Fantastic atmosphere as Latvia makes its WRC debut
On the evening of Thursday, July 18, Latvia experienced its official debut on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) map, with the world's fastest rally cars competing in a fantastic atmosphere at the Tet Rally Latvia SSS1 Biķernieki Track in front of packed grandstands at Biķernieki Track. The first day of Tet Rally Latvia ended with the fastest time set by world champion Kalle Rovanperä, while the Latvian team Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis achieved the fourth-best result.
In the unique and unusually long (11.13 km) superspecial SSS1 Biķernieki Track stage, the crews competed in pairs. The fastest time at Biķernieki Track was set by the world champion Kalle Rovanperä from Toyota Gazoo Racing, finishing with a time of 7 minutes 28.5 seconds. An interesting battle went on between the Hyundai Shell Mobis representative Thierry Neuville and eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier from France. Championship standings leader Neuville had opted for a different tire strategy, starting with 3 soft and 1 hard compound tire, while Rovanperä's teammate Ogier used four soft tires at Biķernieki. At the end of the stage, both crews recorded identical results, placing in a shared second/third position, 2.4 seconds behind Rovanperä's time.
The local crew Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis took their first start at the wheel of the hybrid powered M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID car. They were even the second fastest at one of the splits, but finished in fourth place, 2.9 seconds behind leader Rovanperä. It is worth mentioning that Sesks was the fastest of the three M-Sport Ford team crews.
Fifth place in the first special stage of the Tet Rally Latvia was secured by Elfyn Evans, who was 3.9 seconds behind the fastest time. Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top six with a 5.6-second deficit. Hyundai Shell Mobis driver Ott Tänak made a mistake on the track, slightly hitting one of the tire barriers, but this did not prevent the Estonian from finishing seventh, 5.9 seconds behind the leader. The remaining top ten positions were filled by WRC top-class drivers Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport Ford), Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai Shell Mobis), and Grégoire Munster (M-Sport Ford).
In the WRC2 championship, the fastest time was set by Oliver Solberg (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), who began his rally career in the Latvian Championship. Meanwhile, Latvian crew Matīss Mežaks / Arnis Ronis (Škoda Fabia Evo Rally2) achieved the 13th fastest time in their World Championship debut. The other Latvian WRC2 debutant crew, Artūrs Priednieks / Jānis Kirkovalds (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), ended the first day of the WRC Tet Rally Latvia rally in 16th place.
On Friday, July 19, Tet Rally Latvia will continue with seven gravel stages in the Tukums and Talsi regions, as well as in the Talsi city, where the final special stage of the day is planned. The first stage, SS2 Milzkalne, will start at 10.00.
Tet Rally Latvia tickets available at Biļešu Paradīze online store www.bilesuparadize.lv.
WRC DRIVERS SHARE THEIR FIRST IMPRESSIONS AFTER THE SPECTACULAR TET RALLY LATVIA start AT BIĶERNIEKI TRACK
Kalle Rovanperä: “I think it was okay, it is impossible to really say in these conditions which tyre to choose so we just chose one and hoped it would be okay. The guys behind will be fast, it's cleaning a bit and coming onto the tarmac.”
Thierry Neuville: “It's not too bad with the tyre choice we had, we saw that the softs seem to work quite well. No one really knew at the start of the stage, so we were hesitating. We did what we could, it is great to kick off here in front of such a big crowd which is nice. We'll see what we can do tomorrow; hopefully the feeling is good.”
Sébastien Ogier: “Tyre choice was not easy and that is why you see a lot of time differences, so far not too bad so let's see what the guys do behind. I didn't drive perfectly there; the movement of the tyre was hard to manage.”
Mārtiņš Sesks: “It was amazing, I think we lost a bit on the second lap with the soft tyre, I made some places too wide for sure. I think everyone loved that!”
Elfyn Evans: “Really hard to know what is right or wrong. Clean run, but difficult to find the rhythm between pushing and sliding too much. Looks like Kalle had a clean run.”
Takamoto Katsuta: “I've been waiting a long time for this kind of track, it's very hard to say whether tyres were correct. Tomorrow is the proper stage but obviously we had fun with the spectators.”
Ott Tänak: “We tried to be clever for the tyre choice but we got it very, very wrong. Frustrating, but excited for the challenge ahead.”
Adrien Fourmaux: “I think I had a really clean run with the hard tyres, I will compare with the other guy with the hard tyres. I thought it was okay for the time for Kalle Rovanperä, but it is not.”
Esapekka Lappi: “I think it is a disappointment, I was expecting it to be a lot better. I wanted to believe the temperature is high enough to use the hard [tyres] but I couldn't use it properly it seems.”
Grégoire Munster: “Great atmosphere, we had a chance to do a small parade and see the mountain of fans. We don't have the right tyre for this, it is really tricky because you try to be efficient but you end up being slow and going sideways.”
News and other information about the Tet Rally Latvia, round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), available at www.lvrally.com, as well as on social media X @LVRally, Facebook @LVRally, Instagram @lvrally, and TikTok @tetrallylatvia. While, news about the FIA World Rally Championship available at www.wrc.com.
Tet Rally Latvia, round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is set to take place on July 18-21, 2024. The event is possible thanks to the support provided by Ministry of Education and Science, rally city Liepāja and capital city Rīga, as well as municipalities of Tukums, Talsi, and Kuldīga. Special thanks to general sponsor Tet, many thanks to our main sponsors Ramirent, Sportland, and X3000, official car partner Toyota, as well as sponsors BTA, Fristads, and SIXT. Thanks to our partners Canon Biznesa Centrs Liepāja, Latvijas Valsts meži and municipality of Dienvidkurzeme. Informative support provided by news portal DELFI, Kurzemes Radio, Sporta Avīze un Talsu Vēstis. Thanks to Tet Rally Latvia supporters shopping malls AKROPOLE, AOK, Ballīte Ballītē, Biķernieku trase, Conti STL, Conway, CSDD, DHL, Eco Baltia vide, Elnetworks, Flora, FN Serviss, Getic, Jānis Pūce, Löfbergs, Liepāja Special Economic Zone, MB Grupa, Mission Latvia, OCT Composites, Peltors, Rentadisplay, Rīgas Brīvostas pārvalde, Riga Motormusem, SignTech, Swecon, Swan, Törley, Travel Latvia, as well as technical partner Sports Racing Technologies. Tet Rally Latvia is organised by RA Events in cooperation with Speed Festival Kurzeme and Latvian Automobile Federation.
Tet Rally Latvia supports initiatives carried out by Latvian Children's Support Centre, who has created and are developing social rehabilitation facility for children with special needs. We invite you to support this initiative, by making a donation here: http://www.lbaf.lv/lv/ka-ziedot.