Latvians in the FIA European Rally Championship

Four Latvian crews will contest Rally Liepāja this year, with the drivers being Jānis Berķis, Jānis Vorobjovs, Reinis Nitišs, and Mārtiņš Sesks. Unfortunately, Ralfs Sirmacis has withdrawn from the event, in order to better prepare for next season. In addition to these four crews, both Nikolay Gryazin and Kalle Rovanpera will be fighting for ERC glory with racing licences issued by the Latvian Automobile Federation. With Rally Liepāja also hosting a Latvian Rally Championship round, we will see some more exciting crews taking part, including Oliver Solberg, son of three time world rally and rallycross champion Petter Solberg.

Stage maps

Stage maps and viewpoint descriptions with GPS, all in a convenient A5 size booklet, are available in Neste fuel stations in Rīga, Talsi, Saldus, Kuldīga, and Liepāja – on the way to Rally Liepāja special stages. These booklets are also available in the Elvi store in Skrunda.

Tickets

We would like to remind you that a ticket to all stages costs 25.00 EUR and is available in all Biļešu Serviss locations. Children up to 10 years of age, as well as people with disabilities, can attend the rally free of charge, if they can show a document stating their age and/or a valid disability certificate to the ticket controller at the stage entrance. Those who attended Neste World RX of Latvia can also get a Rally Liepāja ticket for a decreased price of 15.00 EUR, by entering the code listed on the rallycross ticket in the Biļešu Serviss system. During Rally Liepāja, at the stage entrances it will only be possible to buy single stage tickets, at a price of 12.00 EUR per ticket.

Exchanging your ticket for a wristband

Rally Liepāja spectators should remember that tickets bought in Biļešu Serviss must be exchanged for wristbands before heading out to the rally – it will not be possible to get into the stages without a wristband. Tickets can be exchanged in specially created ticket exchange locations. On Saturday, from 7:00 to 16:00, they will be available in Priedaine, Skrunda, and Kalvene. On Sunday, the ticket exchange locations in Kalvene and Aizpute will be open from 7:00 to 15:00. An additional ticket exchange location, in Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, will be open on both Saturday and Sunday, from 8:00 to 20:00. All information about ticket exchange locations can be found on the rally website at www.lvrally.com. When exchanging you ticket for a wristband, you will also receive a spectator safety information leaflet.

Historic Rally Liepāja

Due to the extensive rain that has worsened road conditions, the historic car regularity race, Historic Rally Liepāja, has been cancelled. We would like to remind you that the historic cars were expected to tackle the stages 1h40min before the rally cars.

Watch the Liepāja city stage and Speed Festival Kurzeme activities free of charge

On Saturday, October 7, multiple Speed Festival Kurzeme and Rally Liepāja activities will be available to spectators for free. From 10:00, the final round of the Latvian Powerboat Championship, UPB Energy Kauss, will take place on the Tirdzniecības canal. Starting from 12:00, the LADA RX Kurzeme event, with rallycross prepared LADAs, will take place on the Liepāja city stage, while the rally cars will tackle SS6/7 Liepāja City Stage starting from 18:25.

Results and news

Live event results will be available on the official website of the Latvian Rally Championship, www.autorally.lv, which also has a mobile-friendly version (m.autorally.lv). The results and driver commentary will also be available on the website of the FIA European Rally Championship, at www.fiaerc.com. News can also be followed via the FIA ERC mobile app, which is available on both Google Play and the App Store. All information and news about Rally Liepāja are available on the official website at www.lvrally.com, as well as on social media - Twitter @LVRally, Facebook /LVRally, draugiem.lv /lvrally, YouTube /RallyLiepāja, and Instagram /lvrally.

Spectator safety

Rally Liepāja organizers ask spectators to be cautious and follow the directions of safety officials. We would also like to remind the more experienced rally spectators to assist in making the event safe for everyone – try and help spectators who might be attending a rally for the first time! Information about the areas where it is too dangerous to watch from is also available in the spectator safety leaflet that is included in all spectator kits.

Rally radio

During the event, the official rally radio, Kurzemes Radio, will live broadcast the rally activities throughout Latvia. In the broadcast, you will be able to follow the results, hear competitor interviews from the stages, as well as expert commentary from the studio. In addition to that, you will hear all the official information from the rally centre, as well as any changes to the event schedule.

