Belevskiy: I said, ‘there must be a mistake!’

Having travelled to Türkiye for the high-stakes, three-way showdown in possession of a ten-point advantage at the summit of the standings, Belevskiy seemed to hold all the cards, but right from the get-go, it was clear that his path to glory was not going to be straightforward.

Contact resulted in steering damage and a DNF in Q1, and after conceding a couple of championship points to chief rival Mika Liimatainen in the intermediate classification, he entered the semi-final targeting a trouble-free run. The reality was anything but.

Following an energetic early tussle with Joni Turpeinen, a coming-together with the barrier on lap two relegated the Swiss star to fourth, and as he endeavoured to fight back, he clipped a tyre stack on the penultimate tour, ripping one of the wheels off his Volland Racing Audi S1. The wheels were very nearly ripped off his title tilt in the process.

Belevskiy’s error effectively offered Liimatainen a clear shot at the coveted Drivers’ crown in the all-important final – if the Finn could win the race. Starting from pole position after setting the pace all day in the high-calibre Euro RX1 field, that looked to be a foregone conclusion, and the Hyundai driver duly held sway over the initial laps.

Unlike in the heats, however, this time, he did not get away from his pursuers, and earlier jokers by Damian Litwinowicz and Tamás Kárai enabled the pair to leapfrog Liimatainen in the closing stages. Unable to respond, third place at the chequered flag was not enough, meaning the man sat on the sidelines thinking it was all over suddenly received the most unanticipated of calls...

“I was so gutted after the semi-final,” Belevskiy reflected. “My dad arrived and phoned me to say, ‘can you pick me up, I’m waiting just outside the track’, so I jumped in a car and drove to find him and then I got a call from Rolf [Volland – Team Principal] saying, ‘you’re the champion’. I said, ‘there must be a mistake’, because the DNF in the semi-final cost me so many points that there was just no way. I completely didn’t expect that – it was such a rollercoaster of a day!”

Describing the feeling of standing on the champion’s podium afterwards as ‘unforgettable’, there is no question that the 30-year-old is thoroughly deserving of the plaudits. After dominating the Lousada curtain-raiser, he produced a phenomenal fightback to win again in the torrential rain of Höljes, where he came within a whisker of not progressing beyond the qualifiers.

Collisions in the final at both Nyirád and the KymiRing cost him points, but every moment of adversity was overcome, and Belevskiy is already thinking about the possibility of defending his crown in 2026 – when he hopes a certain eight-time world champion may also come along to play...

“It feels very special to have secured the title after what was one of the most difficult and challenging seasons I’ve ever had in racing,” he mused. “Aside from Lousada, all of the other rounds were totally unpredictable – from contact and technical issues to challenging weather conditions, every event had its own difficulties. Not only that, but my working schedule has been extremely busy, making it an exhausting year, both physically and mentally.

“I need to really thank my family and friends, my team Volland Racing and all of my fans for their amazing support, and congratulations to [runners-up] Damian Litwinowicz and Mika Liimatainen – it was a pleasure to compete against them both!

“I’m not sure yet what my plans are for next year, but it would be cool to see Johan [Kristoffersson] race in the European Championship, because he always sets the benchmark. To beat him over the long run is super-tricky, but if you can see that you are improving here-and-there and getting a bit closer, that can give you a lot of satisfaction and motivation...”