REINIS NITIŠS SECOND IN FRANCE IN RX2E DEBUT
JĒKABPILS, LATVIA
05/09/2021
This weekend, Reiniss Nitišs made his electric car racing debut, competing in round three of the FIA RX2e Championship, as part of Bretagne World RX of Lohéac. By steadily improving throughout the weekend, the Jēkabpils native first managed to qualify for the semi-finals, then got into the final, and concluded the event on the second step of the podium.
As is the case in rallycross, the layout for Nitišs envisioned four qualifying runs, followed by a semi-final, with the three fastest drivers in each semi-final moving on to the final. Day one of the event, Saturday, had Q1, Q2, and Q3. In Q1, Nitišs set the fourth fastest time, followed by a sixth place in Q2, and a win in both his race and in the Q3 class overall. That gave Reinis third place overnight.
Nitišs began his Sunday with a second time in Q4, which let him maintain third place in the overall classification heading into the semi-finals, meaning that he would start from the outside position of the first row. A good start let him move into second place, where he stayed until the finish, giving him an inside position in the second row for the start of the final. There, he had a great start and moved up one spot to second place, beginning a battle for victory. Despite his best efforts, it was not possible to get by the leader, but he also left no chances for the following drivers to improve their position. Reinis Nitišs concluded his debut event in RX2e class on the podium.
“This was incredible,” begins Reinis Nitišs. “First of all, I loved the racing atmosphere. I had somewhat forgotten the World RX rhythm and driving over multiple days, not even mentioning the fans who were everywhere. Just like rallycross should be! In addition to that, this was a successful weekend, which makes everything even better!”
“I can only say good things about these cars. Even though it was strange to be in such a car before the event, especially without a gear lever and with only two pedals, this was not something I paid attention to during the race. This in no way changes the adrenaline rush you get from racing. As an added benefit, the RX2e cars are so similar that any mistake results in your opponents getting away. Here, each smallest nuance, each little mistake is extremely important, as you cannot depend on having the most powerful or best car to overtake everyone. All cars are equal, so the result is fully dependent on your skills, pace, and intuition in avoiding unwelcome situations,” concludes Reinis Nitišs.
RX2e electric class replaces the former RX2 / RX Lites class. This is also a monoclass, where all cars are prepared by a single manufacturer / team, providing equal machinery to all competitors – all-wheel drive, 335 horsepower, and 510 Nm.
Reinis Nitišs participation in rallycross is possible thanks to the support provided by main partner Kaspersky, as well as Ginalas, Ošukalns, Jēkabpils novada pašvaldība, If apdrošināšana, Rimi, Zebra, and RA Events.
