Kristensson flying high after Poland podium

The Swede delivered one of the stand-out performances of the Mikolajki-based fixture as he steered his Hyundai i20 R5 to the runners-up spot, just 10-seconds adrift of eventual winner Miko Marczyk. 

It was his first time back in the ERC since 2018 as well as his top-flight debut. While there were no pre-event expectations, Kristensson revealed that ‘the time was right’. 

“I had this feeling, you know?” he told FIAERC.com. “Now it’s my turn - everything goes my way. And I just went for it.

“When it goes like that and you’re confident, everything in the car is working well. For sure, there were some moments here and there, but at the end, it was no big deal. 

“We managed everything so well and, for sure, it’s an incredible pace in the ERC. We just tried our best and it’s so, so fantastic to hold on for the result at the end. We’re all very happy,” he added. 

The former FIA Junior WRC champion is scheduled to contest further championship rounds at Rally Liepāja next month as well August’s Barum Czech Rally Zlín. 

Kristensson’s target is to gain experience and build up his confidence in four-wheel drive machinery after a challenging 2021 season, where he finished just two out of five events with a Ford Fiesta in WRC2. 

“I didn't know what to expect when we came to Poland,” explained the 31-year-old. “We said we're going here for the experience and to learn about the car and learn about the driving and to keep on learning.  

“I still have a lot of work to do to adapt to this car, but it's just fantastic to have these fantastic moments of driving and also finishing in this position. Of course, it’s a really proud moment.”