NXT Gen Cup title fight heats up at Knutstorp
The NXT Gen Cup title fight heats up this week as the world’s first 100% electric junior touring car cup heads to Knutstorp for the penultimate round of 2023.
The previous race weekend at Gelleråsen saw points lead change for the first time this year, as Linus Granfors’ third win of the year enabled him to get ahead of Ellis Spiezia - who has headed the standings since the Falkenberg premiere.
But the gap is a mere three points between the Swedish and American racer with a total of 130 points still left to fight for from the final two race weekends.
The trio of Elias Adestam, who won the first race at Gelleråsen, Enzo Hallman, who grabbed two podiums last time out and Jonathan Engström, who scored his so-far best finish with second at Gelleråsen, are further but not far behind.
The trio is separated by just 12 points, trailing the points lead by 33, 43 and 44 points respectively.
The short and twisty Knutstorp – often called the mini-Nürburgring of Sweden – is another circuit which is new to the majority of NXT Gen Cup drivers.
Knutstorp offers an interesting mix of hairpins, crests and banked corners, providing thrilling racing.
We have a NXT Gen Cup debutant for this race as well, with former Dutch karting champion Lukas Stiefelhagen joining the field. The 16-year-old will face a stiff challenge to tackle completely new circuit and drive the NXT Gen Cup race car for the first time.
The young talents races the 100% electric LRT NXT1 race cars in NXT Gen Cup, cars which are based on the MINI Cooper SE road car model – featuring a 30kWh battery and 230hp with push-to-pass functionality.
The cars, which run on Hankook Ventus TD tyres, are charged in-between track sessions by ABB E-mobility, the official charging partner to NXT Gen Cup.
The NXT Gen Cup field is headed by the MINI Electric Pacesetter throughout the 2023 season, which made its debut as the official Safety Car for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The NXT Gen Cup venue at Knutstorp starts on Thursday with testing and qualifying, followed by two races on Friday. The races are broadcast LIVE on the NXT Gen Cup YouTube channel.
Schedule
Thursday August 31st
10:00 – Test 1
14:00 – Test 2
17:00 – Qualifying
Friday September 1st
10:00 – Race 1
15:00 – Race 2
Times in CEST
Points and results
2023 NXT Gen Cup entry list
Start no. – Name – Nationality
2 – Greaham Hofmans - Netherlands
3 – Linus Granfors – Sweden
4 – Theo Jernberg – Sweden
5 – Sebastian Kinnmark – Sweden
6 – Mikkel Njor – Denmark
7 – Enzo Hallman – Sweden
8 – Elias Adestam – Sweden
9 – Lukas Stiefelhagen – Netherlands
11 – Ellis Spiezia – USA
12 – Filip Bartoš – Czechia
14 – Katie Turner – United Kingdom
16 – Månz Thalin – Sweden
19 – Alexander Gustafsson – Sweden
21 – Siri Hökfelt – Sweden
27 – Alexzander Kristiansson – Sweden
47 – Jonathan Engström – Sweden
50 – Victor Nielsen – Denmark
51 – Louse Larsson – Sweden
Regulations – Quick overview
The driver with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned the official Swedish Junior Champion by the Swedish Motorsport Federation.
A total of six race weekends are held in Sweden and Germany.
Each race weekend consists of one practice session, one qualifying session and two races of approx. 15 minutes each with standing start.
The grid for the first race is determined by the result of qualifying.
The grid for the second race is determined by the result of Race 1 with the top eight drivers in reversed order.
Qualifying points are awarded to the top 3 drivers through the following scale: 4, 2, 1
Race points are awarded to the top 16 drivers through the following scale: 30, 25, 21, 17, 14, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The fastest lap of each race awards 1 point.
All drivers can utilise the push-to-pass functionality during the races which provides them with a burst of extra power. There is a delay of 5 seconds when activating it, so that driver’s can’t use it in a defensive capacity.
Key links
