Bakkerud makes history with back-to-back wins in Salt Lake City
The 2024-25 Nitrocross season continued at the place where it all began, with Utah Motorsports Campus hosting the second stop of the season for Rounds 3 and 4.
Encompassing 1.732 miles of mixed pavement and dirt, along with huge banked turns and the series’ signature 100-foot gap jump, the course at UMC is arguably the most challenging track of the entire season.
Group E
Andreas Bakkerud (NOR) became the first driver to sweep both Finals of a double-header weekend by winning Round 4 of the season, once again finishing ahead of his Dreyer & Reinbold Racing teammate Robin Larsson (SWE).
Bakkerud once again won his Heat and Semifinal en route to the main event, but with Larsson winning the first of the Semis, it was he who started on pole. Not that it mattered to Bakkerud, who made a perfect getaway from the grid to lead into the first corner – a position he wouldn’t relinquish.
Larsson’s Final was less straightforward. Engaged in a race-long battle with Vermont SportsCar’s Conner Martell (USA), he faced intense pressure to hold onto second. Both came together on the final lap, with Larsson emerging unscathed, but Martell colliding with the wall on the start/finish straight.
Oliver Eriksson (SWE) got by the stricken Martell to snatch third, ensuring a repeat of Saturday’s podium, while Tanner Foust (USA) was fourth ahead of Lia Block (USA) who limped across the line after hitting Martell’s stranded car.
Kevin Eriksson (SWE) and Fraser McConnell (JAM) completed the Final finishers respectively.
Andreas Bakkerud
“It’s been a long four events for me, both last year and the start of this year, even though the pace has been really great. It’s a big change from last year to this year is that we have new tires this year that I feel fits me and suits my driving style much better than last year’s tires.
“Managing to do well in quali, still haven't won the Q3 yet, which I really need to step up my game at, but running away from this event with double wins, you can’t get any better.
“I’m very proud of everyone that has supported me in the bad days, because I’ve had a few… I’ve been angry, pissed off, and left the track with negative energy. And for me now to have a weekend where I’m going to bed in between the two races with a good vibe and energy in my body and when I fly home now to Norway on Wednesday after hanging with the Blocks it’s going to be such an easier flight to catch.”
Robin Larsson
“Like always, qualis are really important, but the starts haven't been that perfect. It’s a little bit annoying, but we knew that outside in the front row is better. But it’s also a little bit annoying to lose out.
“We had the speed to win today but you can’t do anything stupid and try to push when you’re on P2, especially when it’s Bakkerud in front. You just have to calm down, settle for second and think about the championship.
“I won two both days, and I got P2 both days. We’re leading in the championship – we came here with 15 points from behind, so I can’t complain, but for sure you always want to win.
“We’ve been fast all year. I like Phoenix, the track, the venue and everything, so I think we’ll be fine. But it’s so tight on times and Oli is doing good. Bakkerud is in really good form now, so it’s going to be tight. For sure it’s nice to go there with a 15 point lead.”
Oliver Eriksson
“Honestly this weekend was really tough. I struggled with pure pace. I over-drove the car quite a bit, we didn't quite find the spots we needed to be setup wise, driving wise, the whole package. For having a weekend with a lot of struggles, we recovered well. Two podiums from here, I’ll take it any day.
“My mentality generally for the whole season has been to be consistent. My bottoms have been too low, so I try to keep my bottom level higher. I’ve done that so far in these two weekends. Both podiums, so that’s good. Just going to keep at it.
“Phoenix has been a good race for us previously, we had a good pace there, we know the car well on that track. But that’s just one of those tracks where anything can happen – it changes from lap to lap, we just have to nail it every single corner without knowing what to expect. It’s just a tricky race, I think some will struggle, we just have to capitalize on that.”
NEXT EVO
Mitchell DeJong (USA) and Tommi Hallman (FIN) had a reversal of roles from Round 3 in the second NEXT EVO Final of the weekend, with De Jong beating Hallman to the win.
DeJong entered the first corner equal to Hallman, but it was the American who emerged ahead. From there he took off and dominated, while Hallman had to fend off pressure from Casper Jansson (SWE) who finished second for the third race in a row.
Sunday’s win helped DeJong overcome a 10-point deficit to Hallman in the points standings. He now leads by three, while Jannson remains third. However, his gap to second has increased from 18 points to 46.
Mitchell De Jong
“My main objective was just to not make a mistake. I knew I had a big gap out behind. I knew that if I stayed the course and didn’t make any mistakes, I’d be able to maintain that. Trying to get used to the track, not get a puncture, or anything like that was the name of the game. I put so much pressure on myself after a really hard day yesterday. And really happy to take the win.
“I think we learned a lot this weekend with car setup and also my own driving – just getting used to a track where you need to have a lot more commitment and send it around in the dirt sections. So, I think that will be a good lesson learned for the next round. So we’ll take that into the next one and we’ll see what happens.”
Side-by-Sides
Kainan Baker (USA) returned to the top of the tree in the Side-by-Sides Final, leaving his Joker late to undercut early race leader Kory Willis (USA). Banks Hovey (USA) also got by to finish second, while Gray Leadbetter (USA) completed the podium. Like Banks, the result was her first top-three of the season.
The win moves Baker into first in the SxS Championship standings, ahead of Travis Pastrana (USA) who didn’t compete on Sunday. Willis moves up to third, swapping places with Cash LeCroy (USA), who finished Sunday’s Final fifth behind Willis.
Kainan Baker
“I feel really great, it was definitely a wild weekend. I think it had the ups and downs and everything, but overall a great weekend.”
Baja Bugs
Nitrocross returns on November 15-16 with another double-header weekend at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix, AZ. All events can be streamed live and free on Rumble at www.rumble.com/nitrocross.