Rallycross: Roberts Vītols will compete in rallycross in Great Britain, at Leadenhill

(Team information for the media)

Latvia’s young rallycross driver Roberts Vītols will compete in the rallycross competition in Great Britain, at the legendary Leadenhill track, on Saturday, September 8. The 15-year-old Vītols will compete in the Junior Rallycross class, in which he will drive a Suzuki Swift car provided by the organizers.

The Provento Racing driver will use this race as an opportunity to compete in international competitions outside the usual Latvian, Baltic, and Northern European rallycross environment.

“We were honored to receive an invitation to compete in the Lidenhill race. This track is considered the birthplace of rallycross as a sport, which alone will be special to be on the starting line in this arena,” says Roberts Vītols, one of the leaders of the Super 1600 class of the Latvian Rallycross Championship. “I was invited as a Super 1600 class driver, but when the British found out that I was only 15 years old, they were a little confused. In Britain, as in many other countries, such young drivers are not allowed to start in adult rallycross classes. But soon the organizers offered a solution: to give me a Suzuki Swift car in the Junior Rallycross class. It is completely new to me – I will have an unfamiliar car, an unfamiliar team, and I will have to hold the gearshift with my left hand! But that is exactly what makes this race so special. I will have the opportunity to see how an unfamiliar team prepares for the race and works during the race. I will have unfamiliar equipment and completely unfamiliar with piloting it, because the seat and steering wheel will be on the right side. Exactly what is needed! I will be outside my usual racing environment, so I will be able to learn a lot and gain something new.”

Before the upcoming race, Vītols will conduct tests with an unfamiliar car. During this time, he must try to prepare as much as possible for Saturday’s race.

“On Thursday, we have a three-hour training session at the airfield, accompanied by experienced British coaches. Since the cars in the Junior Rallycross class are quite standardized, the adjustment work will be limited to suspension nuances and tire pressure. This is good, because there will be more time for driving, which is the most important thing for me right now with the unknown technique. At the same time, the coaches promise not to drive me around the same lap. The airfield offers opportunities to change the corner and lap configurations, so I will gain more and more information about the car’s behavior on the track. This experience will be what will be most useful to me,” says Roberts.

Povento Racing manager Uģis Vītols adds: “Starting at Lidenhill is an event in itself! However, from a practical point of view, this will be an opportunity to step back from the truths developed by our team to see what truths are used in their work by specialists in other countries, with different motorsports histories and experience. This will also be one of the opportunities for Roberts to show himself outside our region – you never know what kind of people are watching us and what conclusions they draw from our work. We want our work and our driver to be noticed and appreciated. We are aware that the previously achieved championship titles in autocross, karting, and rallycross are not a coincidence, so our ambitions to break through outside Latvia are justified.”

Autocross.lv: It should be noted that other Latvians will also compete in Leadenhill – Jānis Ikers, Uldis, and Krists Valteri.