Reinis Nitišs

Reinis Nitišs (born 16 December 1995) is a rallycross driver from Jēkabpils, Latvia. He is the winner of the Super1600 division in the European Rallycross Championship in 2013 and is the youngest event winner in FIA World Rallycross Championship history.

Biography Early career Nitišs started racing go-karts at the age of seven and was quickly successful having won multiple Latvian national titles and the Baltic series by 13. He moved into rallycross and dominated the Baltic and NEZ championships before moving into the European Super1600 category in 2012. The 2013 season brought about a very successful period in which he won 6 out of 9 events on his way to the title. thumb

World Rallycross Olsbergs MSE (2014–15) In 2014, Nitišs debuted in the FIA World Rallycross Championship Supercar category, driving a Ford Fiesta for Olsbergs MSE (OMSE) alongside Andreas Bakkerud. His career started promisingly, with a semi-final win and ultimately a podium finish in his first race, followed by qualification for the final in his second - which he later failed to take part in due to engine failure. His third event in Norway brought his first and so far only win in World Rallycross. A further three podiums and points finishes in every round cemented third place in the standings at seasons' end behind Petter Solberg and Toomas Heikkinen.

Despite staying with OMSE, 2015 was a much tougher year for Nitišs - the highlights being second in Hockenheim and third in Belgium. He failed to qualify for the semi-finals twice and despite once again finishing every round in the points he finished seventh in the standings compared to Bakkerud in fourth with over two events worth of points in hand.

Münnich Motorsport (2016) For 2016, Nitišs switched to German outfit Münnich Motorsport and their brand new SEAT Ibiza Supercar. The first half of the season was challenging for him, with the new car's unreliability restricting him to two semi-final appearances. Following the initial struggle, Nitišs ultimately quit the team effective after the French round, despite reaching the final there.

Return to Olsbergs MSE (2016) Nitišs returned to OMSE for three of the final four rounds, skipping Germany to allow the team to give RX Lites title winner Cyril Raymond a run in a Supercar. He made the semi-finals twice, at his inaugural home round in Latvia as well as Argentina.

Audi Sport EKS RX (2017) On 20 February 2017, it was announced that Nitišs would move to reigning champions Audi Sport EKS RX for the 2017 season. The move will see the Latvian driving a third car which, under the current rules, is ineligible to score teams' championship points.

Racing record

Complete FIA North European Zone (NEZ) Rallycross Championship results (key)

NEZ-1600 Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 Position Points 2012 SKN Sports Peugeot 206 DEN2 NOR1 LTU11LTU24 1st 70

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results (key)

Super1600

Supercar

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 ERX Points 2018 Set Promotion Ford Fiesta BAR1 BEL2 SWE1 FRA6 LAT1 1st 135

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results (key)

Supercar Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WRX Points 2014 Ford Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST POR3 GBR7 NOR1 FIN3 SWE4 BEL8 CAN4 FRA2 GER16 ITA11 TUR7 ARG2 3rd 210 2015 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST POR11 HOC2 BEL3 GBR5 GER7 SWE5 CAN9 NOR7 FRA16 BAR9 TUR7 ITA9 ARG14 7th 167 2016 all-inkl.com Münnich Motorsport SEAT Ibiza POR15 HOC13 BEL12 GBR21 NOR12 SWE18 CAN13 FRA5 16th 44 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta BAR13 LAT11 GER ARG10 2017 EKS RX Audi S1 BAR10 POR5 HOC12 BEL13 GBR16 NOR10 SWE18 CAN16 FRA12 LAT11 GER12 RSA18 14th 71 2019 GRX SET Hyundai i20 ABU11 BAR BEL GBR NOR SWE3 CAN FRA LAT8 RSA 14th 40 2020 ESmotorsport-Eigesa WRX Team Škoda Fabia SWE SWE FIN FIN LAT11 LAT13 ESP ESP 19th 12

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results (key)

GRC Lites Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 GRC Points 2013 Olsbergs MSE Lites Ford Fiesta BRA MUN1 MUN2 LOU BRI IRW5 ATL6 CHA LV10th23

Records Youngest winner in World Rallycross Supercars, at 18 years and 6 months. First WRX event winner from outside Scandinavia. First WRX event winner from the Baltic states.