Two wins, maximum points and a perfectly controlled return to competition. Roberts Vitols could hardly have hoped for more at Nysum after spending two months away from the racetrack. Yet that clean sweep is unlikely to bring him back into serious contention for the RallyX North title, and the Latvian has no regrets about the choices that led him to miss part of the season.
Heading into Estering, his chances of claiming the crown remain extremely slim. Two other major objectives, however, are still firmly in focus: he continues to lead the RallyX South standings and has already secured the FC2 drive awarded for the World Final at Montalegre, based on the four best results of the season.
His return at Nysum had nevertheless represented a major unknown. Having travelled to the United States as part of a student programme, Vitols had spent two months without racing, testing or virtually any training.
“I think that was a big question for all of us: what was going to happen? I had spent two months away from home, away from racing and away from the car, with no training or testing. I hadn’t even really had the chance to follow the races and see what was going on, so there were a lot of unknowns. I simply arrived at Nysum knowing that we had to score the maximum number of points possible if we wanted to keep something alive this season, and that’s exactly what we managed to do.”
Beyond the RallyX North championship, the pressure was mainly linked to another objective. From the beginning of the season, Vitols and those around him had made securing the FC2 drive for Montalegre one of their top priorities.
“There was maybe even more pressure because we knew that the championship was one thing, but our main objective this year was really to win the prize that would allow us to drive an FC2. Denmark was an important moment: either we could almost secure that objective, or we could make things much more difficult for ourselves heading into Germany.”
The result went beyond the points alone. After two months away from competition, Vitols also found a level of control at Nysum that had sometimes been missing in the past. He directly links that progress to his time in the United States.
“I think my time in the United States taught me a lot about my mindset and the way I look at things. A lot of the time, I wouldn’t say that my ability is what limits me from getting good results. It’s more my mindset and the way I prepare myself before or during a race. I always demand absolute perfection from myself and expect no mistakes. When I do make one, like sometimes happened last year, I tend to beat myself up about it and then it starts to snowball. At Nysum, I managed to put all of that aside and focus only on my own lines and my driving. That’s what I did throughout the whole weekend, and I don’t remember making a single big mistake. Everything was under control.”
His absence from the Älvsbyn round had nothing to do with motorsport. In the United States, Vitols joined a student internship programme and worked throughout the summer. It was a demanding experience, with 13 to 14-hour working days from Monday to Saturday, leaving him virtually no opportunity to train or even follow the championship.
The aim was different: to develop skills he hopes will eventually benefit him both in motorsport and in his own business activities.
“I went there to learn skills that I think can help me both in the motorsport business and in my own business: how to communicate with people, how to approach them, but also how to deal with a lot of rejection every day and still keep moving forward. You also spend a lot of time with yourself, with your own thoughts and facing your own results. In the end, what you get depends directly on the work you put in. So I felt that missing one race weekend this year to go to the United States and learn all of these things could benefit me more in the long term.”
As early as Monday morning, the day after the Estering event, Vitols will head back to the United States to complete the final three weeks of his programme.
It is a choice that has inevitably had consequences for his RallyX North campaign. Yet heading into the final weekend of the season, the Latvian refuses to see that spell away as a missed opportunity.
“I don’t really have any regrets. Like I said, I think I learned a huge amount during my time in the United States. Would I trade that experience now for the title? I don’t know. Maybe we should already have won the championship last year if I had been able to manage myself better. It didn’t happen. Maybe that’s exactly why I needed to go away this year and learn how to handle that side of things better. I’m still far from perfect and I’m learning every day, but at least I feel like I understand it all much better now.”
While the RallyX North crown now appears extremely difficult to reach, Vitols can still end his campaign with the RallyX South title.
“There’s still a long weekend ahead of us and we first have to get to that point. But yes, it’s at least something we can try to achieve and take away from this season.”
Estering also gives Vitols an opportunity to measure the progress he has made since his last appearance at the German circuit.
“Last year, between Denmark and Germany, I was still dealing with some things on a personal and emotional level. So I feel like I wasted that weekend a little and didn’t show my true level. At one point, I think it was during Q3 on Sunday, something clicked and allowed me to regain the freedom to drive cleanly again without overthinking things. I think I even set the fastest lap in Q3. We were very fast and we won the semi-final. Then in the final I had a steering problem, but up until the fourth lap we were once again very, very fast.”
Twelve months later, the situation has changed. Vitols now knows the Supercar Lites much better than he did last season, when he was still discovering the car without the benefit of any prior testing.
“Moving into Supercar Lites was a big change and I had to learn how the car behaved and how to really feel it properly. This year, I feel much more familiar with the car. We didn’t even do any testing last year. We were simply learning as we went along. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how much I’ve improved in a year and how much better I can drive here this weekend. The first corner is really cool. I want to enjoy it fully, with complete confidence in the car and in the way it behaves.”
Whatever remains of his RallyX North hopes, one major objective has already been achieved. The FC2 drive for Montalegre is secured, Vitols remains in contention for the RallyX South title and his return at Nysum confirmed that two months away from racing had done nothing to diminish his speed.
It is a success the Latvian is also keen to share with those who made the campaign possible.
“There has been a huge amount of work from my family and my team to get us to this point. We have basically put everything we had into this season to make sure we could achieve the best possible result and secure the FC2 prize, even if we don’t win the championship. So first of all, a massive thank you has to go to my family. Everyone has done a great job this year.”