Sweden/Latvia, April 27 2022
Latvian star Janis Baumanis has joined #YellowSquad to race for championship gold in the FIA European Rallycross Championship this year with a Peugeot 208 RX1.
Baumanis won the Euro RX3 title in 2015 and in the same year stepped up to the Euro RX1 [then called Supercar] within the Hansen Talent Development team, racing a 208 WRX in three rounds of the 2015 campaign, which included finishing on the podium at Hell in Norway.
The 29-year-old has since raced in the World and European Rallycross Championships, scoring World RX podiums in Norway and Canada in 2019, and Euro RX1 race wins and podiums in 2021 (in Latvia and Belgium) on his way to P3 in the overall standings.
#YellowSquad is expanding its operations for 2022 into the FIA European Rallycross Championship alongside it’ programmes with junior drivers, following in the footsteps of Hansen Motorsport, which won 20 Euro RX titles between 1989 and 2016 with Kenneth Hansen, Susann Hansen, Timur Timerzyanov and Kevin Hansen.
#YellowSquad run within the wider Hansen Motorsport umbrella, for Baumanis 2022 is as good as homecoming. The 2022 Euro RX1 season will take place over to six events in Hungary (Nyirad, May 21-22), Sweden (Holjes, July 2-3), Norway (Hell, August 13-14), Latvia (Riga, September 3-4), Portugal (Montalegre, September 17-18), Belgium (Spa, October 8-9).
#YellowSquad is operated by World Rallycross Championship event-winner Kevin Hansen as Team Principal, and former World RX racer Eric Faren, with Faren set to lead the squad for Euro RX events this season.
Janis Baumanis – #YellowSquad Euro RX 1 driver
“I’m very, very happy to drive with #YellowSquad this year. I started my Supercar career with the Hansen team back in 2015 and I’m very happy that I am back in the most famous team in the rallycross world. We’re doing the full Euro RX championship. Last year it was a very nice championship with very good drivers, and I believe it will be even more interesting with even more good names and cars this year. I’m looking forward to having a lot of fun and fighting for the top places in the championship.”
Kevin Hansen – #YellowSquad Team Principal
“It’s fantastic to expand #YellowSquad operations into the next step of our journey. This has always been the goal, the vision for the brand has always been to have multiple positions on the ladder in rallycross, and now we are there with #YellowSquad in Euro RX. Within the Hansen organisation we now have every step covered from Crosscar all the way to the top in rallycross. It’s super cool to have Janis back in the team after he drove for Hansen Talent Development a few years ago. He’s come here to fight for European gold, he’s been very much in the battle in recent years and now with this car and team we have a really good chance to make some really good results.”
Eric Färén – #YellowSquad Team Manager
“It’s really exciting for the whole #YellowSquad team to grow like this, and take the step up to Euro RX1, especially given the history that #YellowSquad’s parent team Hansen Motorsport has in the European Championship. Signing a deal with an event-winner and proven front-runner like Janis is a great achievement for us. I have known Janis for many years and I’m sure he will be incredibly strong in the 208 WRX. This season. We have a great package and I can’t wait to get the season started.”
For more info: FIA European Rallycross Championship 2022
