Roberts Vitols Claims Third Place in Cross Car Debut at Lydden Hill

Roberts Vitols returned to his well known 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship for his Cross Car Debut. Sitting behind the wheel of a LifeLive TN11 Cross Car for the first time, Vitols delivered an impressive debut and secured 3rd place in the final at Lydden Hill circuit.

The 2WD Rallycross Superprix race day began with a practice session, during which Roberts had three laps to get accustomed to the new car. Out of 16 drivers, he set the seventh fastest time.

In the first qualifying heat, starting from 7th position in the third row, Vitols made several overtakes to move up to fourth place in his heat and ranked sixth overall on combined times. In the second qualifying heat, starting from sixth position, a strong start allowed Roberts to immediately battle with the championship leaders. With a two bold moves on the third lap, he gained two more positions and finished third in his heat, fourth overall. In the third qualifying heat, after intense start battles and contact, Vitols dropped to fifth place, but already exited the first corner in fourth and, with a confident overtaking move at the end of the first lap, reached third place in his heat, where he also finished.

After the three qualifying heats, Roberts ranked fifth overall, making him the highest-placed Cross Car driver from the LifeLive team.

In the semi-final, Roberts started from third position and maintained it through the opening corners. He then showed superior pace compared to the driver ahead and on the third lap executed a text book move at the top of the hill to take second place, which he held to the finish. Vitols’ second-place semi-final time was even faster than the winner of the other semi-final, already confirming strong pace and realistic podium potential.

In the final, Roberts started from the outside of the third row, a less favourable position due to loose surface and dust. Despite a good launch, a slightly wide line through the first corner caused the rear wheel to slide, dropping Roberts from a potential second place down to fifth. With an overtaking move at the end of the first lap, he climbed to fourth. On the next lap, a clean move on the inside brought him up to third, and already in the following corner he dived inside again to take second place – regaining three positions on track within two laps. Roberts completed his Joker Lap on the final lap and crossed the finish line in third place, with just 0.3 seconds separating second and fourth at the finish. As a result, Vitols secured a podium finish in his very first Cross Car race and was again the highest-finishing driver from the LifeLive team.

Throughout the day, overtaking became Roberts’ trademark – on several occasions within a single race he managed to outsmart competitors with late-braking moves and decisive dives to the inside. These manoeuvres earned Vitols praise after the race from the team, fellow drivers, and spectators alike.

Roberts’ comment after the race:

“I am very satisfied with this weekend. It was a great pleasure to be back in the UK, meet familiar faces, and get to know a new team – the cooperation was genuinely very good. This Cross Car is not easy to drive; initially I had to adapt to its sharp reactions and characteristics compared to closed-wheel cars. However, already in the first qualifying heat I found the feeling of how the car wants to be driven, and I continued to improve in speed, confidence, and results. In every race I completed several overtakes, and by the end of the day I received a lot of recognition for precise manoeuvres. It even feels like across all classes today I might have been the driver with the most overtakes – two to three per race, which is not something you often see in rallycross.

Third place decided by a photo finish. On the final lap I made a small mistake in a corner, which I think could have cost me second place. But overall, I am very happy: great experience, excellent training, and the opportunity to work with a new team and build new contacts. The British teams already said they would like to see us on the grid again in the future, but time will tell. Thank you to my family and my sponsor for giving me the opportunity to be here and to extend our motorsport season this year!” said Roberts.

Roberts Vitols competes in RallyX with the proud support of Provento (www.provento.lv) – a company with over 30 years of experience in agricultural, forestry, garden, and construction machinery, equipment, and spare parts.