The historic Bikerneiki Circuit in Riga hosts the fifth and sixth rounds of RallyX 2022 this weekend, where thrilling battles in every category on track are set to wow the knowledgeable Latvian crowd.
First used for international rallycross events in 2016, Bikerneiki is regarded as one of the best modern rallycross venues, and this weekend will be the stage for the penultimate RallyX event of the 2022 campaign, the series returning to the Baltics venue for the first time since 2019.
Leading the Supercar field is multiple World Rallycross Championship event-winner Niclas Grönholm, fresh off the back of a debut Nitro Rallycross podium last month. Grönholm will campaign GRX’s Hyundai i20 on the Riga circuit where he won in World RX last year.
With RallyX Supercar leader Johan Kristoffersson forced to miss the Riga weekend due to clashing commitments, Grönholm heads the chasing pack, while behind the Finn, the battle for the overall podium is fierce. JC Raceteknik’s Sondre Evjen has finished on the podium with the team’s Audi S1 twice so far this year, while Thomas Bryntesson won round three of RallyX 2022 at Kouvola in Finland last month.
JC’s Ole Christian Veiby, YellowSquad driver Yury Belevskiy and former RallyX overall podium-finisher Philip Gehrman are also hot on the heels of the leading contenders.
Belgian driver Enzo Ide returns to RallyX for his second weekend of the campaign, following a podium finish in the second round of the season at Höljes in Sweden with an EKS Audi S1, while Frank Valle is entered in the Ford Fiesta he raced at Holjes.
Swede Mats Öhman is also set to compete in Riga with a fourth S1 from Joel Christoffersson-run JC Raceteknik, while Norwegian Hans-Joran Ostreng will race his own team’s Hyundai i20, the car repaired following damage sustained in the series’ Finnish weekend recently.
Flying the flag for Latvia, home hero Edijs Oss will compete in his own team’s Skoda Fabia Supercar. Following a stunning victory in the all-electric RX2e category at Holjes in Sweden last weekend, Belgian driver Viktor Vrankx will continue his RallyX campaign in Riga, taking on the internal combustion Supercars with his four-wheel-drive electric machine.
Swede Simon Olofsson dominated the second double-header of the RallyX season at Kouvola in Finland, winning on both days to extend his series lead. The former RallyX Supercar Lites champion is on a high, following victory in the opening Nitro Rallycross Championship weekend of the season at Lydden Hill in the UK, and winning the European Championship support race at Holjes, Sweden last week. Second and third in the points, Martin Enlund and Ole Henry Steinsholt both have a pair of podiums to their credit in the season so far.
With four different winners from four rounds, the ultra-competitive Crosscar division is wide open heading to the Riga double-header, with Thomas Eek Murstad leading the standings, just two points ahead of Patrik Hallberg, who was part of a three-way tie for the title in 2021. In third, Oskar Andersson is also an event winner this year, as team mate to Hallberg. Local driver Ronalds Baldins claimed victory in the class last time RallyX visited Riga, he currently sits ninth in the standings, and will be joined by on the grid by a number of other locals, including World Rallycross star and Latvian hero, Reinis Nitiss.
Unbeaten in the last three rounds, Finland’s Mikael Uitto is top of the Crosscar Junior championship order, ahead of round one winner Lauri Halonen and the most consistent driver of the campaign so far, Lukas Andersson, who has been on the podium at every round to date, but every driver in the 23-strong field made up of Swedes, Norwegians and Finns is capable of challenging for a place in the semi-finals.
Swedish driver Viktor Johansson leads the points’ table in Open 2WD with his self-engineered hybrid-powered Mercedes 190e, following a first podium of the season in round four, while the winner of the opening two rounds, Jonas Dalseth Jacobsen, returns having been forced to miss the Finnish weekend. Finn Joni-Pekka Rajala lies second in the points. Local driver Kristapas Grunte joins the Open 2WD fold with a BMW 120 while UK-based Polish driver Slawomir Woloch will make his RallyX debut with his BMW M3.
Round five takes place on Friday (July 8th) with round six on Sunday (July 10th).
The full can be viewed here. RallyX Entry List Riga 2022
Watch the action LIVE and FOR FREE on RallyX TV here.
