An engine issue for Christoffer Bergström handed the 2024 V8 Thunder Cars championship title to Andreas Nilsson on Nilsson’s final event as a full-time competitor.
V8 Thunder Cars ended their 2024 season with one hell of a round at Mantorp Park. Not only did the event see V8TC’s largest field size in many years with 25 cars entered for the two races at the 3.106 kilometer circuit, it also saw a dramatic title battle that went down to the wire.
A 1-2 finish for Andreas Nilsson and Christoffer Bergström in Race 1 set the grounds for a final showdown in Race 2. Nilsson lost out to Tommie Eliasson for the race win, but still came out as the victor in the championship due to Bergström having engine issues.
It marked a fitting end to Nilsson’s career, as the newly crowned three-time champion will step away from full-time competition at the end of the year for family reasons.
Race 1 Recap
Drama began before the race had even started when Conny Brorsson’s No. 22 Gavatec Ford experienced a terminal mechanical issue just as he was about to park his car on the grid.
With Conny stranded on the side of the track, a second formation lap had to be done to give marshalls the opportunity to recover the stricken Team Brorsson machine.
When the race did go underway, Nilsson stormed to the lead and left front-row starter Linus Holgersson in the dust when the field entered the first corner.
Holgersson’s day turned from bad to worse when he made contact with Stein Frederic Akre at Pariskurvan. The impact destroyed the front-left suspension in Holgersson’s No. 33 Bergs Fegen Camaro and he was forced to limp his car to retirement in the pits.
The early scuffle moved Bergström up to second place from fourth on the grid. However, Nilsson was given enough of an advantage to lead all laps. Nilsson therefore secured his third win of the season, beating Bergström and Frederic Akre who completed the podium.
Tommie just barely avoided the first lap incident and wound up in fourth ahead of Niklas Kristiansson, who took a top-5 finish in just his fourth race in V8TC.
With Niklas’s car from Anderstorp used by his son Alexzander, the elder Kristiansson raced the second blue Gustavson Bil Motorsport Ford Mustang that was previously driven by Johan Blomberg.
Filip Engdahl, returning in the No. 23 E #23 Camaro, took sixth ahead of two Mercedes-Benz drivers Charbel Jomha and Per-Olof Selerup. Julia Eliasson and Robert Moller completed the top-10 ahead of Alexander Andersson.
Outside of Holgersson and Conny, five more drivers were eliminated from the race. Alexzander Kristiansson’s day ended in the pits on lap 5, the same lap where Kristoffer Norling spun his No. 69 Norling Racing Camaro to the grass.
Anders Gustavson did not have a good day either, spinning out of fourth on lap 1 before retiring on lap 7. Tomas Engström, who replaced son Jonte due to Jonte’s other commitments, and Ronny Olsson were the final retirements, retiring after 7 and 8 laps respectively.
Race 2 Recap
The Grand Finale of the 2024 V8 Thunder Cars season was due to feature 25 cars, led by first-time pole sitter Holgersson. However, Tommy Aker and Olsson both failed to start after they had terminal mechanical issues.
Holgersson handled the launch well and led to the first corner. Nilsson, Frederic Akre, Bergström, Conny and Tommie followed the youngster and piled in the pressure on the opening lap.
The pressure got to Holgersson, who lost his lead to Nilsson at the start of lap 2. The driver of the No. 21 Racebil.se Camaro did not lead at the end of the lap, however, as Frederic Akre made an ambitious move on the final corner to take the lead instead.
The complexity of the race changed completely on lap 5 when Bergström suddenly pulled to the pits. The No. 42 Team Pampas Ford had engine trouble and while Bergström did get back on the track, his title chances were over.
Back at the front, Tommie soon found his way past both Holgersson and Nilsson. The driver of the No. 52 Team Brorsson Camaro quickly caught up to Frederic Akre’s No. 98 Team Trysil Camaro and engaged in a duel that went from lap after lap.
With just two laps to go, Tommie put up a challenge on Frederic Akre at F2-kurvan. Frederic Akre forcefully shut the door and paid the price with a spin after the two drivers made contact.
Tommie escaped a penalty and cruised to his third win of the season. Behind him, Nilsson celebrated as well as his runner-up finish was enough to secure his third consecutive title in V8 Thunder Cars.
“We were far behind in the championship at the beginning, but we continued to work on the car,” said Nilsson on his title triumph. “We have spent an extreme amount of time getting the car in order, more than ever before.”
Frederic Akre’s spin was a blessing for Holgersson, who took his first overall podium finish in third. Conny and Isac Aronsson completed the top-5, the latter getting enough points to secure the title in the Junior Trophy.
Niklas came home in sixth ahead of Frederic Akre with Gustavson, Alexzander and Julia rounding out the top-10. Only two drivers retired from the race: Daniel Wigren had mechanical trouble at half-distance while opening lap contact forced Jomha to retire early.
Final Championship Standings
Andreas Nilsson became a triple champion with three wins, four additional podiums and 200 points to his name. Tommie came up just five points short in second place, the early season retirements proving to be costly for the Team Brorsson driver.
Christoffer Bergström led the majority of the season, but the last race engine issue relegated the 53-year old to third with 184 points. Bergström did not leave the season empty handed, however, as he had already clinched the Super Star Trophy at Kanonloppet.
Frederic Akre, the last of the drivers with a realistic title shot at Mantorp Park, was fourth with 174 points. The sole non-Swedish full-timer on the grid was 92 points ahead of Conny Brorsson, who was the best of the rest in fifth.
Isac Aronsson not only led the Junior Trophy classifications, he’s also the leading Junior driver in the overall standings in sixth place with 73 points. Seventh was Charbel Jomha, who was named as “Rookie of the Year” despite finishing one point behind fellow rookie Aronsson.
Linus Holgersson’s maiden podium ensured that he took eighth in the standings ahead of Jonathan “Jonte” Engström and Anders Gustavson. Gustavson’s four points haul in the final race was enough for the 2023 Super Star winner to beat Julia Eliasson for tenth.
Julia still made female drivers proud with her career-best 11th place finish, earning her the “Most Improved Driver of the Year” award in the process.
Niklas Kristiansson, Robert Moller, Dennis Strandberg, Per-Olof Selerup, Mathias Hansen, Filip Engdahl, Alexzander Kristiansson, Alexander Andersson, Kristoffer Norling and Ronny Olsson completed the points scoring drivers.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.
Last Updated: 14 December 2024