RALLY LIEPAJA :: Latvian rally champion Ralfs Sirmacis joins 'SRT' rally team, set to begin international career

The three time Latvian champion in R2 class, Ralfs Sirmacis, will represent "SRT” in the ERC Junior Championship, representing Latvia in all six events.

- Ralfs Sirmacis, Rally Liepāja 2014 (www.fiaerc.com)

For the last three seasons, Sirmacis, together with his co-driver Māris Kulšs, represented ”LMT Autosport Academy”, winning the Latvian rally championship in R2 class each year, while also becoming a multiple time Latvian junior champion.

“I’ve long wanted to race outside of Latvia. After the successful season last year, we began discussions with multiple teams, but the offer made by Ģirts Krūzmanis and his team was the best. “SRT” has already raced in the European championship, meaning that they have gained a lot of experience, which is extremely important at this level,” mentioned Ralfs Sirmacis.

Team manager of “SRT”, Ģirts Krūzmanis, was also happy about the deal with the fastest Latvian R2 driver – “The collaboration began a bit unexpectedly, due to some lucky circumstances. Our team has gained a lot of experience in European events, and we will be happy to share this knowledge with Ralfs. He is also ready to step up to the challenge, so we are confident that all of this together will lead to great results.”

Along with Sirmacis, “SRT” will also be represented by the Gryazin brothers – Vitaly and Nikolay. Ralfs will be driving the new “Peugeot 208 R2” car and taking part in all six events of the ERC Junior championship. “In order to get some additional experience, we will also contest some rallies in Latvia, but with an all-wheel drive car,” continued Sirmacis, who also mentioned that some testing in the countries hosting ERC events will be done to better prepare for each rally.

Sirmacis will have a new co-driver in 2015 – Artūrs Šimins, who has gained experience over a few seasons now.

“I would like to thank “LMT Autosport Academy” for all the work they’ve put in to help me make this leap to the European level. Of course, a big thank you goes out to Ģirts Krūzmanis as well, for giving me this great opportunity, which I will try and make the most of. Since the prize for ERC Junior champion is a full 2016 season in an R5 car, my motivation is at an all-time high,” says Ralfs Sirmacis, who has already begun the preparations for next season, taking part in practice to further improve his pacenotes.

The 2015 ERC Junior championship is set to begin in Latvia, at “Rally Liepāja”. This championship will also contain three asphalt rallies – in Ireland in April, Belgium in June and Czech Republic in August, and two gravel events – in Azores in the beginning of June and Estonia in July.