Höljesbanan Explained

Höljesbanan
Nicknames:"The Home of Swedish Rallycross"
Time:CET (UTC+1)
CEST (DST)
Location:Höljes, Värmland, Sweden
Coordinates:60.917°N 12.555°W
Capacity:Unlimited (Record: 45 100)
Fia Grade:6R (Rallycross)
Operator:Finnskoga Motorklubb
Opened:1976
Events:Current:
FIA World Rallycross Championship
World RX of Sweden (2014–2021, 2023)
FIA European Rallycross Championship
Euro RX of Sweden (1991, 1993, 1997, 1999–present)
Surface:Asphalt (60%)
Gravel (40%)
Length Km:1.19
Length Mi:0.73

Höljesbanan, also known as Höljes Motorstadion, is a rallycross circuit situated in the village of Höljes, in the Finnskogen ('Finnwoods') of the Swedish county Värmland, beside the river Klarälven and close to the Norwegian border. The circuit opened in February 1976 and is one of the most famous rallycross circuits in the world. Traditionally held over the first weekend of July the venue plays host to the so-called 'Magic Weekend' of rallycross when it runs the Swedish round of the European and World Rallycross championships.

History

The circuit was originally part of a go-kart centre opened in 1972 by the Finnskoga Motorklubb following the influx of Swedish drivers into Formula One, but quickly fell into disuse and it was decided the nearby gravel pit was to be turned into a rallycross circuit in October 1974. On February 1, 1976, the circuit held its first event in front of 3,500 people on a bitterly cold winters' day, and was won by Per Eklund.[1]

The circuit was successful locally and the Finnskoga Masters was created as a marquee event for Scandinavian drivers. The circuit saw very little national action as the Swedish ASN were not on good terms with the Finnskoga Motorklubb, and despite having a suitable venue the Svenska Bilsportförbundet (SBF) did not straight away recommend the circuits' addition to the FIA European Rallycross Championship due to the conflict. However, the circuit did eventually make its international debut for the Swedish round of the 1991 European Rallycross Championship. The event was held on July 7 in front of 15,000 people and quickly gained approval from drivers and fans alike. The Swedish round rotated through various circuits in the 1990s but the Höljesbanan became a permanent fixture in 1999 and is now a marquee event within it and the newly formed World Championship.[2]

