Despite the cold autumn weather, lots of spectators made their way to Jurmala, Biķernieki, and Sports Complex 333 today, to see the final battles in the Latvian Rally Championship. As a reminder, Rally Latvija gives more points towards the championship than other rounds, and champions in the all-wheel drive classes, LRČ1 and LRČ2, still need to be determined.

In the most powerful class, LRČ1, day one included an exciting back and forth battle between Finnish driver Kalle Rovanpera (Škoda Fabia R5, co-driven by Risto Pietilainen), asphalt specialist Nikolay Gryazin (Škoda Fabia R5, co-driven by Yaroslav Fedorov), and the experienced Latvian rally driver Jānis Vorobjovs (Mitsubishi Mirage, co-driven by Artūrs Žeibe). During the day, each of the three crews set at least one fastest stage time, and there were three lead changes, with Rovanpera being on top after the first nine stages. Nikolay Gryazin is just 2.11 seconds behind, while Vorobjovs is third, 31.39 seconds behind the leader.

“I am very satisfied with the first day. Biķernieki track was fun, and we had to fight with the car sliding too much in 333, but the overall result is good! I am certain that nothing has been determined yet, and we still have an exciting race ahead of us tomorrow!” says Kalle Rovanpera after day one.

“We ran into multiple technical issues at the beginning of the day, so tried to be cautious in Biķernieki, but even that was not enough to save our tires – they were extremely worn down and we lost a lot of time in the last few stages. Overall, the rally is very interesting – day one had only asphalt stages, but tomorrow we will also have some gravel,” comments Jānis Vorobjovs.

In LRČ2 class, Mārtiņš Svilis (Mitsubishi Evo X, co-driven by Ivo Pūķis) is the current leader, and, if he manages to remain in the lead after day two, he will have won not only Rally Latvija, but will also become the Latvian champion. Sergei Remennik (Mitsubishi Evo X, co-driven by Mark Rozin, 32.39 seconds behind Svilis) is currently second, and Alexander Gorelov (Mitsubishi Evo X, co-driven by Igor Skuridin) is third, 1 minute and 13.09 seconds from first place.

“It was very tough in the beginning! Ķemeri stages were very narrow and difficult, so every mistake could have been costly. Our car has been prepared for gravel stages, so the asphalt on Biķernieki was a real challenge! I am happy that the car had good grip in 333 and we could be precise there, but the real rally begins tomorrow!” Mārtiņš Svilis is ready to battle for a podium spot in the overall classification.

In LRČ3, Mārtiņš Sesks (Peugeot 208 R2, co-driven by Reinis Vilsons) showed the pace of a true champion, winning seven special stages and growing the lead over second placed Jonas Pipiras (Škoda Fabia R2, co-driven by Ričardas Baubinas) to 1 minute and 53.19 seconds, with Daņila Belokoņs (Ford Fiesta R2T, co-driven by Toms Freibergs) 2 minutes and 1.09 seconds behind the leaders.

“We started off cautiously, as I had not driven the rally car for a few weeks and needed to regain my rhythm. Still, I am happy with my performance today, and the rally itself is also very interesting. Due to our tires, we were sliding a lot in Sports Complex 333, but it is great that our fears about dust or visibility problems in the night stages were unfounded – there were absolutely no problems on that front!” added Mārtiņš Sesks after day one.

Russian crew of Petr Turkin and Vasily Mirkotan (Citroen DS3 R3T Racing) are the current leaders in RK1 class, while Andris Kulbergs / Andis Veinbergs (Mitsubishi Evo VI) hold the overnight lead in RK2.

Due to a technical issue, all crews received identical times in SS7 and SS8 of Rally Latvija.

First day turned out to be very exciting and filled with surprises for Historic Rally Latvija sports class. Ivars Velme (co-driven by Andris Velme) had moved into the lead after winning the first two stages, driving the legendary Audi Quattro A2. Unfortunately, the crew had to retire due to a technical problem, handing the lead to Ivo Ķilpis (VAZ 2105, co-driven by Artis Ceriņš), but they were the leaders only for one stage before receiving a three minute penalty for arriving early to a time control. That gave first place to Ainārs Igaveņš (Fiat 124 B, co-driven by Uldis Znotiņš), who then also ran into a technical issue during SS8 and had to retire from the event, with Aldis Vilcāns (VAZ 2107, co-driven by Zigmunds Zuševics) moving into first position. But this was not the final turn of the events, as Estonian Alari Sillaste (AZLK 2140, co-driven by Arvo Liimann) set the fastest time in the final stage of the day, moving into the overnight lead.

At the beginning of the day, the new Seat Ateca official unveiling took place in Biķernieki, followed by the “Autobrava Winner’s Race”, where multiple Rally Latvija drivers, co-drivers and team managers took part! Just being the most precise was not enough to win here, as you could get a 5 second bonus for correctly guessing the Autobrava “secret” driver. Harri Rovanpera, father of LRČ1 championship contender Kalle, was not only quick to drive, but also correctly guessed that the “secret” driver was Latvian rallycross driver Reinis Nitišs. “Despite my extensive driving experience in various conditions, this task – driving the car navigating it only by onboard cameras, was something completely new to me. It was fun to learn something new, and winning just made this an even better start to the day!” admitted former World Rally Championship driver Harri Rovanpera.

In addition to the aforementioned events, a rallysprint event also took place today, with drivers tackling the same nine stages as Rally Latvija. A total of 19 crews competed to find the fastest in five classes for all-wheel drive, front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive cars.

Fifth round of the rally supersprint also took place today, with nearly 50 drivers competing in seven classes. The 2.5km long stage for rally supersprint was in Ķemeri, Jurmala, and had to be done three times, with the two best results counting towards the result. More information about rally supersprint is available on http://4rati.lv/

All event results are available on http://autorally.lv/, the official website of the Latvian Rally Championship.

Latvian Rally Championship round Rally Latvija will conclude on Sunday, with five special stages taking place in Tukums, Jurmala (Kauguri), and Biķernieki. It is important to note that Historic Rally Latvija sports class crews will enter the stages before the modern rally cars. Minirally Latvija will also take place on Sunday, with four special stages taking place in Biķernieki and the final stage in Jurmala.

Rally Latvia takes place on October 22 and 23, and on special stages set in Jurmala, Tukums, Bikernieki circuit, and Sports Complex 333, will host not only modern rally cars, but also historic cars. Crews competing with modern rally cars will be battling in three separate events – the Latvian Rally Championship, FIA European Rally Cup, and the Baltic Rally Cup. Meanwhile, those who are just beginning their rally careers, and are looking to compete in the longer distances in the near future, will be able to race in three events based on their current capabilities – rallysprint, rally supersprint and minirally! Historic Rally Latvia has also served up something special for this year – in addition to a regularity rally, historic cars will also compete for the fastest times on the stages.

Rally Latvia would like to thank its partner – Jurmala city council – for their support in organizing the final event of the 2016 Latvian Rally Championship, and would like to thank sponsors Conti STL and DMACK. Thank you to supporters Autobrava, Hydroscand and Prodex. Informative support is provided by TVNET.

More information about the event, and the results of Rally Latvia, is available on the official Latvian Rally Championship website http://autorally.lv/, as well as on social media: Twitter, facebook, and YouTube.

Jānis Unbedahts, RA EVENTS. Photo: Raimonds Volonts