Rallycross: Roberts Vītols third again, mission to gain experience accomplished

December 6, 2020

In the third round of the British Rallycross Championship on Sunday, Latvian driver Roberts Vītols once again achieved third place in the Super 1600 class, losing to the drivers of Europe’s leading Super 1600 team, Volland Racing. The result was predicted in advance, but the task set to gain experience from the fight was accomplished.

In the first qualifying session on Saturday evening, Roberts Vītols managed to squeeze in between the two VR Racing Audi drivers, Jurijs Beļevskis and Kopi Pauwels, achieving second place. In the remaining two qualifications, the Provento Racing driver took third place behind the two favorites, leaving the entire decisive battle for the final. Although he failed to cause a surprise in the final, valuable points for the overall standings of the British Championship were achieved.

Roberts Vītols after the fight: “Just like yesterday, there is no great joy. There is no joy at all for this third place. But we already knew what was coming. Last night in the first qualifying, there was a great fight, close combat, contacts. It is nice that we managed to split the Audi drivers, squeezing in between the two. It seems that it took them longer to get used to the illuminated track. This morning in the second qualifying, there was a wet track, but our hopes for the rain did not come true – they simply drove away… The track was still wet for the third qualifying, wet in places, dry in places. Audi was driving on rain tires, but we decided to play around by putting on dry tires. The strategy was not bad, it seemed promising, but I got stuck again behind the same BMW, which I lost one race yesterday. If the track had been free, I would have been quite close to them. In the final, where we drove together with Supernational, we got off to a good start. We all started driving in Jokers, which surprised me. One “Some of them started to push me off the track, but I pushed back and didn’t give in, which resulted in one of them getting spun. The judges didn’t say anything about it, because it was clear that the driver himself provoked the situation. As a result, we had to keep him behind us for several laps. At the end of the penultimate lap, I covered the inside, and I was sure that there was no room for the other car there. When I was already on my track, Pauwels brutally jumped to the side, even knocking the steering wheel out of my hands. I thought, “Wow, this is what we’re doing?” After that, both the rear wheel and the front wheel were bent, and I flew off the track a little; the battle was over. Third again. We showed resistance, but it’s not easy to beat them.”

“On a ride where the track was tricky due to the humidity, where you have to think more and catch the nuances, the game remained more interesting. But on a completely wet track, or on a dry track – there are no options.”

The driver’s father, Uģis Vītols, explains: “There is a feeling of victory, because after a long break and not meeting with our car, we were able to complete the entire race, all the runs. But there is also a feeling of disappointment that it is impossible to win or resist in such a battle between a giant and Sprīdīš. However, I know that with similar equipment, our pilot could accomplish a lot, and would have damaged the nerves of the current European leaders much more.”

Commenting on the course of the battle, Uģis says: “Towards the end of the day, there was a feeling that the Audi drivers had become too self-confident, arrogant. In the final, Roberts was standing on the outside, but the Lydenhill Joker is in the first turn. Accordingly, it is only normal to go to the Joker from this starting position. However, despite their inside starting positions, both competitors had also decided to go to the Joker immediately after the start. This created a feeling of their self-confidence, that everything was already sorted out immediately after the start, and the outside driver could not be counted on. We made it clear that this would not be the case — Roberts, as a result, spun one of the drivers and ended up in second place. They managed to hold the position until the end of the penultimate lap, when Pauwels crossed the trajectory and rushed past. There was a serious collision between the two cars, but both made it to the finish. Robis blames himself for not catching his competitor’s attack, but the advantage was too great.”

“This is a phenomenal opportunity to compete with the leading European team with our own equipment – that is the biggest benefit. Yes, we are slower, but we will look back on what we have experienced with pride. It is also nice that the residents of the participant park supported us, because they knew how to appreciate what we are fighting against and how we do it. In any case, Audi did not leave with healthy wings, so we made them fight for their places. It is a pity that the Latvian business world is such that I do not see how we could create a team of a similar level. We do not need huge trucks, but well-organized machinery – special engines, like theirs, special gearboxes, many nuances. But the final conclusion – we were here, met them, and tested both ourselves and Audi. Our small team did a great job again. The car was ready for all the rides, we adjusted a lot, experimented, and tried. Sprīdītis goes home proud enough!”

Round 3 of the British Rallycross Championship

Super 1600 final