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Ivars Vallers from the LV Racing team continues to score points in every event of the TCR Eastern Europe series this year. The Latvian driver recently achieved his first podium finish in the series and aims to build on this success. We discussed his season during the third round at the Slovakia Ring.
Vallers, driving his Audi RS3 LMS TCR, secured tenth place in both races at the Slovakia Ring, marking his fourth consecutive race with points. However, let’s first revisit his third place at the Red Bull Ring, where he lead for most of the race until he was catch up by Attila Bucsi and Maťo Homola.
“I am only in my second year here, and the field is very strong. But we have been working really hard to achieve this. It was all about consistency, hard work, and improving with every race. Now, we have something to build on,” Vallers said at Slovakia.
“It gives you more confidence and the feeling that you can be at the top of the field. It’s definitely a very important moment. But for me, I still have a lot of work to do. The results will come, but different racetracks have different conditions.”
The Slovakia Ring weekend was held under very hot conditions, with much higher temperatures compared to the Red Bull Ring.
“We are here to race, and I can say with 100% certainty that I am here to be at the front, not at the back. I will do my very best to achieve that. I don’t know how it will be at the end of the season or where we will be, because everyone has the same conditions. The finish in one race can change so much, and the second race can change just as much. All of the drivers are very strong, and they have huge experience behind them. I am very happy and glad to be here in the top 10 and to fight for podiums.”
Although Vallers competed in last year’s TCR Eastern Europe championship, he only began his motorsport career a few years ago. He does not have a long racing background and is still relatively new to the sport.
“I am very new to this sport, but I have improved a lot and believe I have big potential. We will keep working towards our best results. I know that I can be on points regulary. I don’t have it in my head that I must finish P1 or P2. I will just do my best and see what the situation is on the track at that moment.”
With Vallers now having experience fighting in the middle of the field and also leading races with a gap, we asked him which position he finds more comfortable.
“That’s a difficult question to answer. Of course, if you’re at the front and building up a gap, you feel more comfortable because no one is in front of you or behind you. You can run your own race and just need to maintain the pace and be patient to achieve the best result. But on the other hand, if you’re in the middle, you have a very exciting fight. You’re on a high level of adrenaline. You have to be very wise with overtaking to avoid contact. So for me, I like both scenarios.”
