Euro RX Latvia: Kristoffersson dominates, Meunier makes a dream debut in RX3

Johan Kristoffersson had warned everyone: his return to Euro RX wouldn't be easy. The eight-time world champion kept his word, but not without a struggle. Throughout the weekend, his starts caused him problems, forcing him to fight his way back from the pack several times—in qualifying, the quarterfinals, and the semifinals—before he secured a commanding victory in the final. Facing a field of 30 Supercars, one of the largest since 2018, the competition was intense from start to finish.

The final showcased both KMS's strength as a team and Johan Kristoffersson's exceptional driving skills. From the moment the lights went out, Ole Christian Viby played the perfect teammate role, blocking Andreas Bakkerud on the inside and allowing the eight-time world champion to pull away into the lead. Without radio contact after the second corner, the Swede managed his race alone, observing his rivals in his mirrors to decide when to use his joker. He ultimately led Viby to the finish line for a perfect one-two finish. “On the track, the car was truly impressive. Some parameters aren’t quite right yet, which puts us at a disadvantage, but as soon as we’re in clean air, it performs very well.”, résumé-t-il.

Behind the KMS duo, third place went to 17-year-old Finn Joni Turpeinen, who delivered one of the day's standout performances, resisting repeated attacks from Andreas Bakkerud in the closing laps. The Norwegian, who had impressed with his blistering starts throughout the weekend, tried every possible way to unsettle the young SET Promotion rider, changing his racing line several times on the final straight. The young Finn held firm. "It's incredible to finish on the podium. I don't know how I managed to do it.", he admits. Bakkerud finishes fourth, ahead of Patrick O'Donovan and Juha Rytkönen, whose weekend had also almost ended prematurely due to a fire during the quarter-finals.

Meunier on a roll

In Euro RX3, the revelation of the weekend was French. Nineteen-year-old Julien Meunier dominated the category from start to finish despite a chaotic start—a spin on the very first lap of Saturday's first qualifying session. From then on, the Frenchman never looked back, setting a string of fastest qualifying times to start the final from pole position.

However, the final almost slipped through his fingers. The KMS by Meunier Competition driver lost several positions at the start before finding himself in third place, behind Rytis Gurklys and Nicolas Geleyns. He didn't panic and steadily climbed back up the field, making a masterful overtake on the Lithuanian on the outside of the first corner to take the lead as he exited his joker lap. He then held on to the finish, winning with the composure of a much more experienced driver. “Initially, our goal wasn’t necessarily to come here to win, but we managed to do that. Now we need to maintain this rhythm throughout the season, and that’s what we intend to do.”he said with a humility that contrasted with the dominance of his weekend.

Behind him, Rytis Gurklys—last year's runner-up in the category—finished second after having long believed he had victory in his grasp. Nicolas Geleyns completed the podium with the consistency and composure that characterized his entire weekend. The duel between these three drivers is already shaping up to be one of the key storylines of the 2026 RX3 season.

The championship resumes in two weeks in Nyirád, Hungary, for the second round, with KMS leading in RX1 and Meunier in RX3 — two leaders who will want to confirm that this first weekend was not an accident.

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