again Larsson who wins, in front of Walfridsson and Eriksson.

Results:
1. L. Larsson, 20+3
2. Walfridsson, 17
3. Eriksson, 15+2
4. M. Jernberg, 13
5. M. Jokinen, 12
6. I. Gunnarsson, 11+1
7. M. Nilsson, 10
8. T. Radström, 9
9. I. Bjöörn, 8
10. P. Eklund, 7

SC Kalix: Eklund second!

2007-07-21T19:15:00.000+02:00

At the 4th race for the Swedish championship at Kalix, Eklund drove a 5th, 7th and a 4th time.

He started at the second place in the B-final, but he won this final.
In the A-final, the went second over the finish line. Rådström and Eriksson did ot finish, Hunsbedt got a black flag.

Results:

Lars Larsson, Skoda Fabia, 20+3
Per Eklund, Saab 9-3 ASS, 17
Tony Croon, Ford Focus, 15
Thomas Rådström, Hyudai Accent, 13+2
Andreas Eriksson, Ford Fiesta, 12
Ludvig Hunsbedt, Volvo S40, 11+1

Per Eklund rasar efter tävlingen i Momarken

2007-07-10T22:31:00.000+02:00

Per Eklund rasar efter tävlingen i Momarken: Det var rena vattenpolon
2007-07-09
Det började dåligt för Per Eklund i helgens EM-deltävling.
Först och främst lämnade Tommy Rustda in en protest mot värmlänningen som innebar strykning för Eklunds del.
- Vi hade en liten fajt och jag kom in i den alternativa banan. Jag är dödssäker på att jag var före honom ur svängen, men jag blev tyvärr struken och fick därför ingen tid, berättar Eklund.
Nästkommande dag stod regnet som spön i backen hela dagen i Momarken, utanför Oslo.
Enklare blev det heller inte för Eklund då han fick starta längst ut i banan. Han fick massa lera på fönsterrutan och visste knappt var han befann sig.
- Det var rena vattenpolon, säger Eklund som den här omgången inte heller lyckades få några bra tider.
Han slutade trea i C-finalen och vill nog helst glömma helgens tävling.
- Det har varit mycket bråk och protester. Synd för arrangörerna som hade sådan otur med vädret.
ERIK ELENSTRAND (www.vf.se)

EC Norway: Eklund only 14th...

2007-07-10T20:38:00.000+02:00

It wasn't the best weekend for Per Eklund at the 6th round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Momarken Bilbane,.
At the official time practice, Eklund drove a 6th time overall. But in the first qualification heat he got a black flag because he overtook Rustad on a yellow flag.

(c) 2007 by http://www.erc24.com/

Extremely bad weather conditions on Sunday were part of the worse qualification heat 2 and 3: a 13th and a 11th time overall. This results in a 15th place in the finals...... Just inside the c-final.

Ola Frøshaug, rented for the Momarken event the SAAB 9-3 from Per Eklund. Frøshaug won the C final and was allowed to start in the B final but wasn't able to finish it.

Results:

Andreas Eriksson Ford Fiesta 20

Tommy Rustad Citroën Xsara 17

Lars Larsson Škoda Fabia 15

Sverre Isachsen Ford Focus 13

Kenneth Hansen Citroën C4 12

Thomas Rådström Hyundai Accent 11

11 Ola Frøshaug SAAB 9-3 6
14 Per Eklund SAAB 9-3 ASS 3

Next race: SC race 4 July 21 Kalix Motorstadion, Sweden

EC Norway, first heat again black flag

2007-07-07T22:30:00.000+02:00

The EC at Norway doesn't start very well for Per Eklund.
In the first heat he started with Østberg, Rustad, Lindefjell and Isachsen.

Per Eklund passed Tommy Rustad under a yellow flag and got a black flag.

Eklund förbannad över svartflagg

2007-07-02T23:01:00.000+02:00

Per Eklund krokade ihop med norrmannen Frode Holte i kampen om en plats i A-finalen.
Det fick han svartflagg för.
– Jag hoppade förbi, det ska inte vara svartflagg, säger han.

61-årige nestorn från Arvika var förbannad efteråt.
Istället för en tredjeplats i B-finalen blev han sist efter diskningen.
– Jag frågade Östlund (tävlingsledaren, Morgan) och han sa att det var ”griskörning”, men han kunde väl ha frågad flaggposten som såg vad som hände först, säger Eklund.

Västvärmlänningen var ytterst nära att gå direkt till A-final. Han och Kenneth Hansen hade samam poäng efter de tre kvalheaten och den sistnämnde gick före på bättre totalplacering i tredje heatet – åtta mot nia.
– Jag hade bättre tid och jag trodde att det gällde, så är det i SM.
Per Eklund var inblandad i en incident redan i starten av B-finalen.
– Holte tog starten och jag släppte förbi honom, då fick jag en skjuss i bakänden och for ut i sandfållan, är 99 procent säker på att det var Hunsbedt. Det var en sån smäll att bilen blev alldeles platt baktill, men då kom det inget svartflagg, det är jag mest irriterad på av allt, säger Eklund.