Rally reviews on TV

The rally will be filmed by Eurosport operators and, at on the evening of each day – from Friday through Sunday – the channel will broadcast a review in more than 60 countries. These reviews will be rebroadcast in Latvian on TV6 channel.

Other useful information in brief

Due to roadworks on the A9 road, the trip to Liepāja will take a little longer than usual, so we would suggest heading out to the stages a bit earlier. For four evenings in a row, on October 6, 7, 8, and 9, the rally parties will take place in Red Sun Buffet. You can follow all crews through GPS on www.gps.autorally.lv. All information and news about Rally Liepāja are available on the official website at www.lvrally.com, as well as on social media - Twitter @LVRally, Facebook /LVRally, draugiem.lv /lvrally, YouTube /RallyLiepāja, Instagram /lvrally.

Rally Liepāja partners

FIA European Rally Championship round Rally Liepāja is possible thanks to the support of the Latvian government and the rally city of Liepāja. We would also like to thank our sponsors Neste and Optibet Sporta Bārs, and our partner LDz Cargo. Thanks to the provider of official cars Autobrava, as well as supporters Baltijas Helikopters, Castrol, Canon ibServiss Rīga, Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, Liepājas SEZ, NPK Expert, Ramirent, and SweCon. Informative support is provided by news portal DELFI, rally radio Kurzemes Radio, as well as Go4Speed and Zebra. Rally Liepāja would also not be possible without our rally friends: Dardedze, Esi Draugs, FN Serviss, Jānis Pūce, Liepājas Datoru Centrs, Maksikoms, N&J, Red Bull, SidusNet, SignTech, Sixt, Sportland, Törley, and Venden. A special thank you goes out to the Latvian Automobile Federation. Rally Liepāja is organized by RA EVENTS and Speed Festival Kurzeme, with support by the regional councils of Durbe, Aizpute, Priekule.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6

15:30 Qualifying stage LATVIA CELEBRATES 100 YEARS (Dunalka)

16:40 Test stage (Dunalka)

19:00 Speed Festival Kurzeme and Rally Liepāja opening ceremony next to Great Amber concert hall

20:30 Rally Liepāja ceremonial start at the Great Amber concert hall

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7

9:00 Start of first rally car from Liepāja (from the service park on Pulvera street)

10:00 SS 1 OPTIBET 1 (Kalvene)

10:00-18:00 UPB ENERGY Kauss – Seventh round of the Latvian powerboat championship (Liepāja)

10:40 SS 2 LDZ CARGO 1 (Laidi)

11:25 SS 3 RAMIRENT (Snēpele)

12:00-16:30 LADA RX Kurzeme (Liepāja)

15:00 SS 4 OPTIBET 2 (Kalvene)

15:40 SS 5 LDZ CARGO 2 (Laidi)

18:25 SS 6 LIEPĀJA CITY STAGE 1 (Liepāja)

18:38 SS 7 LIEPĀJA CITY STAGE 2 (Liepāja)

20:00 UPB ENERGY Kauss, LADA RX Kurzeme, and Sixth round of the Latvian Rally Championship awards ceremony (next to Great Amber concert hall)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8

7:55 Start of first rally car from Liepāja (from the service park on Pulvera street)

9:00 SS 8 CASTROL EDGE SUPERCAR 1 (Priekule)

10:00 SS 9 CANON BIZNESA CENTRS-IB SERVISS 1 (Podnieki)

10:30 SS 10 NESTE 1 (Vecpils)

13:10 SS 11 CASTROL EDGE SUPERCAR 2 (Priekule)

14:10 SS 12 CANON BIZNESA CENTRS-IB SERVISS 2 (Podnieki)

14:45 SS 13 NESTE 2 (Vecpils)

16:10 Rally Liepāja finish podium (next to the service park on Pulvera street)

17:00 Eighth round of the FIA European Rally Championship, Sixth round of the FIA ERC Junior Championship, Seventh round of the Latvian Rally Championship awards ceremony on the Rally Liepāja finish podium (next to the service park on Pulvera street)

* all times are preliminary and subject to change

Jānis Unbedahts; RA EVENTS. Photo: FIAERC.COM