“Competing in Europe has been a dream of both myself and the team manager, Hiromi Takeda, since we began rallying. Last year, Hiromi visited multiple European countries to see how rallying is organized there. After that, we decided to come to Latvia for the European Rally Championship event. It will be a great first step from multiple aspects – location, costs, language and hospitality,” explains Futoshi Murase, who so far has competed in rally events in Japan and the United States.
“Baltic Motorsport Promotion is coordinating our rally outing in the European Championship. They got us in touch with Edgars Svencis. We gained experience competing in the United States and came to the understanding that, when competing abroad, you need assistance from the locals. We are confident that having such an experienced co-driver is the best possible decision.”
Futoshi Murase has admitted that the goal in his first European rally is to reach the finish podium. He will be competing in a Ford Fiesta R2.
“I like driving light race cars. I have some experience with front-wheel drive cars so it should not be too unfamiliar. This will be my first time driving an R2 class car though, which means that I will have to adapt my driving style to the car during testing.”
Even though Murase will be coming all the way from Japan, it is being done with a single goal in mind. “I have a very tight schedule. We will arrive on Tuesday, and I have to head back out on Monday, so all the focus will be on the rally. In addition to that, I hope to see a bit of Latvia – the people, the food, the views... I am excited and hope to show the Japanese rally society how wonderful Latvia really is.”
Tickets to FIA European Rally Championship round Rally Liepāja are available in all Biļešu Serviss locations. News and other information about Rally Liepāja can be found 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.
FIA European Rally Championship round Rally Liepāja is possible thanks to the support of the Latvian government, the rally city of Liepāja, as well as the Talsi region. We would also like to thank our sponsors Neste, Ramirent, and SC Grupa, car rental partner Sixt, and our supporters Canon Business Center – IB Serviss, Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, Liepājas Speciālās Ekonomiskās Zonas Pārvalde, Pafbet Score, and Swecon. Informative support is provided by news portal DELFI and media partners Go4Speed, JCDecaux Latvija, Kurzemes Vārds, Talsu Vēstis, and Zebra. Rally Liepāja would also not be possible without our rally friends: adGuru, Baltic Taxi, Dardedze, Flora, FN Serviss, Fristads, Jānis Pūce, Latvijas Pārtikas Ražotājs, Lofbergs, Meža Dārzs, Narvesen, Red Bull, Red Sun Buffet, Scan-Plast, SignTech, Sportland, TN Kurzeme, and Törley. Rally Liepāja is realized with support by the regional councils of Aizpute, Durbe, Priekule, Skrunda, and Vaiņode. A special thank you goes out to the Latvian Automobile Federation. Rally Liepāja is organized by RA EVENTS and Speed Festival Kurzeme.
