Honda Red Bull GRC Race Review: Dallas

• Joni Wiman finishes a season-high fifth in the Honda Civic
• Olsbergs MSE scores second consecutive top-five finish
• Honda remains third in the Manufacturers’ Championship

DALLAS, Tex. (June 4, 2016) – Olsbergs MSE, with driver Joni Wiman, score a fifth-place finish in the turbocharged Honda Civic Coupe in the third round of the 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross season.

The inaugural event held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas featured one of the most technical circuits ever constructed in Red Bull GRC competition. Along with the varying track surfaces and ambient weather conditions, the Red Bull Honda Civics managed to showcase the 2.0-liter engines’ durability and agility through the tight, high-braking dirt and asphalt corners and over the 70-foot dirt jump.

Wiman, in the No. 31 Red Bull Honda Civic, started the final on the inside of the second row. His teammate, Sebastian Eriksson, started in the middle of the third row on the 10-car grid for the final.

At the start, Wiman battled wheel-to-wheel with competitor Austin Dyne before passing him through the Joker Lap on the second lap. Wiman held off Dyne and the rest of the field for the remaining eight laps to give the Civic Coupe its second consecutive top-five finish. Due to damage sustained on the first lap, Eriksson was forced to retire from the race on Lap 4.

With the result from Wiman, Honda now resides in third place in Red Bull GRC’s season-long manufacturers’ championship heading into the second double header of the 2016 season. Red Bull GRC heads to the historic Daytona International Speedway for the fourth and fifth rounds of the 12-race championship, June 17-19. Live coverage begins on Sunday, June 19 at 2:30 p.m. EDT on NBC.

Joni Wiman (#31 Red Bull Honda OMSE) on today’s performance: “We didn’t come away with a win or podium finish, but surviving the first corner and finishing in the top five is a good result for us. I’m glad I got [past] [Austin] Dyne early in the race because we [the competitors] get spaced out after the first couple laps. The Civic was great through the corners, which really helped our interval time to him [Dyne] and the rest of the field. We’ll just move on and battle back in Daytona.”

Sebastian Eriksson (#31 Red Bull Honda OMSE): “The final was a tough break for us. We just suffered so much damage in the first couple of laps that we just couldn’t finish the race. I’m gutted for the team because we had such a strong finish in Phoenix, but it will be awesome to return to Daytona. We seem to have a lot of success there, so it will be great to have a doubleheader there.”