Trepák: We showed we absolutely belong here
The 2026 FIA European Rallycross Championship curtain-raising contest in Rīga may have ended in frustration for Andor Trepák following a head-turning display, but the Hungarian is already aiming to carry his burgeoning momentum into the second round of the season on home soil.
Trepák travelled to the Latvian capital feeling excited to embark upon his maiden full campaign at international level, having previously starred in a brace of one-off outings at Nyirád – in Euro RX3 in 2024 and then in the headlining Euro RX1 category last summer.
Despite having no prior knowledge of the historic Biķernieku trase and having only begun racing three years ago, the reigning Hungarian Rallycross Champion was a solid top ten contender throughout free practice in the high-calibre, 29-strong field, and posted the fourth-quickest lap in FP2. It was very much a sign of what was to come.
In Q1, Trepák comfortably beat 2025 championship runner-up, Damian Litwinowicz while giving multiple World RX event-winner Ole Christian Veiby a run for his money as he secured the sixth-fastest time. Former Euro RX title-holders Rokas Baciuška and Patrick O’Donovan became his next major scalps in Q2, ducking down the inside of one and sweeping around the outside of the other on his way to ninth place overall.
A rough-and-tumble start to his Q3 race cost the Újszilvás native ground, and while he gamely battled back, that early loss of time would prove decisive. All five competitors flashed past the chequered flag blanketed by barely a second in an ultra-close finish – but Trepák was on the wrong end of it, restricting him to 12th. His response was immediate – and impressive.
A dominant performance in his Q4 heat not only earned the 20-year-old rising star of the sport a race win, it saw him top the session outright – to the tune of almost two thirds-of-a-second. At Nyirád ten months ago, he had outpaced everybody in Q1 except eight-time world champion, Johan Kristoffersson; in Rīga, he got the better of the Swede as well.
That elevated Trepák from ninth to sixth in the intermediate classification, and booked him an outside front row berth for the event’s second quarter-final. After surviving a physical first few corners – getting caught up behind a spinning Juha Rytkönen and very nearly being sent into a spin himself, producing a tremendous save to keep his car pointing in the right direction – he slotted into third, then swiftly made his move.
An incisive pass on Nils Volland on lap two would be key to the end result. With the German proving to be the cork in the bottle for the rest of the pack, the TRX Motorsport driver was able to make good his escape, going on to triumph by more than three seconds and matching Kristoffersson’s best lap from QF1 to the thousandth-of-a-second.
There seemed to be no stopping him, but ill-fortune lay just around the corner. Contact in the opening exchanges of the semi-final – which he had begun from pole position – broke his Renault Mégane’s suspension and dashed Trepák’s hopes of advancing to the final. He is far from discouraged.
“We arrived in Rīga feeling confident, and the collective pre-event test gave us plenty of track time, which helped me to adapt quickly to the circuit and fine-tune the set-up,” he reflected. “Saturday’s qualifying heats went surprisingly well, and on Sunday, everything felt like a dream, with the absolute fastest time in Q4 and another win in the quarter-final after a hard-fought battle.
“Unfortunately, the same bad luck from last year at Nyirád then found us again in the semi-final. I have since reviewed every on-board camera multiple times, and honestly, there was nothing I could have done differently.
“Still, we have no reason to feel disappointed. As a small private team without sponsors, being able to beat experienced drivers and competitors with much bigger budgets is already something of which we can be very proud.
“The remaining rounds are going to be a big challenge, but our pace when we weren’t in traffic in Latvia was incredible, and we showed that we absolutely belong here. Of course, I’m really looking forward to Nyirád, but I don’t feel any extra pressure because it’s my home track – quite the opposite. I think I’ll be even calmer when lining up on the grid.
“Last year there, I received an incredible adrenaline boost from the crowd and we were extremely competitive – on pure pace, we were fighting for the win in Euro RX1 until we got taken out. This year, the field will be even tougher, so we’ll need even more support from the fans – and I’m expecting a huge number of them, because with the FIA’s changes, rallycross is truly alive again! I will definitely be giving it maximum attack in the ‘Red Cauldron’!”
Euro RX of Hungary – round two of the series’ 2026 campaign – will take place at Nyirád Racing Center on 30-31 May.
