DOUBLE PODIUM FOR OLSBERGS MSE IN RED BULL GRC DOUBLEHEADER

June 29, 2015 by Olsbergs MSE

DAYTONA, Fla. (June 21, 2015) - Sebastian Eriksson led the Olsbergs MSE team to a double podium this weekend at the Red Bull Global Rallycross doubleheader in Daytona.

Rookie Eriksson drove his Red Bull/Bluebeam Ford Fiesta ST to his first Supercars win on Sunday, following up Saturday's third-place finish.

'Now I've shown them what I can do and maybe that means the other drivers will be looking at me in the first corner,' said Eriksson, who now has a slim lead in the points standings over veteran Ken Block, after three rounds in the championship. 'But I'm going to focus on taking this season race by race.'

Defending champion Joni Wiman finished fourth on Saturday, behind teammate Eriksson -- despite taking a hit in a chaotic first Final of the weekend that cost him an early lead. 'After all that contact, the car was really hard to drive so it became more about survival to just bring the car home in a good place,' he said.

On Sunday, Wiman showed his speed early on, qualifying third and pacing teammate Eriksson through the Semifinal to advance directly to the front row of the Final. But while charging through the pack on the seventh lap, contact with another car sent him into the trackside barriers, ending his charge three laps short of the checkered flag.

'I'm disappointed. Today, I definitely had more,' said Wiman. 'But the weekend as a whole was a strong team performance. We're the drivers to beat out there and I'll be ready to challenge Sebastian in the next one.'

The rallycross course at Daytona International Speedway is one of the longest in the series, measuring nearly a mile in length, with 30 percent dirt and a big tabletop jump feature. The risk of attrition was high, with cars and drivers strained to the limit in the sweltering Florida summer heat. Full coverage of this weekend's Red Bull Global Rallycross doubleheader aired live on NBC Sunday.

It was a successful weekend for Olsbergs MSE'S Lites team as well, with Oliver Eriksson earning his first win in the series on Saturday and teammate Austin Cindric winning the second round of the doubleheader. 'I feel pretty good,' said Cindric, who also won the opening round in the championship last month. 'Every race we've been to, we've been the car to beat and I'm confident we're going to stay that way.'

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Oliver Eriksson said his first series victory felt like a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders. 'I set a goal to get a win in a race this season, and to have it happen was amazing. Now I have a goal to get as many firsts as I can.'

Full coverage of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Lites championship airs Friday, June 26 at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) on NBC Sports Network.

The Red Bull Global Rallycross team returns to its new home in Mooresville, N.C., to prepare for competition on the July 4th weekend at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, N.C. It will be another busy weekend of intercontinental racing for the team, with its World RX squad also on course: Andreas Bakkerud, Reinis Nitiss and Timur Timerzyanov will be competing in Holjes at World RX of Sweden -- OMSE's home event.

ABOUT OLSBERGS MSE:

Olsbergs MSE designs, builds and operates winning competition cars for motorsport. It is recognized as the global authority in the growing sport of rallycross.

OMSE is a Ford Racing technical partner, developing the Ford Fiesta platform for international competition. Together, Ford and OMSE have earned an astonishing 23 X Games medals, including podium sweeps at the world's leading action sports contest (Los Angeles, 2011; Brazil 2013). The team has also won every rallycross championship in the United States since the sport debuted in that country in 2010, and won the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Teams Championship.

OMSE Ford Fiesta rallycross cars are class of the field at any race they enter. The powerful, 600-horsepower all-wheel drive machines are top performers that have scored countless wins and podiums at races around the world.

Founded in 2009, the organization represents a partnership between historic Swedish industrial company Olsbergs and rallycross specialists Motor Sport Evolution. In 2013, the company expanded its operations into the United States and now has dual headquarters with operations in both Sweden and the United States.

In 2015, Olsbergs MSE campaigns winning cars in World RX, the Global Rallycross Championship, and the Rallycross Supercar Scandinavia championship.

The team's multi-series campaigns in rallycross are guided by the new team slogan 'Extreme Forces,' representing their united worldwide effort. Fans can follow the team across social media platforms using the #OMSE #XForces hashtags.

ABOUT RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS

Designed to produce the fastest and most exciting racing in motorsports, Red Bull Global Rallycross pits small production-based cars against each other in door-to-door racing featuring dirt, asphalt, and table-top jumps. With enhanced engineering and safety features, the cars produce 600 horsepower and can accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in less than two seconds, and can also withstand 70-foot jumps and other vehicle contact. Full coverage of the 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross championship airs on NBC.