An Afternoon with Andreas Bakkerud

From saving his own money to buy his first kart at just nine years old, to competing at the highest levels of rallycross and building his own racing team, this is the story of Andreas Bakkerud.

In an exclusive interview with SLICKS, he reflects on his beginnings, his biggest racing memories, his relationship with Ken Block, the challenges of building his own team and what comes next.

Where did your journey in motorsport begin?

My motorsport journey started when I was just nine years old. I began karting and had around €1,000 saved from doing jobs around the house like vacuuming, doing the dishes, cleaning my room and anything else I could do to earn money.

I used that money to buy my first kart and bring it home.

My dad then told me that if I wanted to race, I needed to find sponsors. So I went to my neighbours, knocked on their doors and asked if they would sponsor me.

The first neighbour I approached said yes and gave me €100. I thanked him and went straight on to the next neighbour.

That was how it started. One small step at a time.

I raced karts from the age of nine until I was 16, before getting a special dispensation to move into rallycross.

How did you progress through the different levels of rallycross?

The progression happened gradually. I started in the Norwegian Championship, then moved into the European Championship and eventually the World Championship.

Along the way, I also had opportunities to experience many other forms of motorsport, including Nitro Rallycross, X Games, Pikes Peak, DTM testing, Formula 2 and Formula 4 testing, and GT racing.

You name it, I’ve been there, done that.

What does Höljes mean to you?

Höljes means the world to us in rallycross.

It's one of the biggest events and biggest scenes in rallycross, and the first weekend of July has become a magical weekend every year.

I've been fortunate enough to win there twice, in 2013 and 2016, and I'd love to do it again.

It's one of those places where the atmosphere, the fans and the history make the event incredibly special.

What is the race that stands out most in your career?

It's very difficult to choose just one.

The 2019 season finale in Cape Town is certainly one that stands out. It was essentially me versus Timmy Hansen, with the winner becoming World Champion.

I finished second and Timmy finished fourth, but he still won the championship because the title was decided by the number of race victories.

If I had won that race, I would have taken the championship.

That one still hurts.

Another unforgettable weekend was Höljes in 2016. I became the first driver to win everything at an event — Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, the semi-final and the final.

It was also the first win for the Hoonigan Racing Division, which made it even more special.

What is your earliest memory of motorsport?

My earliest memories come from watching my dad compete in something called folk racing in Norway.

It's a very grassroots form of motorsport, similar to rallycross but much cheaper and more accessible.

I remember watching my dad and uncle racing rear-wheel-drive cars. The cars would squat and slide around on the gravel, almost like drifting, before looking incredibly neat on the tarmac.

I was fascinated by the way the drivers could almost dance with the car.

When I played with toy cars as a kid, I would imagine what it would feel like to drive them for real.

How would you describe your rallycross career so far?

It's been a career of highs, some lows, and a lot of building things step by step.

I started by building my career from the ground up, then eventually signed with Ken Block and the Hoonigan Racing Division. Those were some incredible years and I loved every minute of it.

I then joined EKS Sport for 2018 before moving into Nitro Rallycross and eventually returning to the European Championship.

Now, I'm at another important stage of my career: owning my own race team and my own race car.

It doesn't get much cooler than that.

What inspired you to build your own team?

Over the years I've competed against some of the biggest names and teams in rallycross, including Petter Solberg's team, Hansen Motorsport, Kristoffersson Motorsport and EKS.

Many of my rivals had their own teams, and I always wanted to be part of that world.

Eventually, we decided to create our own team with a big group of people from Bergen, where I come from.

It wouldn't have been possible without them.

We're trying to build our own future in rallycross, and the journey so far has been incredible.

What has it been like building the team?

It's been a long-term project.

We started at home in the Norwegian Rallycross Championship, with a few international events to gain experience.

Then we took a big step into the European Championship.

The European Championship is one of the biggest stages in rallycross today, and this has been an important part of our development.

The ultimate goal is to eventually move into the World Championship.

How important was your first international European Championship victory?

It meant more to me than I expected.

Winning in Hungary was our first international victory in the European Rallycross Championship.

There had been so much pressure and so much work behind the scenes. It wasn't just my effort, the entire crew had put in countless hours.

We also have many volunteers involved with the team who sacrifice time with their families and days off work to make this possible.

To get that result and share it with my best friends and family was an incredible reward.

What are your ambitions for the future?

I'm someone who lives in the moment, so it's difficult for me to say exactly where I'll be several years from now.

