“This event is going to be a mix of fun, thrills and a battle – with ourselves, with the cars, with the difficult stages of Rally Talsi and, of course, with fellow racers. The Volvo is a beautiful and, despite its age, quick rally car which is reliable and ready to battle for a podium place. Driving the 260 horsepower car is great fun and even with all the work and money that was put into building the car, I can safely say that it was definitely worth it!” say Lavikainen and Kohtaniemi.

It is always a pleasure to gather rally fans, enthusiasts and drivers in Talsi to begin the summer rally season, but it is even better to know that the Talsi name is familiar even outside the borders of Latvia. Lavikainen and Kohtaniemi were invited to try and compete in Rally Talsi by their Finnish colleagues Henri Haapamaki and Marko Salminen (Citroën C2) who participated in 2014. Without much hesitation, they accepted the challenge and will tackle the Rally Talsi stages for the first time this year.

They also admit that the decision to participate in Rally Talsi was made mainly to gain experience in international events and have some fun, but they also intend to be competitive and maybe even beat some of the other champions.

In conclusion, the crew says that this will be a great adventure and a challenge to finish Rally Talsi, and that they are anxiously awaiting the weekend of May 16 and 17 to visit Latvia and Talsi in particular.

Ieva Krūmiņa, specially for Rally Talsi. Photo: Lavikainen/ Kohtaniemi (©Lavikainen)