Neste World Rallycross of Riga-Latvia preview 16.09.2020: Neste World Rallycross of Riga Latvia 19-20 September 2020 The Latvian capital, Riga is the venue for rounds five and six of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy this weekend, 19-20 September.

Neste World Rallycross of Riga
Latvia 19-20 September 2020

The Latvian capital, Riga is the venue for rounds five and six of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy this weekend, 19-20 September.



Neste World Rallycross of Riga-Latvia takes place at the Bikernieki circuit 10km east of Riga city centre and will be the fifth time the World Championship has taken place in Latvia.



Approximately 350 personnel of competing teams and event organisers will be present, all of them required to provide negative PCR test results before being admitted to the venue.



Neste World Rallycross of Riga-Latvia features two separate FIA World Rallycross Championship events, one full event – comprising three rounds of qualifying races, semi-finals and the final – taking place each day. The second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship for Supercar also takes place over the weekend, as does round two of the Projekt E series for all-electric rallycross cars.



WORLD RX



The season start was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and so far four championship rounds have been completed across two weekends; Sweden 22-23 August and Finland 29-30 August. Three different drivers have taken event victories, Johan Kristoffersson the championship leader having won rounds one and three.



Kristoffersson, the FIA World Rallycross Champion in 2017 and 2018, has established a 17 point lead at the head of the championship, his closest rival being Swedish compatriot Mattias Ekstrom. The World Champion in 2016, Ekstrom has returned to the championship this year with KYB Team JC and took victory in round two of the championship at Holjes in Sweden. His teammate, Robin Larsson, is currently sixth in the championship.



Finnish racer Niclas Gronholm won round four on home ground in Finland and holds third place in the championship. His teammate at GRX Taneco, Russian Timur Timerzyanov is tenth in the championship standings.


Current World Champion Timmy Hansen holds fourth place in the championship, younger brother and teammate Kevin Hansen fifth and the Swedish pair buoyed after a successful test ahead of the events in Riga.



ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport’s Timo Scheider has enjoyed his best ever results in the start to the season and is placed seventh after being in the final at three of the first four events. His teammate and compatriot in the German team, Rene Muennich has had a more difficult start to the year and is 16th after four rounds.



Monster Energy GCK RX Cartel racer, Norwegian Andreas Bakkerud made it to the final in rounds two and four and is eighth but here also the teammate has had a rough start to the year, a series of technical issues restricting Briton Liam Doran to 21st place.



GCK Bilstein racer Anton Marklund is currently placed ninth, the Swede ahead of the Unkorrupted pairing of Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska and Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit who are 15th and 17th respectively.



In Riga the 14 Permanent Competitors are joined by Latvian star Reinis Nitiss who will make his first appearance of the year driving a Skoda Fabia for ESmotorsport Eigesa WRX Team.



Finnish racer Jani Paasonen is back for more in Ferratum Team’s Ford Fiesta as is Hungarian Krisztian Szabo who raced in Sweden and holds 12th place in the series with GRX SET’s Hyundai i20.




WHERE


The Bikernieki circuit 10km east of Riga city centre. For the first time in the 2020 season the event will have a limited number of spectators (maximum 3000) with strict COVID-19 control measures in place.
 



TRACK STATS


The World RX track is constructed within the historic race circuit that threads its way through the forest at Bikernieki. Created for the 2016 World RX in Riga – the first time the championship visited Latvia – the rallycross track is 1295m in length and consists of 60% unsealed and 40% asphalt surfaces. It includes three jumps, two of them where the joker lap and standard lap run parallel to each other.




WHEN


Racing from 1030 Saturday and 0950 Sunday, see schedule below for more details.




LIVESTREAM


The livestream for the events will be carried on the World RX Facebook and YouTube channels:
facebook.com/fiaworldrallycross
youtube.com/RallycrossRXTV
Watch social media channels (below) for more details on livestream and broadcast.

 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: fiaworldrallycross
Instagram: fiaworldrx
Twitter: @fiaworldrx
 



LIVE TIMING

fiaworldrallycross.com/results



ENTRY LIST





 


 

- R. Trager - photos WRX