Jānis Baumanis. Photo: Edgars Beļakovs
On September 19 and 20, Jānis Baumanis delighted Latvian motorsport fans at the CSDD Biķernieki track within the Neste World RX of Rīga with his debut at the electric car championship Projekt E established this year, where the Latvian athlete was ranked second in the Ferratum team with a Ford Fiesta.
In four qualifying races, Jānis proved to be the fastest in the first, and the main battle for him throughout the stage turned out to be the new Citroen C3 car and its pilot Siril Raymond, while the other two participants of the Projekt E Riga stage, Natalija Barate and Svein Bjarte Holtens, fought for third place.
Given the small number of participants, for the time being, Projekt E only gives viewers, teams and pilots an insight into what the electric class might look like in the future.
In the final, both favorites started from the first row, and Raymond was able to protect the inside before the first turn, meanwhile Jānis maintained the second position and made a trip without mistakes in his home stage, after the finish with Raymond he turned the ‘sun’ spectator in front of the podium. During the competition, Baumanis scored 20 points, which allows him to rank fourth in the overall standings after two stages.
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Photo: Neste World RX of Riga
“… The car still has a long way to go”
” The first qualification was quite successful, in the second Siril gave a better start. We do what we can on the track, but it is noticeable that Citroen benefits from asphalt, while we are stronger on gravel. It is interesting to compare how the R5 cars behave in the hands of very good drivers in the Projekt E test, because Siril is a strong pilot. Saturday was a very enjoyable day with a whole new one. The power is very similar to supercars, the weight is higher, so we also lose about 2 seconds in a circle. The machine is 200 kilograms heavier, but its braking distance is longer. Soon we will be able to fight within tenths of a second for the leading five, ”said Jānis Baumanis after the first day of the competition.
“Before the final, I already had an idea what was going to happen in it. Both Siril and I had an unused set of tires for the final. I hoped that he would use them in one of the previous races, but his tactics were identical to mine. In the start he drove in front of me, but In any case, the fight was very good. After the finish, I turned the sun on the spectators for joy. I hope they liked it. I am glad that I am the only rider in the world who has participated and climbed the podium in all current world and European championships. The car still has a lot to go, but it was very interesting to see what it can already do. “
The information was prepared by:
Baumanis Motorsport
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