The second last round of the 2022 Spanish Autocross Championship was held during the first weekend of October at the Circuit Parc de la Serra de Mollerusa. The competition in the town of Lleida brought a new national title for Speed Car as Pol Durán secured the championship in the Junior Car Cross category with his Xtrem. In addition, the TTR and TTX models from Industrias Lahoz took the first two positions in Division III driven by Eduard Bañeres and Joan Enric de María, while in Car Cross Josep Arque and Joan Salichs took their Wonder to second and third place.
Although it was less crowded than in the previous two events of the event, the races in Division III, the category in which the most powerful single-seaters of the national Autocross compete, were not lacking in interest and excitement. Among them, the Speed Car TTR and TTX were particularly outstanding in Mollerusa, taking the first two positions.
The victory went to Eduard Bañeres who achieved a triumph he had been chasing all season. The TTR driver dominated from start to finish in the decisive race after starting from pole position with two first places and a second in the three qualifying heats. Second in the final was Joan Enric de María, who also won the 1.6 trophy with his TTX. Also competing in the home event was Delfín Lahoz, who set the second fastest time in the timed session but did not take part in the final.
More than a third of the thirty-seven drivers who competed in Mollerusa in the Car Cross category did so at the wheel of the Speed Car Wonder and Xtrem. Three of them made it through the demanding qualifying heats to reach the Final A and two of them finished on the podium.
The best classified was Josep Arqué, who finished with his Wonder in second position, thus culminating a weekend in which he was always in the leading positions, as he was fourth in the timed practice sessions and achieved two firsts and a second in his three qualifying heats. He was accompanied on the podium of the final by Joan Salichs, who also stood out with another Wonder, being third in the decisive race after having occupied the same position in practice and also winning two of the three qualifying heats, just like his teammate.
Arnau Biosca was less fortunate in the final, out of action with his Xtrem in the first round after having placed thirteenth in the qualifying rounds, in which he finished fourth, eighth and ninth..
The great results achieved in the previous rounds of the championship allowed Pol Durán to be proclaimed Junior Champion in Mollerusa despite being out of the race at the start of the final. A setback that did not prevent the young Speed Car Xtrem driver from celebrating the title, the culmination of a fantastic season.
Quim González is also having a year full of good performances, repeating with his Xtrem in Mollerusa the fourth position obtained last month in Miranda de Ebro.
Three more drivers participated in Junior with Speed Car models. Josep Aranda drove his Wonder to ninth place, Aleix Costa was eleventh with his Xtrem and José Manuel Grigera was twelfth with his Wonder.
-> CarCross Junior results (pdf file)
The home race left mixed feelings for Josep Aranda. The Escudería Mollerusa driver was among the best from qualifying, where he set the second fastest time with his Speed Car Wonder, and dominated the heats, achieving three wins that gave him the pole position for the A final. However, a contact on the first lap ended up costing him a drive through penalty that dropped him from third place to sixth, a result that, in any case, keeps him in contention for the title, which will be decided in the final round of the seasonn, at the end of October in Extremadura.
Pictures: CEAX RFEdA press service
