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.

Reinis Nitišs
NationalityLatvia Latvian
Born (1995-12-16) 16 December 1995 (age 28)
Jēkabpils, Latvia
FIA ERX Supercar Championship career
Debut season2018
Current teamSet Promotion
Starts5
Championships1 (2018)
Wins3
Podiums4
FIA World Rallycross Championship
Years active20142017, 2019-2020
Former teamsOlsbergs MSE
Münnich Motorsport
EKS RX
GRX SET
ESmotorsport-Eigesa WRX Team
Starts53
Wins1
Podiums8
Best finish3rd in 2014
FIA ERX Super1600 Championship
Years active20122013
Former teamsSet Promotion
SKN Sports
Starts14
Championships1 (2013)
Wins6
Podiums8
Championship titles
2013

2012
2011

2011
2009
2009
European Rallycross Championship (Super1600)
NEZ Rallycross Championship
Estonian Rallycross Championship
Baltic Rallycross Championship
Latvian Karting Championship
Baltic Karting Championship

Biography

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Early career

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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.[1]

World Rallycross

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Olsbergs MSE (2014–15)

In 2014 he debuted in the FIA World Rallycross Championship Supercar category, driving a Ford Fiesta for Olsbergs MSE (OMSE) alongside Andreas Bakkerud.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Return to Olsbergs MSE (2016)

He 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.[5] 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.[6]

Racing record

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Nitišs racing in the Super1600 category (2013)
 
Nitišs in action during the 2014 World RX of Great Britain
 
Nitišs at the 2015 World RX of Hockenheim
 
Nitišs competing in the 2016 World RX of Portugal
 
Nitišs in his debut for EKS RX

Complete FIA North European Zone (NEZ) Rallycross Championship results

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(key)

NEZ-1600

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 Position Points
2012 SKN Sports Peugeot 206 DEN
2
NOR
1
LTU1
1
LTU2
4
1st 70[7]

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results

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(key)

Super1600

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ERX Points
2012 SKN Sports Peugeot 206 GBR
FRA
AUT
HUN
NOR
SWE
(16)
BEL
16
NED
14
FIN
12
GER
15
23rd 11
2013 SET Promotion Renault Clio GBR
6
POR
4
HUN
1
FIN
1
NOR
1
SWE
2
FRA
1
AUT
1
GER
1
1st 227

Supercar

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 ERX Points
2018 Set Promotion Ford Fiesta BAR
1
BEL
2
SWE
1
FRA
6
LAT
1
1st 135

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

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(key)

Supercar

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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 POR
3
GBR
7
NOR
1
FIN
3
SWE
4
BEL
8
CAN
4
FRA
2
GER
16
ITA
11
TUR
7
ARG
2
3rd 210
2015 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST POR
11
HOC
2
BEL
3
GBR
5
GER
7
SWE
5
CAN
9
NOR
7
FRA
16
BAR
9
TUR
7
ITA
9
ARG
14
7th 167
2016 all-inkl.com Münnich Motorsport SEAT Ibiza POR
15
HOC
13
BEL
12
GBR
21
NOR
12
SWE
18
CAN
13
FRA
5
16th 44
Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta BAR
13
LAT
11
GER
ARG
10
2017 EKS RX Audi S1 BAR
10
POR
5
HOC
12
BEL
13
GBR
16
NOR
10
SWE
18
CAN
16
FRA
12
LAT
11
GER
12
RSA
18
14th 71
2019 GRX SET Hyundai i20 ABU
11
BAR BEL GBR NOR SWE
3
CAN FRA LAT
8
RSA 14th 40
2020 ESmotorsport-Eigesa WRX Team Škoda Fabia SWE SWE FIN FIN LAT
11
LAT
13
ESP ESP 19th 12

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

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(key)

GRC Lites

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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
IRW
5
ATL
6
CHA
LV
10th 23

Records

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  • 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.

References

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  1. ^ "Set Promotion - History". SET Promotion. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  2. ^ "OlsbergsMSE previews 2014 team lineup". OlsbergsMSE. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  3. ^ "NITISS MOVES TO ALL-INKL.COM RACING WITH NEW SEAT IBIZA". fiaworldrallycross.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  4. ^ "REINIS NITIŠS AND ALL-INKL.COM MÜNNICH MOTORSPORT TO PART COMPANY AFTER LOHÉAC RX". reinisnitiss.com. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  5. ^ "REINIS NITIŠS TO JOIN OLSBERGS MSE FOR BARCELONA RX". reinisnitiss.com. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Audi expands to third World RX car for Nitiss". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Rallycross Tabellen/Standings (in German)". rallycross.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by European Rallycross Super1600 Champion
2013
Succeeded by
Preceded by European Rallycross Supercar Champion
2018
Succeeded by
Incumbent