Event history

European rallycross

European Championship winners[3]
YearDivisionDriverCar
1991Division 1 Kenneth HansenFord Sierra RS 500 Cosworth
Division 2 Will GollopMG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo
1992 Not Held
1993Division 1 Eivind OplandNissan Sunny GTI-R
Division 2 Kenneth HansenCitroën ZX T16 4x4
1400cc Cup Björn OhlssonCitroën AX Sport
1994 Not Held
1995
1996
1997Division 1 Ludvig HunsbedtFord Escort RS 2000 T16 4x4
Division 2 Eivind OplandMitsubishi Lancer Evolution III
1400cc Cup Roger LagergrenPeugeot 205 Rallye
1998 Not Held
1999Division 1 Ludvig HunsbedtFord Escort RS 2000 T16 4x4
Division 2 Gert VestergaardPeugeot 306 S16
1400cc Cup Peter NielsenRover Metro GTi
2000Division 1 Kenneth HansenCitroën Xsara WRC
Division 2 Magnus HansenCitroën Xsara VTS
1400cc Cup Sven SeeligerCitroën AX GTi
2001Division 1 Kenneth HansenCitroën Xsara WRC
Division 2 Magnus HansenCitroën Xsara VTS
Division 2A Sven SeeligerCitroën AX GTi
2002Division 1 Kenneth HansenCitroën Xsara WRC
Division 2 Jouko KallioHonda Civic Type R
Division 2A Aleš ZázvorkaVolkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
2003Division 1 Kenneth HansenCitroën Xsara T16 4x4
Division 1A Jaroslav KalnýPeugeot 206
Division 2 Guttorm LindefjellOpel Astra OPC
2004Division 1 Sverre IsachsenFord Focus T16 4x4
Division 1A Ron SnoeckSEAT Ibiza
Division 2 Jussi PinomäkiRenault Clio RSR
2005Division 1 Michael JernbergFord Focus T16 4x4
Division 1A Zdeněk ČermákŠkoda Fabia
Division 2 Niklas HagströmHonda Civic Type R
2006Division 1 Sverre IsachsenFord Focus T16 4x4
Division 1A Jaroslav KalnýPeugeot 206
Division 2 Niklas HagströmHonda Civic Type R
2007Division 1 Lars LarssonŠkoda Fabia 6Y T16 4x4
Division 1A Michaël de KeersmaeckerOpel Corsa C
Division 2 Niklas HagströmHonda Civic Type R
RX Cup Jos SterkensFord Fiesta RWD
2008Division 1 Marcus GrönholmFord Fiesta ST
Division 1A Jussi PinomäkiRenault Clio
Division 2 Tomáš KotekHonda Civic Type R
RX Cup Per Niklas LöövCitroën Xsara RWD
2009Division 1 Stig-Olov WalfridssonRenault Clio T16 4x4
Division 1A Timur TimerzyanovRenault Clio Mk2
Division 2 Knut Ove BørsethFord Fiesta ST RWD
2010Division 1 Sverre IsachsenFord Focus ST
Division 1A Timur TimerzyanovRenault Clio Mk2
Division 2 Lars Øivind EnerbergFord Fiesta ST RWD
2011Supercars Tanner FoustFord Fiesta T16 4x4
Super1600 Krzysztof SkorupskiVolkswagen Polo 9N3
TouringCar Lars Øivind EnerbergFord Fiesta ST RWD
2012Supercars Timur TimerzyanovCitroën DS3 T16 4x4
Super1600 Ulrik LinnemannPeugeot 207
TouringCar Robin LarssonŠkoda Fabia 6Y RWD
Junior Cup Kevin Hansen"Citroën DS3" JRX
2013Supercars Andreas BakkerudCitroën DS3
Super1600 Ulrik LinnemannPeugeot 207
TouringCar Derek TohillFord Fiesta RWD
Junior Cup Kevin Hansen"Citroën DS3" JRX
2014Super1600 Sergey ZagumennovŠkoda Fabia 5J
TouringCar Tom Daniel TånevikMazda RX-8
2015Super1600 Jānis BaumanisRenault Twingo Mk2
TouringCar Fredrik SalstenCitroën DS3 RWD
2016Supercars Kevin HansenPeugeot 208
Super1600 Ulrik LinnemannPeugeot 208
TouringCar Ben-Philip GundersenFord Fiesta ST RWD
2017Supercar Anton MarklundVolkswagen Polo R Mk5
Super1600 Artis BaumanisŠkoda Fabia
2018Supercar Reinis NitišsFord Fiesta
TouringCar Fredrik Rolid MagnussenFord Fiesta
2019Supercar Robin LarssonAudi S1
Super1600 Marius BermingrudŠkoda Fabia
2020Supercar Oliver ErikssonFord Fiesta
2021RX1 Thomas BryntessonVolkswagen Polo
RX3 Yury BelevskiyAudi A1
2022RX1 Anton MarklundHyundai i20
RX3 Marius Solberg HansenŠkoda Fabia
2023RX1 Patrick O'DonovanPeugeot 208
RX2e Ole Henry SteinsholtZEROID X1
RX3 Espen IsaksætreAudi A1

World Rallycross

YearDivisionDriverCar
2014Supercars Mattias EkströmAudi S1
2015Supercars Mattias EkströmAudi S1
RX Lites Thomas Bryntesson"Ford Fiesta" RX2
2016Supercars Andreas BakkerudFord Focus RS
RX Lites Simon Olofsson"Ford Fiesta" RX2
2017Supercars Johan KristofferssonVolkswagen Polo GTI
RX2 Dan Rooke"Ford Fiesta" RX2
2018Supercars Johan KristofferssonVolkswagen Polo GTI
RX2 Guillaume De Ridder"Ford Fiesta" RX2
2019Supercars Sebastian ErikssonFord Fiesta Mk8
RX2 Ben-Philip Gundersen"Ford Fiesta" RX2
2020SupercarsRound 1 Johan KristofferssonVolkswagen Polo GTI
SupercarsRound 2 Mattias EkströmAudi S1
2021RX1 Timmy HansenPeugeot 208
RX2e Jesse KallioOMSE QEV RX2e
2023RX1e Johan KristofferssonVolkswagen Polo RX1e

Notes and References

  1. News: History (in Swedish). Finnskoga Motorklubb. 22 June 2016.
  2. News: Photos (in Swedish). Finnskoga Motorklubb. 22 June 2016.
  3. News: ERX Event Winners. rallycross.com. 22 June 2016.