Stroks praises the work done in the rallycross stages, but lacks spectator support | The news

Riga, Sept. 21, LETA. In the conditions of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, organizing two stages of the World Rallycross Championship has not been easy, but the small number of fans has left an unfulfilled feeling, the organizer from the “RA Events” team Raimonds Strokšs said in a conversation with the news agency LETA.

It has already been reported that on Saturday, Juhan Kristofešsons from Sweden celebrated the victory in the fifth stage of the SuperCar World Rallycross Championship, but a day later his compatriot Matthias Ekström was the fastest. Reinis Nitišs was ranked 11th in the overall standings on Saturday, but in the sixth stage, which was held on Sunday, he was one step behind the semi-final – 13th position.

Meanwhile, in the newly created electric car class “Projekt E”, Jānis Baumanis made his debut with the second place. The fastest was the Frenchman Siril Reimons.

The stages of the World Rallycross Championship usually took place in two days before the pandemic caused by Covid-19. In the first, the athletes took qualifying races, but in the second, they were already fighting for the finals and victory. Last weekend there was another program on the Biķernieki track, because in Covid-19 conditions one stage is held in one day.

There was a rallycross festival in Riga for several reasons. First of all, this was the first stage of the rallycross in the world championship, which could be watched by the spectators this season, secondly, in both stages in the “SuperCar” class Latvian Reinis Nitisš rode for the first time this season Baumanis.

“Feelings are twofold … On the one hand, there are two winners and there were two global live broadcasts, which formed a rather large advertisement for Biķernieki track, Riga and the whole of Latvia, but on the other hand, there was a lack of fans at the level of feelings – volume, their involvement,” looks Stroke. “Of course, we’re glad we were able to gather some number of people in the stands.”

“I myself and my colleagues emphasize the most important thing – the competition took place.”

The stages that took place in Riga have already earned the highest evaluation from the rallycross officials, receiving three awards for the best organized stage. Whether it will be possible to get it this year is still an open question, but the events of last week on the Biķernieki track have left the best impression this year as well.

“Everyone was longing for spectators because the previous four stages took place without their participation [galvenās amatpersona] were pleasantly surprised at how well everything was organized, given the situation in Covid-19, “Strokes, the first review from the World Championships, IMG and the International Automobile Federation (FIA), said on the move home, officials said they were amazed. that something has been done even better every year. Everyone is looking forward to coming back! ”

The World Rallycross Championship in Latvia was implemented in accordance with strict safety protocols. During the “RA Events” event, the organizers of the competition were forced to comply with the restrictions set by the Republic of Latvia and the rules developed by them, as well as the requirements of the IMG and the health protocol developed by the FIA. The experience gained at this year’s Liepāja Rally helped to implement the above requirements at the competition venue.

“The media was not in the first stages either, so everyone was hungry for work, as a result of which some activities on the track were allowed, which we quickly reminded, and everything was fine,” the organizer explains the specifics and limitations of media work during the rallycross.

“It definitely helped that we had already gone through the Liepaja rally. A system that had been tested in nature was already in place. We ran about 700 tests in the rallycross because the participants were from several countries. Unlike the rally, there were no positive Covid-19 tests.”

Almost or in sanitary conditions, the competition took place because the organizers had already created two “bubbles”. The “open bubble” was attended by spectators, while the “closed bubble” was attended by media representatives, athletes and service staff. It is this approach that has prevented the people in the “closed bubble” from interacting with the environment.

“All parties responded adequately to the rules. Drivers and service staff did not” squeak “about the strict requirements, but spectators in the stands did not keep their distance and did not sit where it was forbidden. If necessary, fans were able to prove that they came from the same household,” explains Strokšs. .

The organizer also revealed that teams that decided to stay in Riga for more than 5-7 days performed repeated Covid-19 tests. One of them was the unit represented by the Hansen brothers.

Although the final reports have not yet been compiled, Strokšs estimated that no more than 3,000 people visited one section of the Biķernieki track, which is possible at public events at a certain square. He made no secret of the fact that the rallycross is definitely not in the “cons”, but the income from tickets sold will be diametrically different compared to other years. This situation was also not improved by the decision of the Latvian government to include Lithuania and Estonia in the list of “red countries”.

“The difference in terms of tickets sold compared to other years is big. The inclusion of neighboring countries in the list of” red countries “did not help either, because at one point Estonians buy tickets, but return the next. We did not mourn and continued our work without thinking as it could be,” says Stroks, without hiding that the issue of return tickets is still ongoing.

Compared to other years, the final test of Covid-19 does not require the addition of another mountain of documents. Additional formalities need to be completed, but not too much. Strokšs also revealed that the agreement on the organization of next year’s stages has not been signed and in this connection he will have to go to the new management of the Riga City Council, with which the necessity of the event in Latvia will be assessed.

In the overall standings of the World Championship, the leader with 166 points is Christopheshson, 149 points with Ekstrems, and further with 117 points is Niklass Grenholm. Nitišs earned 12 points this weekend, which gives him 18th place.

After the Latvian stages, stages in Spain, Belgium and Germany are planned to continue the season. Before the Belgian stage, one of the races had to take place in Portugal, but due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the stage was canceled.

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