Throughout the whole weekend, there was intermittent rain in and around Talsi, making the stages a real challenge for both drivers and their cars. As seems to be the case each year, there were multiple lead changes, technical issues and thrilling moments, where crew errors lead to smaller or larger crashes.

“This was a fantastic race that concluded with a perfect result,” begins Plangi, who, before Rally Talsi, said that winning four events in a row is nearly impossible. “Due to reasons I’m not really sure about, we lost quite a bit of time in the city stages yesterday, costing us the lead. However, we were consistently fast in every other stage, which led to a victory. We are also ecstatic about the fact that we not only won, but managed to preserve the car and even got some additional points in the “power stage”, which are important in the fight for the championship,” Plangi is happy with his result, and hopes to return to Talsi and join the battle for the Champions Cup next year.

In LRČ1 group, the 2013 Champions Cup winners, Lithuanians Dominykas Butvilas / Renatas Vaitkevičius, came away with a win, followed by Ivars Vasaraudzis, who last competed in a rally four years ago. “This was a great experience and everything went very well. Oskars had a superb debut, and I managed to improve throughout the event and recall some of the things I had forgotten in these last few years. The only regret is that this rally is already over, as we got better in each stage, and would love to keep racing!” Ivars Vasaraudzis said after the finish.

During the rally, there were a number of very close battles in the front wheel drive LRČ3 group, with six different crews setting at least one fastest stage time. Overall, with three lead changes having taken place, Vasily Gryazin / Dmitry Lebedik came out on top.

Four crews decided to join the battle for the Champions Cup this year, being the reigning champions in Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Belarus. Finnish champion Koitla was leading after day one, but had a puncture in SS8, which cost him more than four minutes and put the Latvian, Jānis Vorobjovs, in the lead. Vorobjovs managed to stay in front until the finish. Lithuanian Čapkauskas was in third before the puncture of Koitla, which allowed him to move up one spot to claim second place. Belarusian champion Viazovich was the only one not to reach the finish, having to retire on the very last stage with an engine problem.

“Everything went according to plan – we promised to keep the Champions Cup in Latvia, and then delivered on that promise,” Jānis Vorobjovs was upbeat after the rally. “Having said that, Rally Talsi was a very difficult rally with a lot of technical problems. In the last stage, we risked everything by starting with a car that was as light as we could make it – we didn’t even carry a spare wheel! We are now happy and tired and, as I have always said, will fight until the end!” Vorobjovs was very motivated after the event.

For the third year in a row, Haralds Šlēgelmilhs and Andrejs Pumpurs took part in Rally Talsi, this time popularizing the movement 1836 that aims to promote travel within Latvia. The crew admits that this rally was an unforgettable experience, with the emotions almost on par with racing a formula. They managed to finish sixth overall in the LRČ2 group.

In Rally Talsi, the competitors had an opportunity to fight for multiple special prizes given out by the sponsors of the event. The Talsi region municipality special prize for setting the fastest time in SS5/6 Talsi City Special went to Lithuanians Martynas Samsonas / Mindaugas Varža. Neste Oil gift card for setting the fastest time in SS8 Neste Oil went to Ivars Vasaraudzis / Oskars Bārtulis, while the Nissan Norde cup for the best jump over the famous Strazde crest of SS11 Nissan Norde was won by Emīls Blūms / Reinis Vilsons.

“Even though I have been organizing rallies for multiple years now, this year I understood that it is impossible to make two equal events at this level,” begins Raimonds Strokšs, the rally director. “I would like to thank all the spectators, who decided to spend these two crisp spring days in Talsi, soaking in the rally atmosphere. A thank you also goes out to all the competitors from seven countries who decided to take part in this event. Of course, none of this would be possible without the Rally Talsi team, who have worked tirelessly in these last few days to bring a great event to everyone. Lastly, I would like to thank our supporters and the city of Talsi, which welcomed the many competitors and spectators with open arms this weekend. See you all next year!”, Raimonds Strokšs is grateful for the opportunity to organize a rally in Talsi.

More information about Rally Talsi: www.rallytalsi.lv and http://autorally.lv.

Rally Talsi would not be possible without the support of our partners. We would like to thank the rally city of Talsi, companion Latvijas Dzelzceļš, sponsors Neste Oil and Talce / SC Grupa, as well as the official car from Nissan Norde. A large thank you also goes out to our supporters – Canon, Krauzers, Lakalme, Latauto.lv, Ramirent, Rudus and SweCon. Media support is possible thanks to Delfi, Talsu Vēstis, Star FM, Top Gear Latvija, Go4speed, Kurzemes Radio and Ātruma Cilts. Support from our rally friends at Dardedze Hologrāfija, ecoRent, FN Serviss, Midland and Torley was also important, as is the support from the Latvian Automobile Federation.

Rally Talsi. Photo: Go4Speed.lv