Liam Doran set to race Supercar in Lydden Hill British RX, whilst Jānis Baumanis prepares for debut World RX season with outing in RX150 on the weekend of March 27-28.
British driver Liam Doran will contest the second round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill next weekend, driving the Citroën C4 that carried him to X Games gold medal in 2011.
Doran competed in the FIA World Rallycross Championship last season alongside champion Petter Solberg. The double X Games gold medalist began his career in the Junior Rallycross Championship in 2003 and raced up the ladder to Supercar, where he finished second in the British championship in 2009. He has won events in British RX since, but hasn’t raced a Supercar in the series since 2012, when he won on the traditional Easter Bank Holiday event at Lydden Hill.
The C4 has been restored to the livery used by Doran when he drove for Kenneth Hansen’s Hansen Motorsport team in the FIA European Rallycross Championship in 2010 and finished third overall at his first full-time attempt.
“I’m definitely looking forward to racing at Lydden Hill next weekend. I drove at a test with the team a few weeks ago, but that was only for development work, and to be honest it was a little bit unexpected that I would get this chance,” said Doran. “I’m definitely not complaining though – more time in a Supercar is always great, and I’ll be driving the rebuilt C4 that I first won X Games in; so to race at my home track in that car, in the British Championship actually feels pretty special.”
Doran’s multiple British Rallycross Champion father, Pat Doran, raced the car at the opening round of British RX at Croft earlier this month. While Liam will race the car at Lydden, Pat will return to the driving seat for the following rounds of the British Championship at Pembrey (May 1 – 2).
Super1600 drivers: (from left) Ernestas Staponkus, Jānis Baumanis and Ulrik Linnemann. © JKR/ERC24
Latvian rallycross star Jānis Baumanis will also compete in the second round of the GBRX racing in the RX150 Rallycross Championship category. Baumanis will be following in the footsteps of compatriot Reinis Nitiss and Norwegian Andreas Bakkerud, who both made appearances in the buggy category last season.
Baumanis won the European Rallycross Super1600 title last year, alongside selected Supercar appearances. He made his debut for World RX Team Austria at the final round of World RX in Argentina and finished fourth, before signing for the squad full-time for this season, alongside Timur Timerzyanov.
“I have driven something similar before in Latvian Autocross, and won the championship twice, so I know that it is a lot of fun to drive buggies and I’m sure the RX150 will be the same,” said Baumanis. “It always helps when you are able to drive at a track, it doesn’t matter what you are driving, you always learn something. Lydden is a fast, technical and very interesting circuit; I like to drive there. It’s always nice to race at Lydden because of its history as the birthplace of rallycross. I hope to have fun next weekend and to be as fast as possible. I will try to do my best, like always.”
The RX150 Championship is currently led by reigning champion Chrissy Palmer, who won the opening round at Croft.
For information on the championship please visit: http://www.rallycrossbrx.com/
Top Photo: Doran will drive the Citroën C4 that carried him to X Games gold medal in 2011. © JKR/ERC24