NGK-Masters Championship celebrates 20 years of folkrace in Sweden

White stock car in action on a dirt track swirling dust
Niterra has a long and successful history of supporting elite teams from the world of motorsport, including Formula 1, MotoGP, Motocross, Speedway, and the World Rally Championship. However, one of its strongest collaborations is with the premier NGK-Masters Championship folkrace series, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. The NGK-Masters Championship, held at Kalvholmen Motorstadion in Karlstad, Sweden, is known as the ‘championship of champions’ within the country's folkrace community. As the name suggests, it pits the finest rally and rallycross drivers against the best amateur competitors in an excitingly different competition that has become a firm favourite among racing fans and contestants alike. The competition is renowned for blending professional-level skill with grassroots accessibility, making it one of Sweden's most beloved sporting events.

Organised by Racecrew and Karlstads MC-Bill, the championship begins with around 144 participants aged between 15 and 60 years old, competing in senior, junior, or dam (female) categories. The races draw huge crowds eager to watch amateurs race head-to-head with seasoned professionals such as eight-time World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson. That said, the cars and budgets are tightly regulated to ensure a fair chance for all, and only strictly limited modifications are allowed on the inexpensive road cars. These must meet strict safety standards that include having a roll cage and an FIA-approved seat and harness. Drivers must wear fire-resistant overalls, a helmet, and gloves, and avoid intentional contact with other cars. Races are held on oval or figure-eight dirt tracks that limit speeds to around 80 kph. In line with the quirky nature of this Nordic rallycross event, there is even an alternative track that drivers can only access after the race has started. Indeed, fun is the name of the game here, and the age of the cars and the varied racing conditions mean that even seasoned racing champions have a special place in their hearts for this event, and consequently, return year after year.

This Swedish contest, which is firmly embedded in Scandinavian culture, began in Arvika in 2005, relocating to its current home in Karstad two years later. With high levels of media coverage and public attendance, competition for places on the starting grid is very intense, with over 400 people competing for one of the 120 places in the senior category. Those lucky enough to win a position on the starting grid must have obtained a licence from the Svenska Bilsportförbundet (SBF) racing body and completed a mandatory online training course. Additionally, all cars must have an SBF document verifying technical compliance and must adhere to rules governing noise emissions and fuel requirements.

This year's competition, held on the weekend of 27-28 September, saw Patrick Adolfsson (senior class winner), Emma Karlsson (women's category winner), and Hugo Nordgren (junior class) as the lucky winners on the podium who got to lift one of the championship’s distinctive spark-plug-shaped trophies. For those who were not fortunate enough to be trackside at this unique event, the entire championship was livestreamed on SBFPlay.se.

 

Back

Niterra Blogs