Janis Baumanis used his ESMotorsport Skoda Fabia WRX Evo to the max to deliver the best show possible at home in Riga, with the Bikernieku Trase being the place of his redemption in the 2021 FIA Euro RX1 Championship season.
Peter Hedström was looking good for a top run in Q1, but Andreas Bakkerud denied it by smashing the clock in everybody’s face, lapping at the start what the other drivers were lapping later in their races. Another good run from the Swede would put him ahead of top contenders like Thomas Bryntesson, Andreas Bakkerud and Janis Baumanis, but he saw Andrea Dubourg top the race and Fabien Pailler top Q2, getting ahead of Bakkerud in the intermediate standings.
Pailler kept the fast pace on Q3, but two tenths of a second were enough for Janis Baumanis to get a top time, which he couldn’t repeat in Q4 as Thomas Bryntesson had the edge by a tiny margin. Despite the loss in Q4, Baumanis was the top qualifier, with Fabien Pailler, Bakkerud and Bryntesson just behind.
In Semifinal 1, the ESMotorsport front row was broken by Peter Hedström from the inside line, although this sent Bakkerud to the barriers while Baumanis was holding the lead while being followed by the Swede. In a tidy and precise manner, Baumanis proved his superiority over Hedström and Andrea Dubourg, winning the race comfortably. Bakkerud climbed up to fourth place, but he was too far from the top 3 to fight for a position in the Final.
Semifinal 2 had Thomas Bryntesson with Pailler cars around him, and it was polesitter Fabien Pailler who stayed in front of the Norwegian while Sivert Svardal was on the chase. Csucsu looked set for fourth place when Bryntesson spun and blew away his chances, leaving Fabien Pailler alone for an easy win and handing second place to Svardal, while Csucsu got the sixth spot to the Final just before his Renault Megane R.S. RX hit trouble.
Getting in the Final at home was already really important for Baumanis, and the good start was a massive boost for the Latvian, keeping Fabien Pailler at bay along with Hedström. Without any chance of overtaking, Pailler and Hedström went to the Joker halfway into the race, and so did Baumanis on Lap 5 to cover them. After that, just tidy lines were needed to keep the victory under the Latvian flag, with Pailler and Hedström keeping their positions and completing the podium.
Fabien Pailler jumps to the lead with 62 points, and while Bakkerud’s Semifinal crash hurt his chances, he is still in contention with 60 points in second. Andréa Dubourg with 54, Baumanis’ 48 points and Bryntesson with 46 have mathematical chances of dethroning Pailler, but Bryntesson won’t be present at the Spa-Francorchamps finale on 10 October, opting to focus on mounting a full time program for the 2022 season in order to be a title contender.
PHOTO: Red Bull Content Pool/DPPI/Paulo Maria
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