The return to action for Projekt E at Bikernieki, Riga, had not only the return to competition for Janis Baumanis and Cyril Raymond, but also the debut of the second model eligible for the electric car competition, the Citroën C3 ERX, and Raymond was able to celebrate it with a commanding win with the French machine.
Alongside the debuts of a new car and of Raymond and Baumanis, Svein Bjarte Holten was having his competitive debut in the competition, while Natalie Barratt was the only competitor that was returning after competing in the series first
It was set that it would be a more personal battle between Janis Baumanis and Cyril Raymond, and they demonstrated their level from the go, with Baumanis taking over Q1 while Raymond conquered the Q2. Suspension problems for Baumanis opened the way for Raymond to dominate Q3, and while Raymond won Q4 and was crowned top qualifier, it wasn’t without a tough fight with Baumanis for the win, with Svein Bjarte Holten being third and Natalie Barratt in a close fourth place.
Projekt E Riga - Qualifying intermediate results
The Final was promising because of the Baumanis-Raymond clash, and Raymond started with the lead while having Baumanis on the chase, and as Baumanis wasn’t finding a way to threat the Frenchman he went to the Joker earlier than him.
The problem for Baumanis is that despite having the open way to push, he couldn’t close down on Raymond, and the Citroën driver cruised to the debut win of the C3 ERX as he had a good gap to Baumanis, and Holte took third place with a brave defense from Barratt, who was in a hard charge even after being penalized with an extra Joker.
Projekt E Riga - Final results
As Natalie Barratt was the only driver to compete in both Projekt E events of the season, she leads the standings with 35 points while Ken Block and Cyril Raymond share the second place with 24 points.
Projekt E will return only in two months time, as Spa-Francorchamps will hold the next round on 22 November.
PHOTO: STARD
Comments
Post a Comment
Do you have an opinion? Feel free to comment.