Two for Baumanis as he beats Tamm in Riga

As it was the case with Viktor Vranckx during the RallyX South weekend at Valkenswaard, Janis Baumanis was eager for total domination during the RallyX North opening weekend at the Biķernieku trasē, giving another performance to light up the Latvian crowd on site as he has beaten an inspired Maiko Tamm after a tense battle this Saturday (10).
 
Baumanis was the top qualifier, but had no dominance over the field, with the Heats top times being split between him, the second placed Viktor Vranckx and the fourth placed Maiko Tamm, with a consistent Anton Seppa being the surprise with his Skoda Fabia RX in third. With no standout performances, it could be said that from the fifth placed Ulrik Linnemann down to the eighth placed Filip Martinsson, anyone could have a shot at higher places or the top of the intermediate table.
 
Like in Friday, the other local drivers weren’t matching the world class pace of Baumanis, with Marcis Martinovs and Bruno Blumbergs ending at the bottom of the table, having to watch the fellow countryman from the sidelines as they were off the twelve that go to the Semifinals.
 
The first was really stacked in talent, but the one throwing the challenge to Baumanis was Seppa while Linnemann was leading the melee behind them. Seppa opted for a Lap 2 Joker to avoid traffic and immediately chased Turpeinen, and even being held by the RallyX champion, Seppa passed Linnemann after his Joker.
 
The time spent behind Turpeinen was costly for Seppa as Baumanis came out of the Joker ahead of him, but even without the win, the close second granted a ticket to the Final, while Linnemann was behind Seppa at the line to qualify for the final race.
 
Semifinal 2 had Tamm leading from second place while Vranckx had a safe approach to chase the leader if necessary. Eventually, Tamm and Vranckx had no opposition around them due to their high pace, which secured first and second for them, while Martinsson outpaced Mikko Ikonen and Casper Jansson in the battle for third.
 
The Final started with Baumanis leading and Tamm coming for the chase, while Vranckx and Seppa went for Lap 1 Jokers to avoid traffic. Linnemann lost traction on Lap, brushed the wall and created a cloud of dust that hindered Vranckx and Seppa, which allowed Martinsson to take third place while going for the Joker, giving room for Tamm to keep second place and try to mount an attack on Baumanis.
 
In the end, Tamm couldn’t come any closer and Baumanis just had to run for the checkered, completing the weekend sweep with another emphatic triumph.
 
RallyX North - Riga II event results
 
Baumanis holds the points lead with 59 after the two rounds, while Tamm has 50, Vranckx has 40, Linnemann has 34 and Turpeinen has 33. The competition goes to a month off until action returns at the KymiRing, which debuts in RallyX on 14 and 15 June.
 
PHOTO: Janis Baumanis