BAUMANIS STARS IN RIGA BUT FREAK ISSUE ROBS #YELLOWSQUAD OF TOP RESULT
Latvian Janis Baumanis is a sporting star in his home country and at the fourth round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship on the outskirts of Riga racing for #YellowSquad, he came within touching distance of a dream result, only to be robbed by a freak technical issue.
Entering the event second in the Euro RX1 championship standings following his first podium of the season in Norway, Baumanis was third and then second in the first two heats, held on Saturday. Fifth place in heat three on Sunday morning made for sixth overall in the Ranking classification, following tweaks to the setup of the Peugeot 208 WRX overnight.
Baumanis finished second in his progression race to earn a strong starting position for the semi-finals, where in a bid to make it through to the final and repeat his sensational home win of 12 months prior, Baumanis dashed into the lead in emphatic fashion.
But, while sitting comfortably at the head of the field, an intercooler problem never seen before by the team caused the car to slow mid-race, putting him out of contention.
Baumanis remains second in the standings with two rounds to go, the next of which is in just a fortnight’s time, at Montalegre in Portugal (September 17-18).
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Janis Baumanis
#YellowSquad Euro RX1 driver
Janis Baumanis
“We had a strong weekend and found some extra speed on Sunday. I had a big push for the start of the semi-final and was able to take the advantage until the moment a technical problem happened and that was it. It’s a big shame, especially because the final was held in the rain and I was really hoping the whole weekend to be able to drive in the rain – I think we could have done very well.
It’s not the result that I wanted especially at my home race, but that’s rallycross sometimes. It’s always special to race at home, especially with all of the support that I don’t have the same at any other race. It takes a lot of energy too, but it is a pleasure that we have so great track here, everybody loves it and it’s great to drive. Like I said it was a shame we were not able to give the fans a big result to cheer about in the end, but that’s how it goes.”
Eric Färén
#YellowSquad Team manager
“Until the technical issue happened in the lead of the semi-final, we had a very solid weekend. We struggled a little to find the last tiny bit of pace, but Janis had some very good race wins in the heats.
The intercooler problem was just a freak thing, we have never seen that happen in all the years Hansen Motorsport has run this setup in World RX on the Peugeot 208, so it is just one of those things.
But otherwise, it’s always a pleasure to race here in Riga, and especially with all the support Janis has from the fans. It was a good job too by everyone in the team.”
