Jānis Baumanis, one of Latvia’s leading rallycross riders, will return to the international competition this weekend, participating in the 1st stage of the European Rallycross Championship in Sweden. He has spent several seasons in the world championship before, this year Baumanis has taken a relative step back and joined the European championship team, while in a conversation with LSM.lv the motorist admitted that the goal of this season is to win the title of European champion.
This season, Baumanis will represent the Lithuanian team “ESMotorsport”, driving an all-wheel drive “Škoda Fabia” rallycross car. Motorsport fans will remember that last year Reinis Nitišs participated in the Biķernieki track with the same team and car at the World Championship stage. “I will drive almost exactly the same car as Reinis drove in the Riga section. The car has undergone various improvements, it has been restored and rebuilt after last year’s season, it is in perfect condition and condition, ”says Baumanis.
He has ridden at the level of the world championship in the previous seasons, this year Baumanis will drive relatively below the level, starting in the European Championship and representing the Lithuanian team “ESMotorsport”. Both the team and the rider have great ambitions – this year to compete for the title of European champion, but in the coming years also to start in the world championship.
“The beginnings of cooperation and communication started already when they started building the car, it was around the end of 2017. In 2018, they already wanted me to come to them, but I had a contract signed for the next two years. The communication also continued all the time and in 2019, after the last leg in South Africa, I was already asked to book a day and try out their car. We tested their car on that track and there was already a positive ride, ten laps on that track. The car and the team left a good impression, ”Baumanis says about the beginning of cooperation with the Lithuanian racing team.
“Last year there were also talks that maybe at some stage it could start, but in general it was not a very successful year with supporters. After the Riga stage, the team leader addressed him again several times, we also visited them. ”
Baumanis and the team could theoretically start in the World Championship this year, but it was decided to participate in the European Championship – the World Championship season has already begun, while the decision to start relatively late is in the European Championship. The number of participants is also higher than in the World Cup. The team hopes that the successful performance in the European Championship will attract additional supporters and possibly also the attention of an automaker who could support the further progress of the project, but Baumanis emphasizes that this is a long-term project with the aim of riding the World Championship.
Although Baumanis has been seen much less frequently as a participant on motorsport tracks recently, the driver points out that his skills have not been lost and they have been refreshed in tests. “Several weeks ago we tested a car in Lithuania, on their track. The big skills are not lost, but the small nuances are forgotten, so it will take a little more time to adapt in the competition, but I don’t think it will take a long time. “
The Lithuanian team has gathered a very serious line-up of riders, which would not make the team of the world championship factory ashamed – the member of the Baumanis team in the upcoming Swedish stage will be the experienced and attractive Norwegian Andreas Bakerūds. During his career, the Norwegian has won several places in the overall standings of the season, however, he has not yet managed to reach the title of champion. Baumanis is happy that there will be another very strong rider next to him in the pits. “I was very happy! In recent years, I didn’t have serious teammates at the World Cup, they were business riders or those who ride for fun. The last serious member of the team was Timur Timerzyanov in 2018. It has been the case with the others that I can’t get anything from them, I can only give them. I am glad that Andreas will be a member of my team, because I will be able to get some useful data and I will also be able to learn something from him, ”says Baumanis about his teammate this week. So far, Bakerūde has reached an agreement with the team only for one stage, but it can be extended.
“A rider of a caliber who has won several victories and steadily fought for three is exactly what I needed. Many already call us supporters and fans of dream teams. I spoke to Andreas both last week and this week and he said that our goal is to be good teammates and help both to be faster on the track. ”
The stage in Sweden will be the first of the stages planned in the calendar of the European Championship, and for Baumanis in race mode it will be a return to the wheel of a car of this level after a break of more than a year and a half. On September 18 and 19, two stages of the World and European Championships will take place on the Biķernieki track at once, with Baumanis also driving on his home track. “I very much hope that the maximum will be reached for Riga and it will be left to grind the smallest nuances, which are necessary to run a quality competition. The first and second qualification in Sweden may still be such a refresh of skills, but I hope that on Sunday I will be able to show the maximum and the same thing I did in 2019, ”the Latvian driver is determined to demonstrate competitive speed.
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