In the motorsports circles Haralds Šlēgelmilhs is better known as the circuit sportsman, who started his career behind the wheel of a karting and by developing his driving skills step-by-step continued to start with success in different Formula competitions. His best results were achieved in multiple Formula 3 Championships in Europe and the GP2 Asia Series Championship. He has gained experience also in the Formula races in the North America, as well as in the Porsche Carrera Cup touring car races. At the end of 2012 Haralds Šlēgelmilhs spent several training sessions with the Formula 2 (F2) bolide followed by the start in the concluding round of the season in Monza, Italy. However the sportsman did not manage to make a full season in the F2 Championship as in 2013 the Championship was cancelled.

Exactly these last events prompted the sportsman to make several unexpected steps. Thus joining his strengths with the Mogo.lv Rally Team Haralds Šlēgelmilhs has the opportunity to try his strength in an unknown motorsports discipline for him, namely in rally. Start in the Rally Talsi will be the first rally competition in the career of Haralds Šlēgelmilhs, where he will participate in tandem with the co-driver Artūrs Pumpurs. Although the preparation time has been short, the professional team work has allowed to batch all the necessary resources for successful rally. Moreover, the sportsmen for several weeks already undergo intensive training in order to adjust to the new situation as soon as possible and to be able to compete properly with experienced sportsmen.

“If one year ago somebody would have told me that I will start in rally, I would have considered this person crazy,” Haralds Šlēgelmilhs tells with a smile about his turning to rally. “Personally for me this is a great challenge, as with the exception of a steering wheel and foot pedals, a rally car differs considerably from any sports car driven by me before. However, I considered world experience, and it shows that the Formula 1 pilots Kimi Räikkönen and Robert Kubica have started in rally with goods results. I would like to thank Mogo.lv about support as without their support it would not be possible to drive such a high-class car and work with so professional team. I am really glad that Mogo.lv believed in me, and here I am. I would like to thank also Andis Neikšāns for agreeing to become my instructor and mentor and for teaching not only to drive properly, but also for sharing his rally tricks.”

“Major work has been accomplished during training sessions, as actually we had to start from zero. Haralds in his previous career has mainly competed in a closed track, which can be learned by heart. Therefore, at the beginning he did not trust his co-driver and actually drove as if he was alone in the car. This influenced his result considerably, as in rally it is not possible to memorize all turns and nuances and therefore he lost time. This was the first significant task we have successfully accomplished so far. Although we have a lot of work to do till Rally Talsi, I am sure that Haralds will be ready for the first start,” the training process is commented by the multiple Latvian Rally Champion Andis Neikšāns.

Jānis Unbedahts, Press Secretary RA Motosport. Foto: James Bearne