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Honda Driver Oliver Eriksson Scores Career-Best Fourth-Place Finish at Red Bull GRC Indianapolis

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Oliver Eriksson navigates through the dirt at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Honda driver Oliver Eriksson piloted his No. 16 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic to a fourth-place finish at the Red Bull Global Rallycross Indianapolis Final, the best finish of the18-year-old rookie’s young career. Teammate Sebastian Eriksson was close behind, finishing in sixth place.

The two Eriksson teammates drove their 600-horsepower Honda Civic Coupes aggressively at Lucas Oil Raceway, with O. Eriksson sliding into fourth behind series veteran Steve Arpin, attacking his rear fender.

Fighting against flat-spotted tires and bodywork damage from the start, the Swedish rookie recorded consistent lap times before taking the Joker Lap on Lap 3, thrillingly closing the gap on the top three competitors.

On Lap 6, O. Eriksson drew the margin to Arpin to within one second, but made contact with the outside wall going into Turn 2, creating handling issues for the rest of the race. However, he held on to bring home a career-best, fourth-place finish.

“We had a good run and we had a good pace in the semifinals, so we knew we could compete for a podium finish,” O. Eriksson said. “We started in the middle of the second row so we knew we face carnage from other competitors. Into the first corner I got hit, but I had a big save there. I was in fifth gear, four-wide but I managed to save it. Unfortunately, I think I burnt my tires, which caused my understeer. It was a tough weekend but we persevered.”

Eriksson’s 24-year-old elder teammate, Sebastian Eriksson, came in sixth and completed a clean race, accruing valuable championship points.

“It was a tough race because we lost it in the Semifinal,” S. Eriksson said. “Starting ninth] on the third row is not where you want to be in a ten-car final. I think we did an okay job from where we started. Obviously, we need to qualify better next time and have a better grid position into the Final.”