The list of favourites for victory is quite long. Two time European champion and this year’s round one winner Alexey Lukyanuk (Citroen C3 Rally2) will have the honour of carrying number one on his car. Multiple World Rally Championship event winner Andreas Mikkelsen (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) will also be coming to Latvia, as will Polish driver Miko Marczyk (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo), who was on the podium in round one of the European Championship two weeks ago.
In total, 35 crews will be battling for victory in ERC1 class, where competitors drive Rally2 specification cars. Competing with a licence from Latvian Automobile Federation, two time Rally Liepāja winner Nikolay Gryazin (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) will surely be looking for his third win here. Another former winner, Craig Breen (Hyundai i20 R5) will return to Liepāja to try and repeat his 2015 victory.
Among other candidates for victory, we can definitely highlight the 2019 European Junior champion Efren Llarena (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 2017 World Junior champion Nil Solans (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo), French asphalt specialist Yoann Bonato (Citroen C3 Rally2), as well as last year’s third placed ERC driver Gregoire Munster (Hyundai i20 R5).
In addition to that, we can look forward to seeing two more drivers with WRC experience in the class – Ole Christian Veiby (Hyundai i20 R5), and the 2016 World Junior champion Simone Tempestini (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo), who will be joined by other talented drivers from both nearby countries, and as far as South America, with Chile and Argentina represented as well.
In ERC2 class, two crews will be competing under the Latvian flag – Dmitry Feofanov / Normunds Kokins (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo NR4), and the experienced Ainārs Igaveņš (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X NR4), who will once again be co-driven by his son Ralfs Igaveņš. One of the favourites to win is Hungarian driver Tibor Erdi Jr. (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X NR4), who is a three-time champion of the ERC2 class. Abarth Rally Cup will see two rear-wheel drive Abarth 124 rally cars compete for the top spot, with the Czech driver Martin Rada trying to snatch the top spot on the podium from Polish driver Dariusz Polonski.
Liepāja natives will be especially interested in the ERC3 class. There, last year’s Junior WRC runner-up Mārtiņš Sesks (Ford Fiesta Rally4) will do his best to beat one of his main competitors in this year’s Junior WRC category, Sami Pajari (Ford Fiesta Rally4). The Finnish driver won the ERC season opening round in Poland. New for this year is the Clio Trophy class, where five talented drivers will battle for victory in Renault Clio Rally5 cars.
The international recognition of Rally Liepāja is showcased by the fact that the 61 crews competing here represent 25 different countries. There are six crews from Poland, and five each from Estonia, Spain, and France. Variance in the chosen vehicles is similarly large, with a total of 13 manufacturers represented. Among those, the most popular manufacturers are Ford (17 crews) and Škoda (16 crews), while Opel, Subaru, and Toyota are each represented by a single crew.
Rally Liepāja programme:
FRIDAY, JULY 2
12.00 SS 1 SC Grupa/Eurovia / (27,00km) Mundigciems
12.40 SS 2 TALSI LOOKOUT / (25,94km) Strazde
15.45 SS 5 SIXT rent a car / (17,80km) Laidze
16.35 SS 6 Ramirent / (17,36km) Andumi
SATURDAY, JULY 3
09:00 SS 7 Neste 1 / (18,42km) Paplaka
09:55 SS 8 Invest in Liepaja! / (12,01km) Mazilmāja
10:45 SS 9 Liepāja 1 / (16,07km) Vecpils
13:50 SS 10 Neste 2 / (18,42km) Paplaka
14:50 SS 11 Canon Biznesa centrs Liepāja / (9,93 km) Podnieki
15:25 SS 12 Liepāja 2 / (16,07km) Vecpils
Spectator Guide has been published on the event website www.lvrally.com, including all special stage maps, as well as precise locations of the spectator areas.
FIA European Rally Championship event Rally Liepāja is possible thanks to the support provided by the government of Latvia, rally city Liepāja, as well as Talsi region. Thanks to our sponsors Neste, Ramirent, and SC Grupa/Eurovia, as well as supporters Blue Shock Race, Canon Biznesa Centrs Liepāja, Fristads, Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, Liepājas Speciālā Ekonomiskā Zona, and Sixt. Informative support is provided by news media DELFI, and media partners Kurzemes Radio, Sporta Avīze, and Talsu Vēstis. We would also like to thank all Rally Liepāja friends: Flora, FN Serviss, Jānis Pūce, Lofbergs, Kokmuiža Celmlauzis, MB Grupa, Red Bull, SignTech, and Törley. Rally Liepāja is organized with the support of Aizpute, Durbe, Grobiņa, and Priekule region councils. A special thank you goes out to the Latvian Automobile Federation.
All news and information about Rally Liepāja is available online at www.lvrally.com, as well as on social media - Twitter @LVRally, Facebook /LVRally, draugiem.lv /lvrally, YouTube /RallyLiepāja, and Instagram /lvrally.
