Last weekend’s Munich X Games doubleheader saw Gold Medal claims by Briton Liam Doran and Finn Toomas Heikkinen. Here some post-event quotes we collected.
Liam Doran (GB) MINI Countryman JCW 1.6: “It was a hard race. Rallycross is always a battle, and I had a couple of hits, but it happens, you know. The car was broken from the second turn. Saturday I won a Gold Medal with three wheels, and Sunday I did eight laps with pretty much three wheels again, because one rear wheel was pointing in completely the wrong direction. But I’m proud of myself for keeping it in one piece and staying on the track, and silver’s not bad at the end of the day, is it? Anyone else would be happy, so of course I’m happy. I could have won gold, and it’s frustrating, but you’ve still got to be happy. I got one on Saturday, so I shouldn’t be greedy, should I?”
Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen (FIN) Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST: “It felt good, and even right now it feels good. But we have a long season, and we have go into LA [Los Angeles X Games in August] and see what will happen. I’m leading the championship right now, and we have to be happy. But now we have to concentrate on the future… The team make it work, they make the cars, and I just come in and do my best.”
Tanner Foust (USA) Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST: “Saturday was horrible damage, and the team was working hard to get it all put back together. Sunday, though, the car was fairly clean. I saw my own bumper on the track somewhere, but that comes off pretty easily. I did go underneath a Subaru on the first corner… I’ll be honest, it’s hard to be too excited because I just got lucky in the first turn. Saturday I got unlucky, and there’s a very fine line between those two. The difference is not a good result, and a good result. I’ll take the luck when I can get it, and if that means some hardware, then even better.”
Mattias Ekström (S) VW Polo Mk5: On Saturday: “I enjoy myself every single time I’m in that car. Of course, I still need some more practice but when I’m in the car I’m feeling very good and I’m optimistic for the next race tomorrow.” On Sunday: “I’m very pleased with the two days as a whole. I learned a lot, I had a great time and really enjoyed the experience but I can’t deny that the results could have been better. 5th and 4th is just outside of the medals, I came here with the dream of getting one even though I was entering as a rookie. I cannot say enough of the team and everyone that has given me the chance to do this and I cannot wait for next weekend in Höljes.”
Anton Marklund (S) VW Polo Mk5: On Saturday: “I’m glad that we made it through the collisions on the first corner both times. The track was so slippery, it was almost a lottery whether you would get round the corners or not. I was 7th into the Final and 4th coming out, so I’m very happy with that.” On Sunday: “Both me and Mattias had good pace at the start of the day but lots of contact and some bad crashes meant I was unable to make it to today’s Final. I’m super happy that Mattias has taken his first weekend in Rallycross head on and come out with a great result that the whole team is very proud of.”
Guilherme “Guiga” Spinelli (BR) Mitsubishi Lancer E10: “It was a very, very important moment, an amazing moment, my first time here. It’s a fantastic takeaway, sure, and I’m very happy to be in the Final in my first weekend. Sure we will work much more to try to come back better, better, and better, and for me, next time will be with more experience. We’ll try to do our best each time that we come.”
Patrik Sandell (S) Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST: “No luck in Munich! On Saturday I got out in third position in the Final after the first corners, but they red-flagged the race for some reason. In the second start I got so badly hit in the first corner that I did a full 360°, and at the same time the right front steering arm broke, so I had to retire. On Sunday history repeated itself. I was quick away from the startline and led the race, when it was once again flagged off after a few laps. Then I got a real beating already in the first corner after the restart and the right front wheel came off. This just wasn’t our weekend, although we showed that we have the speed. Now we look ahead to the next race, the European Rallycross Championship round in Höljes this coming weekend.”
Ken Block (USA) Ford Fiesta Mk7 ST: “On Sunday I drove my absolute hardest-charging run I’ve ever had in a Global RallyCross Championship race, battling my way to fifth place all the way from the back of the field, due to a lousy start and a trip to the penalty box. Sucks I didn’t get the result I was looking for on day two, but I’m still pretty stoked on all these passes, especially the mid-air ones, ha!”