I've focused on racing for most of my life, and even though I'm now 35, I still feel like I'm 18.

I want to keep driving race cars for as much of my life as possible.

Of course, I want to win the World Championship. I also want to expand the team and continue enjoying what we do.

I've got two beautiful kids as well, so I want to be there for them and follow their journey.

Ultimately, I want to have fun and enjoy life.

What was your first rallycross race like?

My debut was when I was 15, turning 16, in a full race car.

My dad had a mechanical workshop next to our house, but he had never let me drive his cars.

The problem was that I didn't really know how to use the clutch and gears properly.

Before my first race, I had to get the car from the paddock to the grid.

I asked my dad to drive it for me because I knew I could dump the clutch and spin the wheels.

He said no.

So I had to drive it myself, bouncing my way through the pre-grid and looking like the biggest rookie ever.

I still remember it today.

Who were your racing heroes growing up?

One of my biggest heroes was Martin Schanche, essentially Mr Rallycross.

He dominated the sport during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

Later, Petter Solberg became another major hero of mine after winning the World Rally Championship in 2003.

I eventually worked for Petter when I was younger in Torsby, Sweden.

Then, incredibly, we ended up racing against each other.

At that point he wasn't quite the same hero anymore, but we're good friends today and I really enjoy spending time with him.

What was it like racing and travelling with Ken Block?

Driving with Ken was unique.

We became very close, and Ken would often say that I was like his second son.

But it wasn't just about driving together, because I also travelled around the world with him.

Ken was a character. He was a pioneer and an icon of motorsport.

He was incredibly hardworking. He'd wake up in the morning, get straight onto his laptop and spend the day working, drinking coffee and Monster.

You couldn't really describe how his brain worked because nobody could.

He was an amazing person, and I miss his smile every day.

He hated hugs and because of that I tried to give him one every day anyway, ha!

What made your 2016 Höljes victory so special?

At the time I was part of Ford Racing, which was known as Ford Performance.

There was a lot of pressure on Ford that year because of the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT returning to Le Mans.

Things hadn't gone particularly well for them before Höljes.

After I won, Henry Ford III called me on the Sunday to thank me for the victory because it helped take some of the pressure off heading into Le Mans.

That was a huge moment for me.

The atmosphere at Höljes was incredible too. Around 80% of the fans from Norway seemed to be wearing Bakkerud blue.

Before the semi-final, there was a parade where we waved to the fans. I remember being incredibly nervous and trying to hide behind my glasses.

I was only around 24 or 25 years old, so there were a lot of nerves and pressure.

But what a weekend.

What is your experience with Extreme E and hydrogen-powered racing?

Extreme E and the move towards hydrogen-powered racing is a very different discipline from rallycross.

The concept is to create races far away from cities, in remote locations around the world, including places such as Greenland, Saudi Arabia, Chile and Sardinia.

The idea is to leave a better footprint than when the event arrived.

It's extremely challenging, which is appropriate considering the name.

As a driver, some aspects are difficult to understand at first because it's so different from traditional racing.

But that's also what makes it interesting.

It's different, it's challenging and it's cool.

How different is GT racing from rallycross?

I've also had the opportunity to compete in GT racing, including 24-hour races and events such as the 12 Hours of Spa.

I've raced GT4 cars, including the Audi R8, with Lion Speed GP.

The difference compared with rallycross is huge.

Rallycross is all about sprinting. Everything happens incredibly quickly, bang, bang, bang, and you're finished after a few laps.

In GT racing, you can be in the car for two or two and a half hours during a stint.

I remember one race in Portimão where it was extremely hot. I didn't even realise the car had air conditioning, so I was sweating heavily.

At the end of my stint, I told the next driver that I hadn't wet myself, I'd just been sweating so much.

Unfortunately, all he heard through his helmet was that I had wet myself.

He got into the car thinking exactly that.

That was Patrick Kolb.

He wasn't very happy!

What is the biggest difference between rallycross and endurance racing?

The mentality is completely different.

In GT racing, you can spend more than two hours in the car, with long straights and periods where you can manage your pace.

In rallycross, something is happening almost constantly.

You need to be switched on 100% of the time.

A rallycross race might only last five laps, but every one of those laps is intense.

There are similarities between the disciplines, but there are also huge differences.

What comes next?

The ambition is clear: expand the team, win the World Championship and eventually have a second car competing alongside us.

Most importantly, I want to keep doing what I love.

Keep racing. Keep building. Keep having fun. And go flat out for the rest of my life.