North European Zone (NEZ) Rallycross Championship event on July 24 will be the first one taking place on the newly built Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) Biķernieki Complex Sports Base (BKSB) rallycross track. NEZ Rallycross Championship is the closest international championship to Latvia, and Latvian drivers – Reinis Nitišs, Jānis Baumanis, and Artis Baumanis all have raced there on their way to becoming competitors in the world and European championship!
This is a special year for the Biķernieki Complex Sports Base, as it is the fiftieth anniversary of the track. It also happens to be the year of a lot of construction work in order to build the rallycross track up to the newest FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) safety standards and have it done by mid-July. Just a few days after finishing the track, on July 24, the first international event – Round 2 of the 2016 NEZ Rallycross Championship will take place. Later this year, on October 1 and 2, the track will host an FIA World Rallycross Championship event – Neste World RX of Latvia!
NEZ Rallycross Championship is a competition to find the best drivers in the NEZ region, consisting of ten countries – Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. There are a total of four different divisions the championship title is decided:
– NEZ SUPERCARS all-wheel drive cars with cylinders capacity up to 3500cc3, or
all-wheel drive cars with cylinders capacity up to 2058cc3 (with turbo);
– NEZ 2000 two-wheel drive cars with cylinders capacity up to 2000cc3;
– NEZ Open two-wheel drive cars with cylinders capacity over 2000cc3;
– NEZ SUPER 1600 front-wheel drive cars with cylinders capacity up to 1600cc3;
„The Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) and road construction company Binders have done an enormous amount of work and the track building process is close to the end. We expect to finish construction by mid-July and have the first rallycross event taking place right after, with the drivers having a chance to see the quality of our work.” says Normunds Lagzdiņš, director of CSDD Biķernieki Complex Sports Base.
“As the saying goes – what goes around, comes around! I am truly happy that we have an opportunity to organise a NEZ championship event, as it was the first international
championship where our current top drivers, Reinis Nitišs, Jānis Baumanis and Artis Baumanis, competed, and now the NEZ competitors will be the first ones to test the new Biķernieki rallycross track. Undoubtedly, it will be a great opportunity to learn and understand how to make the best possible World RX event in October. Spectators will also be able to see the changes of Biķernieki Sports Base and enjoy rallycross in the very heart of Riga, witnessing all the action they closely follow on the Lattelecom channel Best4Sport TV.
World RX regulations state that championship competitors cannot practice on a championship track less than 56 days prior to the event. In case of Neste World RX of Latvia, this 56 day window would begin in early August, meaning that we will probably see some Euro RX and World RX stars competing in the NEZ event and using it as an opportunity to get used to the track before the October event!” says event organiser Raimonds Strokšs, director of RA EVENTS.
Tickets to the event are available starting 12:00 of today, June 10, in all Ticket Service points of sale, as well as online at www.bilesuserviss.lv. Price of a single ticket, including entrance to the paddock and a seat in the grandstands, is 15 EUR.
Children born in 2010 or later (having celebrated or celebrating their sixth birthday this year) will be able to attend the event free of charge. Children born between 2004 and 2009 (including) will be able to get a ticket for 5 EUR. People with disabilities (in a wheelchair) can attend the event free of charge, while their assistant can purchase a discounted ticket for a price of 10 EUR.
Round two of the 2016 NEZ Rallycross Championship, taking place on July 24, is possible thanks to the support of CSDD, Biķernieki Complex Sports Base and the Latvian Automobile Federation. The event is organised by RA EVENTS.
More information about the NEZ Rallycross Championship is available at www.nez-rallycross.eu
