It is triple FIA European Rallycross Champion Andreas Bakkerud currently at the summit of the standings in Euro RX1, after the Norwegian got the better of eight-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson and SET Promotion duo, Joni Turpeinen and Juha Rytkönen.

Bakkerud started as he meant to go on by topping the timesheets in FP1, although Kristoffersson turned the tables in FP2 – with the pair separated on both occasions by the tiniest of margins, as a portent of what was to come.

Bergen Motorsport Evolution's Andreas Bakkerud struck first in the Qualifying stages, dominating Q1 around a circuit that he loves, as he aimed to quickly bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on the podium in the curtain-raising contest in Latvia three weeks ago.

A sluggish start behind the wheel of his Volkswagen Polo obliged Kristoffersson to settle for the third-fastest time, but in their first head-to-head duel of the day in Q2, it was the Swede who emerged on top by just 0.334s. That set the scene for a spectacular scrap in Q3, by which point, the heavens had opened...

Another lacklustre launch put Kristoffersson on the back foot heading into Turn One, with Bakkerud spending much of the first lap forcing his arch-rival wide. The KMS star deployed an early joker strategy in tandem with team-mate Ole Christian Veiby in an attempt to get the undercut, but the SET Promotion stable – under whose awning Bakkerud's Ford Fiesta also runs – was wise to it.

Turpeinen jokered from the lead on lap two, with Rytkönen following suit next time around and Bakkerud waiting until the last lap. While Veiby made the biggest gain – jumping from fourth up to second – the biggest winner was arguably Bakkerud, who emerged back onto the standard lap in third, crucially two spots ahead of Kristoffersson to cement his position at the head of the overnight order.

“It feels good!” the 34-year-old acknowledged. “It’s always brilliant to race against Johan, although Q3 was my first ever time on the Hoosier rain tyres, which are a bit different to what I’ve been on before and took a little while to get used to. I really enjoyed our Q2 battle, even if he narrowly beat me to the line. He’s such a strong driver and hardly ever puts a foot wrong, so you can never hold anything back against him!”

Bakkerud will go into Sunday’s races in possession of a slender three-point advantage over Kristoffersson, with highly-rated rising star Turpeinen – the youngest driver in the ultra-competitive Euro RX1 field at just 17 years of age – three points further back in third following another hugely impressive display.

After unleashing a characteristically lightning-fast launch, the Finn was slowed by a gearbox issue in Q1, before going fifth-quickest in Q2 to move up the ranking and then prevailing in Q3’s battle of the big guns to top the session. Rytkönen was similarly a factor throughout – claiming top four efforts in both Q1 and Q2 – and is right behind his compatriot as SET Promotion maintained its promising start to 2026.

Former Euro RX1 title-winner Patrick O’Donovan was typically fast-and-feisty on his way to fifth in the bumper 30-strong entry, getting his elbows out in his Team RX Racing-run Peugeot 208 to keep himself solidly in the mix, while Danish veteran Ulrik Linnemann sits an excellent sixth in his ageing VW Polo.

The three-time Super1600 (now Euro RX3) Champion exploited his years of experience in the sport to post the second-best time in the greasy conditions of Q3 – falling short of the top spot by just 0.260s – and will be looking to consolidate his encouraging form on Sunday.

Damian Litwinowicz showed a good step forward from the season-opener as the Pole occupies seventh spot at the conclusion of the first three qualifiers, with double French Rallycross Champion Fabien Pailler close behind in eighth – a welcome boost for the Pailler Compétition outfit, after engine issues meant he didn’t even get to race in Rīga. 

Completing the top ten are home hero Andor Trepák – the highest-placed Hungarian – and KMS ace Veiby, both of whom had hard-luck stories to tell. The former lapped fourth-quickest in both practice sessions, but his prodigious pace was all-too-often offset by traffic, while the latter found himself immediately on the fightback after a broken gear lever cost him a chunk of time in Q1. 

The Norwegian responded by going second-fastest to Kristoffersson in Q2 and fourth in Q3, and will be eager to continue climbing the classification in Q4, which will get underway at 10:00 local time (CEST) tomorrow. That will be followed by the Quarter-Finals at 11:30, Semi-Finals at 13:40 and all-important Final at 14:40, with every moment of the exhilarating entertainment to be broadcast live on the series’ YouTube channel.