Baumanis anticipating ‘a lot of fun’ at Nyirád

Former FIA European Rallycross Super1600 (now EuroRX3) Champion Jānis Baumanis is ready for battle in the 2022 curtain-raiser at Nyirád this weekend (21-22 May), predicting ‘a lot of fun’ around the popular Hungarian track.

Baumanis clinched the Super1600 class crown in 2015, prior to embarking upon a World RX career that yielded a brace of podium finishes. The Latvian returned to the European Championship last year, triumphing on home soil at Rīga en route to third in the overall standings.

This season, Baumanis has returned ‘home’ after rejoining forces with Hansen Motorsport – the team with which he made his Supercar (now RX1) debut seven years ago – to pilot a Peugeot 208 under the #YellowSquad banner.

He will contest the full Euro RX1 campaign as he targets a second European title over the coming months. Pre-season testing in Sweden and Latvia has been promising, leaving the 29-year-old bullish about his prospects ahead of his maiden appearance at Nyirád – a classic venue where Hansen Motorsport star Timmy Hansen secured his first top flight rallycross victory back in 2013.

“There’s a lot of excitement building for me in anticipation of my first event with the team, especially as this is the first time I have raced at the track in Hungary,” reflected Baumanis. “It is new for the team too; Kenneth and Timmy [Hansen] obviously have some experience there with Hansen Motorsport from a few years ago, but things are a bit different now and there is a lot new for #YellowSquad.

“I have found some videos to watch online, and the circuit looks very nice and very fast with a lot of gravel. I think it can be good for us and a lot of fun. The main thing is to enjoy everything both on and off-track, and I know the team is working as hard as possible to ensure we can achieve good results.”

“Finally, it’s time to start the Euro RX1 season,” added #YellowSquad Team Manager, Eric Färén. “It’s a new adventure for the team to run an RX1 car at this level, and we are all very excited for it. Pre-season testing has gone really well and Janis is already looking both comfortable and fast in the 208. The level in Euro RX1 is extremely high, so it will be a big battle all weekend, but hopefully we can start the year with a strong result.”