Han kom dock igen och närmade sig täten.
I sista kurvan före mål såg han att Holte lämnade en lucka på insidan.
– Han kom snett i hoppet och jag hoppade ikapp honom, då gick han in och stängde och vi hakade ihop.
I smällen gick styrstaget av på Eklunds Saab och åkdonet hamnade en stund ovanpå norrmannens. Då kom Ludvig Hunsbedt och smet förbi och knep platsen i A-finalen. Holta var tvåa över mållinjen och Eklund trea.
Eklund tycker inte att någon av förarna gjorde fel.
– Jag förstår att han stängde, det skulle jag också ha gjort. Jag kan hålla med om att det var en hård körning, men så har det ju varit hela helgen, det har flugit bilar åt alla håll, men de har inte tagit fram svartflaggan.
Sett till hela EM-tävlingen var Per Eklund ändå nöjd med sin insats.
– I början var jag inte nöjd, men jag gjorde om och det blev bättre och bättre.

BENGT SUNDLER
054-19 91 26 / bengt.sundler@nwt.se

EC Höljes: Eklund black flag in B-final

2007-07-02T22:18:00.000+02:00

Friday June 29
I arrive at the Finnskoga racetrack in Höljes. All the drivers are at the scrutenering.

Saturday June 30
First practice.
The drivers start with a dry track. Eklund drove a fast time in the morning. But there were some turbo pressure problem. The team had some work to do.After a while it started to rain very heavy, so the car setup had to change to rain setup.The team changed the suspension and some electrical adjustments.

Second practice.
This practice was very wet. There was a lot of water on the track.Eklund drove about a 9th time overall.
After the practice the team changes the differential. The turbo pressure problem is still there.

Time practice.
The track is drying up and is almost dry. It was Larsson before Hunsbet, Jernberg and Eriksson.Eklund drove a 10th time overall,

Heat 1:
At the start of this heat the track is dry. Eklund had to start with Anne, Walfridsson, Pauwels and Holte, Eklund is on pole. When the red light went off, it was Anne and Holte who took the best start.In the first corner most drivers came together, Eklund at the inside. Walfridsson and Anne came to the inside, but there is no room. Anne and Eklund came together and Anne could not control his car and went of the track making some rolls. He ended on his roof! The red flag was out. At the second start it was Eklund who took the best start and went first into the corner in front of Walfridsson, Pauwels and Holte.In the last lap, Eklund took the joker lap, but was just to slow to stay in front of Walfridsson.It was Walfridsson before Eklund, Pauwels and Holte.After his heat, it started to rain and the next drivers could not set a good time. With this second place Eklund took a third place overall!

1. Radstrom, Hyundai Accent, 2.30.83
2. Walfridsson, Renault Clio, 2.31.61
3. Eklund, Saab 9-3, 2.31.97
4. Pauwels, Ford Focus, 2.32.74
5. Jokinen, Peugeot 207, 2.32.77
6. Nöttveit, Ford Focus, 2.33.08

Sunday, July 1
Warm-up
In the evening it was raining again. The team did a full check of the car and turns back the car for dry weather.
Sunday morning it was still cloudy but the track was dry.Eklund took his car out and did a nice warm-up to check the car. There are still some electronic adjustments needed.

Heat 2:
All drivers are qualifying on the same dry conditions.Eklund had to start with Radstrom and Jokinen. The start is for Radstrom and Eklund. Eklund is early on the brakes to avoid Radstom, he is second in the first corner. Eklund takes the jokerlap and comes out third. In the second lap Jokinen takes the jokerlap and Eklund moves up to second place. He is chasing Radstom, who has to take the jokerlap in the last round. Eklund cannot manage to overtake Radstom and so he is second over the finish.With this result he takes a 9th time overall.

1. Larsson, Skoda Fabia 2.26.30
2. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 2.26.97
3. Jernberg, Ford Focus, 2.27.28
4. Radström, Hyundai Accent, 2.27.70
5. Hansen, Citroen C4, 2.27.80
6. Bermingrud, Citroen Xsara, 2.27.95
9. Eklund, Saab 9-3, 2.28.56

Heat 3
The team is still looking for the right setup by adjusting the electronics.Eklund has to start only with Hansen in the last qualification heat.Hansen has the best start and Eklund is just following Hansen to get a good time.Eklund has a 6th time overall.

1. Larsson, Skoda Fabia 2.23.77
2. Bermingrud, Citroen Xsara, 2.24.92
3. Isachsen, Ford Focus, 2.25.01
4. Hansen, Citroen C4, 2.25.04
5. Holte, Volvo S40, 2.26.14
6. Eklund, Saab 9-3, 2.26.96

With these results, Eklund has a pole position in the B-final, a 6th position.

