Nitrocross’ 2024-25 season continued by heading back to where it all began for the series, Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City.
Both days delivered identical podiums, but looking at the bigger picture, we’re still looking at one of the most competitive seasons to-date. With four rounds in the books, Dominik Wilde is here once again to guide you through the Group E field, and take a look at the leading lights from the support classes.
9. Lia Block (-2)
Lia Block's progress up the Group E ranks continued in Utah where she cracked the top-five for the first time.
On Saturday though, she didn't make the final, falling at the Last Chance Qualifier phase, while her fifth on Sunday, while a landmark result, came after Conner Martell crashed out. She, too, was caught up in the shunt, and had to limp over the line with three wheels. Nevertheless, a good result is a good result.
8. Viktor Vranckx (-4)
It was a weekend to forget for Viktor Vranckx. After podiuming in Richmond, the talk was about the young Belgian using that as a springboard for bigger things. Unfortunately it ended up being something of a false dawn.
Motor issues prevented him from taking the final grid on Saturday, while on Sunday he didn’t even advance from the LCQ as the problems persisted. Time for Vranckx to regroup and rebound.
7. Kevin Eriksson (+2)
After missing both Richmond races through injury, Kevin Eriksson returned in Salt Lake City and secured a pair of top six finishes.
The standout moment for him was on the second day when, in Q1, he became the only driver to break the 1 minute 14 barrier with a lightning fast lap of 1m 13.958. And if it wasn’t for a spin and subsequent off-track excursion early in Sunday’s final, he could have very well finished on the podium.
It was a delayed start to the season for the elder Eriksson, but it showed flashes of promise that he’ll need to capitalize on going forward.
6. Tanner Foust (+2)
Tanner Foust had a somewhat anonymous weekend in Richmond, but he was back on form in Salt Lake City, the site of his maiden Group E podium last season. He topped qualifying on the first day, blitzing the field with the fastest time of all three sessions, while he was again quickest on Sunday, but with the time coming in Q2, he wasn't able to fully benefit from it.
Foust makes no secret that he’s still coming to grips with Group E, but his undeniable one lap pace and a season-best result of fourth in the second final of the weekend shows he’s getting there.
5. Fraser McConnell (-3)
After featuring on the podium on both days in Richmond, Utah was a quieter affair for McConnell.
He made an early challenge for the top three on Saturday but for contact with Conner Martell on the Joker merge prevented further advancement, while Sunday could have seen him inherit third after Martell’s late race crash, but he was outsmarted on Joker strategy by Oliver Eriksson, then faded late on.
It's the first time in Group E history that McConnell hasn't got a win on the board in the first four rounds of the season, but despite that, he does remain very much in the championship hunt.
4. Conner Martell (+1)
Let’s ignore the results for a second – Utah was very much a breakthrough event for Conner Martell.
Fastest in practice at the start of the weekend, Martell carved through the field on Saturday's final to finish third, only to be dropped down the order by a post-race penalty after he missed the joker as a result of confusion over the shortened race distance – brought about by the Utah track's lengthy nature. He wasn't deterred though, and the story was a similar one on the Sunday.
After qualifying second (a mere 0.019s off the fastest time) and going quickest in both his heat and Semi, he was a fixture in the podium conversation throughout the final. Unwilling to settle for third to make up for Saturday's disappointment, Martell pushed for second, but it proved to be a push too far as his weekend ended in the wall and in a cloud of smoke.
It'll be a weekend remembered for missed opportunities, but there's no denying Utah was very much a standout weekend for the Vermont SportsCar man.
3. Oliver Eriksson (-2)
Two podiums from two in Salt Lake City represented a strong weekend for the younger Eriksson brother, but having come into the event as the points leader and the most recent race winner, it was more a case of making the most of the situation.
Eriksson inherited both of his thirds from Conner Martell, who was denied a podium on Day 1 after getting a penalty for missing the Joker, then crashed meters from the line on the second day.
He’s still very much in the hunt, but he’ll be looking to return to the podium on his own terms next time out.
2. Andreas Bakkerud (+4)
Andreas Bakkerud is our biggest mover, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise. He last won in the eighth round of 10 in 2022-23, but ended that long drought with two dominant victories in Utah.
Not only did he secure final wins, but Heat and Semi victories on Saturday and Sunday, too – and did all that despite battling sickness. It was a weekend worthy of a champion, and with the monkey finally off his back, he’ll be looking to carry that momentum into the rest of the campaign.
1. Robin Larsson (+2)
Robin Larsson might not have left Utah with a winner’s medal, but his performance over the weekend was textbook, and typical of his ‘long-game’ outlook.
Larsson finished second on both days behind teammate Bakkerud, playing the team game to perfection as the Norwegian finally returned to the top after a wait of nearly a season and a half.
His two title wins so far have come as the result of consistency, and while Utah might have been a quiet one by our all-time race win record holder’s standards, it was the sort of performance that’ll be looked back on as being vital come the end of the year. It’s moved him to the top of the points standings too.
Standouts from the support classes
NEXT EVO
Tommi Hallman
Once again the NEXT EVO wins were shared between Mitchell De Jong and Tommi Hallman, with the former only narrowly holding the category points lead – there's three in it.
Hallman gets the nod this time around, though, after being untouchable in Saturday's final, then on Sunday resolutely holding off defending champion Casper Jansson to maintain his 100 percent record of top-two finishes this season.
Side-by-Sides
Travis Pastrana
With commitments in California on Sunday, Travis Pastrana only competed in one Side-by-Side round in Utah, but he still managed to leave his mark on the weekend.
After taking a third and a second in Richmond, Pastrana made the final step to win on Saturday – doing it in fine fashion by recovering from a poor start to defeat Cash LeCroy by over three seconds.
He might have done one less race than any of the other drivers in the top seven of the SxS class, but with a 100 percent podium record – the only driver in SxSs to do so, and one of just four across Nitroross' top-three divisions – he remains second overall, a true testament to the solid season he's put together so far.