Nitrocross Richmond Power Rankings

Nitrocross is back! With two races already in the books, we have an early indication of how the championship fight might look for the rest of the season. 

But points don’t always tell the full picture. How was each driver’s individual performance compared to one another? Now that the dust has settled from Richmond, Dominik Wilde is here to take you through the Group E field, and also take a look at the star performers in the support classes.

9. Kevin Eriksson

It feels somewhat cruel to put Kevin Eriksson at the bottom of our rankings, but since injury ruled him out of the Richmond weekend before things got serious, he had little to show for his trip to Virginia.

Still, it’s a long season, and there’s plenty of time for him to climb back up.

8. Tanner Foust

We’re used to seeing Tanner Foust battling at the sharp end of any race he enters, but thanks to a mix of bad luck and technical issues, Foust wasn’t much of a factor in Richmond.

There were flashes of speed over the weekend though, but it was ultimately a case of ‘what could have been’ over both days. He’ll be looking to reset before Utah.

7. Lia Block

There wasn’t a single person in the paddock who wasn’t thrilled to see Lia Block return to Nitrocross in Richmond. And despite racing open-wheelers all year, the teenager proved that she’s still just as at home on the dirt.

Block continued her development in Group E after a brief cameo last year, showing progress in every session. A minor technical hiccup robbed us of an intriguing battle with Tanner Foust in Saturday’s LCQ – a race she had led early on – but in a rematch at the same stage on Sunday, she prevailed. And in both finals, she was able to lock in solid finishes by avoiding drama around her. An all-round decent weekend for Block.

6. Andreas Bakkerud

It really was a weekend to forget for Andreas Bakkeurd, who failed to finish both finals. Saturday was a cruel twist of fate, going from being in the thick of the podium fight to pulling back into the pits with only three tires thanks to contact in the field. On Sunday he didn’t even make it to the end of the first lap, again after being caught up in an incident that was no fault of his own.

Ignoring the finals though, Bakkeurd did have a decent weekend. On Saturday he took second in qualifying, a heat win and a semifinal win, while on Sunday he added a Qualifying 1 win to his haul. So he’s lost nothing, he just needs a bit more luck when it comes to crunch time.

5. Conner Martell

Conner Martell’s results and points standings don’t really do justice to his weekend in Richmond.

Winner of the first qualifying race of the year, he was propelled right into the podium fight on the first day of action. A mistake at the start took away that real possibility, but an impressive recovery drive brought him back through the field to fourth.

With there being a couple of track changes on Sunday, Martell was more conservative and he started that day’s final further back – something that proved costly as he retired after a multi-car collision on the opening lap.

4. Viktor Vranckx

Young sensation Viktor Vranckx's weekend was pretty much the reverse of Larsson's, the Swede's whitewash of Saturday's results giving him the leg up here. 

Vranckx took fourth on Saturday (finishing fifth on the road but promoted thanks to a penalty for Conner Martell), before claiming a podium finish on Sunday. Not only was it a mature drive that meant he went largely unchallenged in a race that was messy for many others in the pack, but it made him the youngest podium finisher in Group E history. The first of many, no doubt.

3. Robin Larsson

It was business as usual for the reigning champion on Saturday after he topped every session en route to a dominant victory in the final. Day two was a different affair, Second in the first part of qualifying behind his Dreyer & Reinbold Racing teammates Andreas Bakkerud and McConnell gave him something of an uphill battle from the start.

In Sunday’s final though, he proved why he’s a two-time champ. Sixth on the grid might not have promised much, but he was able to capitalize on the misfortune of those ahead of him and pick his way through to fourth in what was a fine recovery drive.

2. Fraser McConnell

Like Eriksson, McConnell racked up two podium finishes in Richmond. He hounded the Swede throughout Saturday’s final but couldn’t quite finish the job and get by, while on Sunday the duel resumed. Had it not been for a half-spin in the opening lap of the final, we may well have been talking about him being the winner, the points leader, and the man atop of the Power Rankings.

He made a strong recovery though, and was able to take chunks of time out of Eriksson, even if a move for the race win ultimately proved to be a little too much to ask for.

1. Oliver Eriksson

Given that he left Richmond with the championship lead, it’s no surprise to see Oliver Eriksson at the top of our Power Rankings. But this isn’t all about his win on Sunday and his points advantage.

Saturday was strong, too. Second place in the final – after holding off a fearsome charge by Fraser McConnell – was a clear signal of intent from the younger Eriksson brother. He’s got a win on the board earlier than he has in any other Nitrocross season, which will be a tremendous confidence booster going into the rest of the year.

Standouts from the support classes

NEXT EVO

Mitchell De Jong

If you were told before the weekend that Mitchell De Jong hadn’t been in a race car for seven years before the Richmond race weekend, you wouldn’t believe it.

Except not only was it unbelievable, it was true, too.

De Jong was untouchable in the first-ever NEXT EVO final, defeating two-time NEXT champ Tommi Hallman. Hallman got the better of the American on Sunday, but De Jong still gave him a good fight and finished second.

Seven years? What seven years? Now we just need to wait and see if he’ll see out the season, because if he does, we’ve got a titanic tussle on our hands.

Side-by-Sides

Kainan Baker

Who else but Mr. Baker? We’ve grown accustomed to seeing the teenager schooling the side-by-side field, and that’s exactly what he did on Sunday, defeating Travis Pastrana by a huge 5.5 seconds. Saturday didn’t deliver a win, with him pressuring Pastrana to the line in the fight for third – had the race been a lap longer), there’s little doubt he would’ve finished on the podium then too. 

And to make things even better, he did all that while pulling double duty and racing in NEXT EVO as well.