Photo: Rallyemotions.lv
On Sunday, the first Latvian and Baltic rallycross festival ended in Riga, Biķernieki track, on the second day of which the battles of the NEZ Baltic championship stage were held. The victories were won by favorites, but they did not survive without surprises, reports autocross.lv.
The biggest surprise was in the NEZ Super 1600 class, in which the leading position in the final was taken by the folk rider Mārtiņš Spīķis, who had minimally started in rallycross, and started with the Škoada Fabia used by his brother Juris. He held Janno Liguru, the top-10 driver of the European Rallycross Championship, behind him for a couple of laps, until the Estonian left, arriving in a pile of tires. Mārtiņš’s path to success became safe, and the youngest of the driving Spīķi took the opportunity – victory.
Mārtiņš started the only season in rallycross in 2016, participating in the Latvian Cup and NEZ championship competitions. At that time, the fights in the three started stages were not nearly as successful – two premature withdrawals and one fight that ended in the semi-finals. Lithuanian Rītis Gurklis finished second after Spīķis, and Arnis Odiņš finished third.
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Photo: Zalaiskalns Photography
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In the NEZ Super 2000 class, Maija Stakena continued what she started on Saturday – a convincing victory, leaving behind Jānis Ikers and Lithuanian David Vareiks.
Also in the context of NEZ, the rear-wheel drive Touring car class does not justify itself due to the number of participants – only three drivers started in Riga. However, it must be admitted that the fight was brilliant: the Estonian Prīts Rebane won, with Kaspars Fricson being one tenth of a second ahead in the photo finish. Aleksejs Kreipāns, who won the third place, was not far away, a few seconds away.
Edijs Osh, the main favorite, won a convincing victory in the NEZ 4WD class in the final, ahead of his main Estonian championship competitor Maiko Tamm by 12 seconds. Jānis Veģeris, who took the third place, lost almost 20 seconds.
In the final of the Xtreme class, the duel of Ronalds Baldiņš and Reinis Nitiss is again, which this time, unlike Saturday’s national fights, ended in favor of Nitish. The third Estonian Martins Waterfall. It is said that the fight between the two leading Latvians has become fierce also off the track, after Nitišs submitted a protest against Baldiņš on Saturday regarding the non-compliance of the Valmiija buggy gearbox with the regulations.
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Photo: Zalaiskalns Photography
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As the stage of the Lithuanian Rallycross Championship also took place within the framework of the Baltic fights on Sunday, Lithuanian Junior 1000 class riders entered the race. Lithuanian Skaiste Prašukaite, who once started in the Latvian Mini Buggy Championship, won the race, leaving behind another Mini star Matu Zavarski and Estonian Rūdi Reinumegi. The event of the day – even on the scale of the whole race – became the second qualifier of the Junior 1600 class fight. Latvian rider Krists Valters hit the side of the second Latvian pilot Dainis Zemnieks’ car in the first turn after the start, as a result of which Zemnieks plunged into a crowbar. The fight between the two of them ended at this stage, and Walter was formally disqualified from the race.
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