Riga, Sept. 19, LETA. Jānis Baumanis said that the ride in the Rallycross World Championship with an electric car is easier from the point of view of physical activity than if you have to drive a vehicle with a petrol engine, after the debut in the “Projekt E” class in a conversation with the news agency LETA.
It has already been reported that Baumanis made his debut in the “Projekt E” or electric car class on Saturday at the World Rallycross Championship on Biķernieki track. Baumanis won the first of four qualifications and scored 50 points in the qualification, ahead of Siril Reimon and Natalia Barat.
On Saturday, Baumanis became the first Latvian to participate in the world championship “Projekt E” class. In this race, the noise is almost inaudible, because the electric car is steered. However, this is not the only difference in these cars, because they are equipped with an automatic transmission, as well as due to the batteries, the vehicle is at least 200 kilograms heavier.
This means that it is only possible to reduce speed during travel with the brake pedal and not with lower gears. The braking distance is also much longer.
“The car is moving forward quite fast and the acceleration is also good. You can also enjoy the ride in turns and springboards, but in fast corners the car is slower and brakes faster due to the higher weight,” the differences between the Projekt E and the previously well-known SuperCar class marks Baumanis. “The pleasure of driving it doesn’t diminish.”
Changing the technique does not require much effort. Starting “Projekt E” is even probably easier. “Today I spent a total of four rides – two in training and two in qualifying. I feel great. Maybe even the petrol engine uses more energy, because the electric car only needs to use two pedals and the steering wheel, but SuperCar cars still have a gearshift. I’m tired of the long day, not racing. “
This year’s competition is a bit easier for athletes, at least from a moral point of view, because between rides due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fans do not have the opportunity to get autographs, photos or just talk as before. This year, the competition must comply with the restrictions set by the Republic of Latvia in connection with Covid-19, as well as the protocol developed by the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
“Both conditions have their pros and cons. Of course, it’s always nice to talk to fans and take pictures, but we live in such times now,” Baumanis emphasizes, pointing out that soon everything will be on the right track again.
The Latvian driver demonstrated a commendable performance at the time of his debut, as in the first qualification he celebrated the victory, but in the second he only conceded to Raymond, who was driving a previously unruly Citroen C3 ERX car. However, it differs from competitors’ vehicles in that the car’s suspension is adapted to asphalt and not to mixed pavement. Baumanis revealed that it has both pros and cons.
“In the second qualifier I had a ‘pole position’, but in that position there was a shadow while Raymond was standing next to him in the sun. The video replay showed that I had a better reaction time, but while I was driving in the shadow, Raymond took the lead. It was perhaps the only minus the second journey. “
“It was interesting to struggle with Raymond, who was driving a newly built Citreon car,” Baumanis remembers the course of the race. “You could see that this car is fast on asphalt sections, but the gravel and springboards lost a bit.”
Baumanis’ competitors also included the representative of the fair sex Barata from Great Britain. However, she was not considered to be the latter, because during her career, Barata has completed more than 40 stages in the World Rally Championship.
“Previously, I also felt the ladies’ competition in the European Championship. In this case, there is a rally expert at the helm, who has also tried his hand at the World Rally Championship. In Great Britain, she is very well known,” Baumanis, who had his first season on Saturday. starts.
The athlete also did not deny that in the future he will probably be seen more often in the “Projekt E” class, however, the engineers still have a lot of work to do to “drop” a few more seconds on the track. Projekt E vehicles lose an average of two seconds in a lap in a SuperCar. At the moment, the most important thing is the experience of the race in order to better understand the capabilities of the car, so on Sunday some regulations will be changed.
“There are still things we want to try in an electric car, because it is much different than a petrol-powered vehicle. We agreed with the team before that we will try something new. This is basically an introductory competition for us,” says the athlete.
The electric car race will continue on Sunday, but the sixth stage of the World Rallycross Championship will be held in the “SuperCar” class.
It has already been reported that the Latvian driver Reinis Nitišs took the fifth place in the semi-final of the Biķernieki track in the SuperCar class at the Rallycross World Championship on Saturday. In the overall rating of the stage, Nitišs was in the 11th position, but the victory was won by the Swedish Juhan Kristofešsons.
Also in Riga there is one stage of FIA European Rallycross Championship in “Supercar” class and one stage of “Projekt E” cup for cars with electric motors. Therefore, the FIA European Rallycross Championship stage for front-wheel drive “Super1600” cars will not take place on Biķernieki track this year.
Until now, Baumanis had participated in all stages of the Riga Rallycross World Championship for four years, but this year the supporters of the athlete were not able to provide the necessary support in the conditions created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Baumanis has not participated in any of the rallycross stages this season.
Also, for the first time in the world rallycross championship, Nitišs can be seen on the track this year, who decided to focus on rally discipline after last season. This year, the athlete is driving a “Škoda Fabia EVO RX” racing car provided by the Lithuanian team “ESmotorsport” in Riga.
Last year, to the delight of domestic spectators, two Latvian pilots started the competition again after a year break, who had a reasonable chance to win a place on the podium. In the competition in changing weather conditions, the best performance was demonstrated and the victory was won by the Swedish pilot Timijs Hansen, who later became the world champion, but the two Latvians ended the stage with a fight in the semi-finals, which reached fourth and sixth place respectively Nitišs and Baumanis.
After the Latvian stages, stages in Spain, Belgium and Germany are planned to continue the season. Before the Belgian stage, one of the races had to take place in Portugal, but due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the stage was canceled.
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