B-final
Eklund is on pole, together with Holte, Walfridsson, Nöttveit, Hunsbet and c-final winner Sachweh.
When the red start light went of, it is Holte and Hunsbet who had the best start followed by Eklund and Nöttveit.Eklund takes the jokerlap and comes out on 4th place. Holte and Hunsbet are fighting for first position. Next lap, Nöttveit takes the jokerlap and Eklund moves up to 3rd position, Holte can overtake Hunsbet when he takes the jokerlap.Holte takes the jokerlap and is still on first position, followed by Eklund, Hunsbet, Nöttveit, Sachweh and Walfridsson.Eklund is pushing very hard to get to Holte. Holte makes some wide turns, so Eklund and Hunsbet are on his tail.In the last corner in the last lap, Holte leaves a small gap,
Eklund pushes his car between it. But Holte is closing the gap.Eklund is holding his position and he lands almost on top of Holte. The two slowing down and Hudsbet is the laughing third and takes the victory.

For this action Eklund gets a black flag and gets the 6th position in this b-final. A disappointing result after a quite good weekend in Höljes.

Eklund and his team have a lot work to do in Arvika, also preparing the second Saab 9-3 for Ola Frøshaug for the next race next weekend in Norway.

Regards,
Mike Jager

EC Höljes next weekend

2007-06-28T12:02:00.000+02:00

Hi!

I'm on my way to Höljes now, perhaps I can make some updates when I get Internet acces down at the Höljesbanan this weekend.

regards,

Mike Jager

First SC at Knutstorp: Eklund second!

2007-06-28T11:59:00.000+02:00

Andreas Eriksson 20+3
Per Eklund 17
Lars Larsson 15+2
Ingvar Gunnarsson 13
Thomas Rådström 12
Stig-Olov Walfridsson 11+1
Tony Croon 10
Marko Jokinen 9
Ingemar Bjöörn 8

EC Austria: Eklund 9th

2007-06-28T11:56:00.000+02:00

Andreas Eriksson
Jos Kuypers
Ludvig Hunsbedt
Lars Larsson
Sverre Isachsen
Michael Jernberg
Kenneth Hansen
Morten Bermingrud
Per Eklund
Olivier Anne

The old fox does it again, 6th at EC Hungary!

2007-06-03T21:14:00.000+02:00

Per Eklund does it again, another a-final at the Hungarian European rallycross round 3.
With a 7th time, a 9th and 7th time overall in the qualification heats he starts at the 4th place in the B-final together with Jani Paasonen, Morten Bermingrud, Harald Sachweh, Jos Kuypers and C-final winner Ludvig Hunsbedt.

photo: (c) 2007 www.erc24.com

Hunsbedt was hunting down B final leader Morten Bermingrud but both drivers didn't see eachother crashed together. Bermingrud crashed his Citroën in the barrier. Hunsbedt continued but damaged rear suspension allowed Per Eklund to pass and take the win.

photo: (c) 2007 www.erc24.com

In the A-final it was Michael Jernberg taking his second event win of the year in HungaryJernberg led the pack to the first turn and Kenneth Hansen quickly worked his way into second place. Thereafter the only position changes came courtesy of the Joker Lap. Jernberg left his until the last lap and comfortably retained his lead over Hansen to win. Sverre Isachsen made third place his own after Andreas Eriksson took the Joker Lap at the first chance, Per Eklund following his compatriot and running sixth throughout.

Results:

Michael Jernberg 20
Kenneth Hansen 17
Sverre Isachsen 15
Andreas Eriksson 13
Pavel Koutný 12
Per Eklund 11

Next race: June, 08-10 Greinbach, Austria

Second EC race in France: again A-final, 4th place!

2007-05-13T20:00:00.000+02:00

The second race in France didn't start well. At the first heat, Eklund had a 10th time overall. In the second heat, it was even a 15th time overall. The third heat went very well. At slippery conditions he managed to get a 5th time overall.
With these results it was a 8th time, third in the B-final next to Larsson, Pailler, Kuypers, Bermingrud and C-final winner Hunsbedt.

At the B-final start, Pailler crashes into Larsson and had to retire. At the start of the last lap it was Ludvig Hunsbedt who came inside on the kerbs and took the rear wheel from Larsson. Both cars were out. The beneficiary of the incident was Per Eklund who took the lead and held off Morten Bermingrud in a desperate dash to the finish.

At the A-final it was Jernberg who took the lead at the start in front of Hansen, Eriksson, good starter Eklund, Oliver Anne and Isachsen. Then Eriksson spun and Per Eklund picked up third place ahead of Olivier Anne and Sverre Isachsen who had front end damage on his Focus.The race order remained static until the last lap when, exiting the hairpin at the top of the hill there was contact between Anne and Eklund, the latter running onto the infield and losing third place to the Frenchman. Eklund managed to recover fourth and held off Isachsen in a desperate run to the chequer.

Again a good result!

Next race: June, 1-3, Nyirád, Hungary.