Belevskiy: Title was lost in Sweden, not Portugal

Belevskiy’s bid for honours in his maiden full campaign in Euro RX1 – three years on from clinching the Euro RX3 crown in dominant fashion – got off to a troubled start at the ‘Magic Weekend’, as the Volland Racing ace twice found himself turned around at the first corner, with the contact that punted him out of the lead in the final proving to be particularly costly.

It also handed the initiative firmly to Patrick O’Donovan, who went on to win in Sweden, with Belevskiy thereafter constantly playing catch-up. The Swiss star arguably had the speed to beat his British adversary in Belgium – missing out by less than a third-of-a-second – but after heading into the Montalegre season finale earlier this month sitting 15 points shy of the top of the table with only 40 remaining in play, he knew the odds were stacked solidly against him.

Despite prevailing in three of his four heat races in Portugal – taking his overall 2024 tally to 12, the same as his Team RX Racing rival – and dominating the second semi-final, by then, the title was already out-of-reach. With nothing left to lose, Belevskiy seized the lead at the start of the final and – with O’Donovan in strife and various other dramas kicking off behind – proceeded to take the chequered flag almost five seconds clear of his closest pursuer.

The 29-year-old celebrated his breakthrough European Championship victory at what he describes as one of his favourite circuits with a number of crowd-pleasing ‘donuts’ after the chequered flag fell, but as he reflects upon the campaign as a whole, he does so with mixed emotions.

“I dropped quite a lot of points at Höljes, which immediately put me in a position where I had to chase Patrick [O’Donovan],” acknowledged Belevskiy, whose brace of Turn One clashes in Sweden cost him 13 points – and he ultimately lost the championship by just 12.

“I had to take some risks sometimes and that resulted in a few mistakes, but I must say, Patrick did a great job – a big improvement over last year. He was super-strong and super-fast throughout, and I want to thank him for that because he really kept me motivated.

“Now, we need to look forward to next season. I’m not sure yet whether that will be in Euro RX1 or something else, but wherever we race, the title will be the goal.”