The first day of Nitro Rallycross Minneapolis has passed. It started off chaotic but seemed to calm down by the day’s end.
Group E Qualifying
Travis Pastrana would win the Group E qualifier to qualify for pole position in the first Battle Bracket Qualifying Heat. Pastrana’s Vermont Sportscar teammate Conner Martell would place second. Qualifying for pole position in Battle Bracket Qualifying Heat Two.
Group E Battle Bracket Qualifier Heat One
Travis Pastrana would win his Qualifying heat. Pastrana would finish the heat 0.598 seconds ahead of Kevin Eriksson. Andrew Carlson would come in third 0.076 seconds behind Eriksson. Oliver Eriksson would only race two of the four laps due to a puncture. Andreas Bakkerud wouldn’t start the heat.
Group E Battle Bracket Qualifier Heat Two
Conner Martell would win his qualifying heat. Martell would beat Robin Larsson by 2.261 seconds. Jenson Button would come in third, finishing 14.818 seconds behind Larsson. Oliver Bennett would only race one lap and retire from the heat due to a puncture. Fraser McConnell would not start the race.
Group E Battle Bracket Quarterfinal
T. Pastrana Vs. O. Bennett
Travis Pastrana would win his Battle Bracket after Oliver Bennett wouldn’t start the race.
K. Eriksson Vs. A. Carlson
Kevin Eriksson would win his Battle Bracket to move onto the semi-final. Beating Andrew Carlson by 1.650 seconds.
C. Martell Vs. O. Eriksson
Oliver Eriksson would be the second Eriksson to advance to the semi-final. Beating Conner Martell by 3.026 seconds.
R. Larsson Vs. J. Button
Robin Larsson would be the final driver to advance to the semi-final. After beating Jenson Button by 10.062 seconds.
Group E Battle Bracket Semi-Final
T. Pastrana Vs. K. Eriksson
Kevin Eriksson would advance to the final in his first NRX event of the year. After beating Travis Pastrana who DNF’d. Pastrana would only race one lap before getting a puncture.
O. Eriksson Vs. R. Larsson
Robin Larsson would advance to the Battle Bracket final for the second time this season. After beating Oliver Eriksson who DNF’d after two laps.
Group E Battle Bracket Final
Robin Larsson would face off against the returning Kevin Eriksson. Larsson would win the heat to become 2-0 in the Battle Bracket finals this season. As well as make DRR JC 3-0 this season in the battle bracket finals. Larsson would beat Eriksson by 0.35 seconds.
Bakkerud and McConnell Out
Andreas Bakkerud would roll during qualifying after a hard crash. Bakkerud would be ok, his car however would not. Bakkerud would miss all of day one and it’s unknown if he will rejoin tomorrow. Fraser McConnell would suffer the same fate as Bakkerud. As he also rolled during qualifying. McConnell would also make it out ok. It is also unknown if McConnell will rejoin Nitro Rallycross Minneapolis tomorrow.
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
