Höljesbanan

Höljesbanan

Location	Höljes, Värmland, Sweden
Time zone	UTC+1
Coordinates	60°55′01″N 12°33′18″E / 60.917°N 12.555°E / 60.917; 12.555
Operator	Finnskoga Motorklubb
Opened	1976
Major events	Euro RX (1991–present) World RX (2014–present)
Surface	Asphalt (60%) Gravel (40%)
Length	1.19 km (0.73 mi)

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 first corner on the circuit

The split for the regular and joker laps at the start of the circuit

The joker lap exit

The Velodrome corner at the far end of the circuit

The infamous Höljes jump is one of the most iconic images in Rallycross...

...and has retained its' character despite changing from gravel to tarmac after 1991

The final corner. The VIP marquee is seen on the left, and the grid is on the right just out of shot

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]

Spectator records

One of the reasons the 'Magic Weekend' is held in such high regard is due to the size of the crowd the event pulls. For a small village of less than 150 residents, the town is engulfed with as many as 300 times as many people come race week. The most recent event crowd attendance figures are listed below.

• 2006 = 19,200
• 2007 = 21,500
• 2008 = 23,400
• 2009 = 25,500
• 2010 = 26,850
• 2013 = 29,200
• 2014 = 34,400
• 2015 = 39,800
• 2016 = 44,400

Event history

European rallycross

European Championship winners[3]
Year	Division	Driver	Car
1991	Division 1	Kenneth Hansen	Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth
	Division 2	Will Gollop	MG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo
1992	Not Held
1993	Division 1	Eivind Opland	Nissan Sunny GTI-R
	Division 2	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën ZX T16 4x4
	1400cc Cup	Björn Ohlsson	Citroën AX Sport
1994	Not Held
1995
1996
1997	Division 1	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS 2000 T16 4x4
	Division 2	Eivind Opland	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III
	1400cc Cup	Roger Lagergren	Peugeot 205 Rallye
1998	Not Held
1999	Division 1	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS 2000 T16 4x4
	Division 2	Gert Vestergaard	Peugeot 306 S16
	1400cc Cup	Peter Nielsen	Rover Metro GTi
2000	Division 1	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara WRC
	Division 2	Magnus Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS
	1400cc Cup	Sven Seeliger	Citroën AX GTi
2001	Division 1	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara WRC
	Division 2	Magnus Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS
	Division 2A	Sven Seeliger	Citroën AX GTi
2002	Division 1	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara WRC
	Division 2	Jouko Kallio	Honda Civic Type R
	Division 2A	Aleš Zázvorka	Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
2003	Division 1	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara T16 4x4
	Division 1A	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 206
	Division 2	Guttorm Lindefjell	Opel Astra OPC
2004	Division 1	Sverre Isachsen	Ford Focus T16 4x4
	Division 1A	Ron Snoeck	SEAT Ibiza
	Division 2	Jussi Pinomäki	Renault Clio RSR
2005	Division 1	Michael Jernberg	Ford Focus T16 4x4
	Division 1A	Zdeněk Čermák	Škoda Fabia
	Division 2	Niklas Hagström	Honda Civic Type R
2006	Division 1	Sverre Isachsen	Ford Focus T16 4x4
	Division 1A	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 206
	Division 2	Niklas Hagström	Honda Civic Type R
2007	Division 1	Lars Larsson	Škoda Fabia 6Y T16 4x4
	Division 1A	Michaël de Keersmaecker	Opel Corsa C
	Division 2	Niklas Hagström	Honda Civic Type R
	RX Cup	Jos Sterkens	Ford Fiesta RWD
2008	Division 1	Marcus Grönholm	Ford Fiesta ST
	Division 1A	Jussi Pinomäki	Renault Clio
	Division 2	Tomáš Kotek	Honda Civic Type R
	RX Cup	Per Niklas Lööv	Citroën Xsara RWD
2009	Division 1	Stig-Olov Walfridsson	Renault Clio T16 4x4
	Division 1A	Timur Timerzyanov	Renault Clio Mk2
	Division 2	Knut Ove Børseth	Ford Fiesta ST RWD
2010	Division 1	Sverre Isachsen	Ford Focus ST
	Division 1A	Timur Timerzyanov	Renault Clio Mk2
	Division 2	Lars Øivind Enerberg	Ford Fiesta ST RWD
2011	Supercars	Tanner Foust	Ford Fiesta T16 4x4
	Super1600	Krzysztof Skorupski	Volkswagen Polo 9N3
	Touring Car	Lars Øivind Enerberg	Ford Fiesta ST RWD
2012	Supercars	Timur Timerzyanov	Citroën DS3 T16 4x4
	Super1600	Ulrik Linnemann	Peugeot 207
	Touring Car	Robin Larsson	Škoda Fabia 6Y RWD
	Junior Cup	Kevin Hansen	"Citroën DS3" JRX
2013	Supercars	Andreas Bakkerud	Citroën DS3
	Super1600	Ulrik Linnemann	Peugeot 207
	Touring Car	Derek Tohill	Ford Fiesta RWD
	Junior Cup	Kevin Hansen	"Citroën DS3" JRX
2014	Super1600	Sergey Zagumennov	Škoda Fabia 5J
	Touring Car	Tom Daniel Tånevik	Mazda RX-8
2015	Super1600	Jānis Baumanis	Renault Twingo Mk2
	Touring Car	Fredrik Salsten	Citroën DS3 RWD
2016	Supercars	Kevin Hansen	Peugeot 208
	Super1600	Ulrik Linnemann	Peugeot 208
	Touring Car	Ben-Philip Gundersen	Ford Fiesta ST RWD

World rallycross

Year	Division	Driver	Car
2014	Supercars	Mattias Ekström	Audi S1
2015	Supercars	Mattias Ekström	Audi S1
2016	Supercars	Andreas Bakkerud	Ford Focus

References

External links

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