Let’s be honest, dominant performances are nothing new in American rallying. From the early days of Buffum to the occasional win by Higgins, and more recently, the Canadian-British duo that has ruled the scene for the past few years.
Now, there’s a Swede by the name of Calle.
While one standout performance doesn’t necessarily signal a new era, the 24-year-old Carlberg was undeniably exceptional during an unexpectedly sunny weekend in Salem.
His talent is clear. Finishing second in last year’s Junior ERC showed his speed, but few anticipated the Team FJ Peugeot 208 Rally4 would dominate the Open 2WD class in last week’s 100 Acre Wood Rally.
After just one stage in the second round of this year’s ARA National Championship presented by Kubota, DirtFish was already looking sharp. We expected a fierce fight for O2WD honors, but Carlberg had a 1.5-second lead over Micah Nickelson. By stage two, it was starting to look one-sided. After the first loop, he was a minute ahead. By the end of day one, it was looking like a done deal, and a day later, he won the class by nearly seven minutes, taking victory on every stage.
Welcome to America.
“Thank you,” he said with a polite smile. “Actually, it’s the first time I’ve ever been to America – I got the full American experience with the tornado! It’s really cool, so many people. We don’t have anything like this parc expose, even in the European [Rally] Championship. It feels like American rallying is in a good place.”
But what about that pace?
“I didn’t know what to expect from this rally,” he admitted.
That’s understandable. America’s flexibility to pit a three-liter BMW M3 or a V6-engined Escort against a front-wheel-drive car from Europe is part of the appeal. Watching Carlberg walk around parc expose in Potosi, south of St. Louis, at lunchtime on Friday was intriguing. He was a long way from his southern Swedish home in Jönköping.
Once he had the 208 ready for stage mode an hour later, Carlberg couldn’t have looked more at ease.
“It was so much fun,” he said at the finish. “Maybe the car doesn’t have as much power as what you’re used to here, but it’s so much fun – and there were a lot of spectators coming up saying I’m even wider than the four-wheel-drive cars. That really put a big smile on my face.”
“But, honestly, I was just trying to drive with zero mistakes. Yesterday (Friday) I was exploring the car a little bit, but today I pushed harder. We’ve been trying to show what the car can do – that’s the goal from Peugeot and Stellantis, to bridge the gap between the European rallying market and the American one.”
“I think we’ve done that. We’ve shown American drivers that this car is a great choice to buy and drive in America. And it’s even easier for them to take it to Europe if they want.”
And as for Calle? Will he return to America?
The answer came as quickly as it was enthusiastic.
“Love to.”