"Taking into account the unexpected news received last week about the cancellation of the rally "Cēsis", the convened LAF Rally Commission considered several and very different options for the ways how to conclude this 2026 season. After lengthy discussions, we decided that the Latvian champion should be determined in special stages, not in the scoreboards on paper, and we need to find a way to organize the final stage of the Latvian Rally Championship. Also, weighing both financial and sporting circumstances, we decided that the end of the season should take place at home, in Latvia. Thus, the final decision was to include the rallysprint "Latvija" in the calendar of the 2026 Latvian Rally Championship and Latvian Rally Cup, which initially had the status of a reserve round of the season. I would like to express my gratitude to the organizer of this event, Jānis Krastiņš, for the work done in such a short time to assure the LAF Rally Commission that the crews will have the opportunity to compete on dirt and asphalt special stages. to complete a full-fledged rally with a full distance of 88 km, so that the decisive stage of the season should not have a reduced points coefficient,” said Raimonds Strokšs, head of the Rally Commission of the Latvian Automobile Federation.
Kalle Rovanpera, Rally Latvija 2017. Photo: Raimonds Volonts
“No matter how difficult the current situation is, we will do everything possible to ensure a challenging end to the season for the Latvian Rally Championship,” begins Jānis Krastiņš, organizer of the rallysprint “Latvija”. “This year would have marked the end of a decade that began with the last time the round of the Latvian Rally Championship “Latvija” was hosted in 2017. Back in the day, the event was won by the Finnish driver Kalle Rovanpera, who later became a two-time world champion. Only time will tell whether the future world champion will win the Latvian Rally Championship event “Latvija” this year!”
Mārtiņš Ķikusts, Rallysprint Latvija 2025. Photo: Raimonds Volonts
“This year we had a plan to organize a rallysprint competition, which would host the participants of the Latvian Rallysprint Cup, the Latvian Historic Car Rally Cup, as well as the Estonian Rally Sprint Cup – international competitions that are gaining momentum and getting more and more recognition among rally crews every year. Considering that the final round of the 2026 Latvian Minirally Championship and Cup season was also scheduled the day before (on Saturday), and now the Latvian Rally Championship and Cup has also joined – this will be a truly exciting and eventful end to the Latvian rally season. However, we must also take into account the specifics of the Biķernieki track, which allows for a successful competition to host a limited number of participants – I encourage all potential participants of the rally “Latvija” not to postpone their registration until the last day,” concludes Jānis Krastiņš, the organizer of the rallysprint “Latvija”.
In accordance with the changes, the Latvian Rally Championship and Latvian Rally Cup 2026 season calendar has retained the originally planned number of stages – five. Meanwhile, the Latvian Rallysprint Cup and Latvian Historic Car Rally Cup, as well as the Latvian Rally Teams’ Championship season will be one stage shorter.
Information about Latvian Rally Championship available on our official website www.autorally.lv, as well as on our social media accounts Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)