Robin Larsson began the 2023 calendar year on a high note when he scored the inaugural Nitrocross Group E championship. On Sunday, he ended 2023 by winning the final Group E race of the year at Glen Helen Raceway.
He finished third in the first Group E race on Saturday behind Oliver Eriksson and Conner Martell. Eriksson held off a hard charge from Martell to notch his first win of the year, while Martell still bagged his second career Group E podium and first since Phoenix last season.
Larsson dominated Sunday’s event from the start with Fraser McConnell behind him. Save for a disappointing sixth in Utah, he finished on the podium in six of the other races in 2023 and holds a 23-point edge over Eriksson in the standings.
“I had a bad race in Utah, then it’s been consistent, and Kevin’s been also really consistent so it’s really hard,” said Larsson. “It’s lot of points now with the new qualification system so you need to be bang on it in the morning and really win that and go to the [Top Qualifier] so that’s the most stressful moment of the weekend because you really need to win that, if Kevin and the top guys win. You can give anything away, it’s a lot of points there but I like it.
“It’s really tight in the championship, to have Kevin up there is really fun also, we’ve been racing against each other for a long time and he couldn’t do the long run last year so it’s really nice to see him going for the championship this year. But it feels really good to have a bigger lead now than we had this morning.”
Lia Block was classified eighth in her Group E début on Sunday, splitting her seat with Travis Pastrana. Despite reaching the final, a rear engine failure prevented her from making any progress.
Round 6 results
Group E
| Finish | Number | Driver | Team | Margin |
| 1 | 16 | Oliver Eriksson | OMSE | 5:06.477 |
| 2 | 21 | Conner Martell | Vermont SportsCar | + .309 |
| 3 | 4 | Robin Larsson | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC | + 2.906 |
| 4 | 23 | Kevin Eriksson | OMSE | + 2.942 |
| 5 | 35 | Fraser McConnell | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | + 3.755 |
| 6 | 13 | Andreas Bakkerud | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC | + 4.675 |
| 7 | 199 | Travis Pastrana | Vermont SportsCar | + 5.736 |
| 8 | 38 | Brian Deegan | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC | DNF |
| 9 | 31 | Viktor Vranckx | VMV Racing | DNF |
NEXT
| Finish | Number | Driver | Team | Margin |
| 1 | 36 | Casper Jansson | OMSE | 5:30.885 |
| 2 | 57 | Lia Block | OMSE | + 2.807 |
| 3 | 17 | Patrick Gruszka | Green Apu | + 7.980 |
| 4 | 555 | Lane Vacala | BAK 40 Motorsport | + 11.334 |
| 5 | 44 | Jimmy Henderson | BAK 40 Motorsport | + 15.659 |
| 6 | 14 | David Sterckx | PPD Motorsport | + 20.077 |
| 7 | 99 | Eric Gordon | BAK 40 Motorsport | + 22.784 |
| 8 | 191 | Alastair Scully | Scully Racing | + 48.121 |
SxS
| Finish | Number | Driver | Margin |
| 1 | 199 | Travis Pastrana | 5:28.439 |
| 2 | 21 | Kainan Baker | + .741 |
| 3 | 9 | Michael Leach | + 8.943 |
| 4 | 28 | Gray Leadbetter | + 9.951 |
| 5 | 143 | Tyler Remmereid | + 12.171 |
| 6 | 82 | Mika Block | + 13.810 |
| 7 | 4 | Donald Cerrone | + 26.709 |
| 8 | 38 | Brian Deegan | + 2 laps |
| 9 | 13 | Letícia Bufoni | + 2 laps |
| 10 | 188 | Terry Madden | DNF |
Round 7 results
Group E
| Finish | Number | Driver | Team | Margin |
| 1 | 4 | Robin Larsson | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC | 5:08.208 |
| 2 | 35 | Fraser McConnell | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | + .350 |
| 3 | 23 | Kevin Eriksson | OMSE | + 1.758 |
| 4 | 31 | Viktor Vranckx | VMV Racing | + 2.337 |
| 5 | 21 | Conner Martell | Vermont SportsCar | + 38.821 |
| 6 | 16 | Oliver Eriksson | OMSE | + 38.821 |
| 7 | 38 | Brian Deegan | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | + 3 laps |
| 8 | 57 | Lia Block | Vermont SportsCar | + 4 laps |
| 9 | 13 | Andreas Bakkerud | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC | DNF |
NEXT
| Finish | Number | Driver | Team | Margin |
| 1 | 36 | Casper Jansson | OMSE | 5:27.498 |
| 2 | 44 | Jimmy Henderson | BAK 40 Motorsport | + 3.009 |
| 3 | 55 | Lane Vacala | BAK 40 Motorsport | + 11.850 |
| 4 | 14 | David Sterckx | PPD Motorsport | + 16.236 |
| 5 | 99 | Eric Gordon | BAK 40 Motorsport | + 16.469 |
| 6 | 17 | Patrick Gruszka | Green Apu | + 19.650 |
| 7 | 21 | Kainan Baker | Team Baccco | + 3 laps |
| 8 | 191 | Alastair Scully | Scully Racing | + 5 laps |
SxS
| Finish | Number | Driver | Margin |
| 1 | 21 | Kainan Baker | 5:27.478 |
| 2 | 143 | Tyler Remmereid | + 5.171 |
| 3 | 28 | Gray Leadbetter | + 6.097 |
| 4 | 38 | Brian Deegan | + 6.690 |
| 5 | 9 | Michael Leach | + 7.076 |
| 6 | 199 | Travis Pastrana | + 8.396 |
| 7 | 82 | Mika Block | + 10.171 |
| 8 | 4 | Donald Cerrone | + 6 laps |
| 9 | 15 | Kira Block | + 6 laps |
| 10 | 13 | Letícia Bufoni | DNF |