Having dipped his toe into the water with a brace of appearances in the FIA RX2e Championship last year, Nils Andersson has committed to a full assault on the FIA World Rallycross Championship-supporting series with Kristoffersson Motorsport (KMS) in 2022, as he promises to ‘raise the bar’.
Having dipped his toe into the water with a brace of appearances in the FIA RX2e Championship last year, Nils Andersson has committed to a full assault on the FIA World Rallycross Championship-supporting series with Kristoffersson Motorsport (KMS) in 2022, as he promises to ‘raise the bar’.
Andersson began his career in the Crosskart class at the age of 13, steadily progressing up the ladder in domestic competition before clinching consecutive RallyX Nordic crowns in the category in 2018 and 2019 – prompting graduation to Supercar Lites level in 2020.
Reaching the final on his debut would prove to be the highlight of a frustrating campaign, but a switch to KMS for 2021 sparked a dramatic upturn in fortunes, with the Swede emerging as a genuine RallyX Nordic title contender under the guidance of his mentor, multiple world champion Johan Kristoffersson.
A breakthrough podium finish at Höljes was followed by his maiden victory a day later. Further rostrum results at OuluZone in Finland and his local track of Arvika earned Andersson the runner-up spoils at season’s end – as well as Swedish Championship glory.
In parallel with that, the 22-year-old made his debut in RX2e – the pioneering, first-ever FIA electric rallycross championship – on home soil at Höljes last August. Rapidly getting to grips with the QEV Technologies and Olsbergs MSE-developed car – which generates 250kW (335bhp) of power and up to 510Nm torque – he placed an excellent third in the intermediate classification, ahead of eventual champion Guillaume De Ridder.
He was poised to progress through to the final until a freak incident curtailed his charge at the semi-final stage. He returned a fortnight later in France, missing out on the final by just under a second.
Now, Andersson has thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals by signing up to the full five-round schedule in 2022, and when the action gets underway at Höljes in less than a month’s time (2-3 July), he is aiming to pick up from where he left off at the famous Värmland circuit last summer as he bids to make an immediate impact in the high-calibre field.
“Having already had my first taste of RX2e in 2021, I am clear about what I want to achieve in 2022,” he asserted. “RX2e is the perfect move for me, as the world of rallycross is going electric and now I am too!
“As I experienced last year, the cars are all very competitive and so are the drivers. It will always be hard to win, but I will bring the fight and see where it puts us at the end of the championship. 2021 was a good season for me, gaining experience and improving my performance on-track, and now I’m ready to raise the bar.”
FIA RX2e Championship Manager, Javier Alonso, welcomed the addition of Andersson to the fray full-time, tipping the rising star to hit the ground running and mount a serious title challenge.
“This is a hugely exciting announcement, as Nils is considered one of the brightest young talents currently competing on the rallycross scene,” the Spaniard enthused. “We know he will put on an exciting show.
“Nils has proven himself to be a consistent front-runner on the RallyX Nordic package in recent seasons, and he adds further class to our already highly competitive field. We are all eager to see what he can do this year.”