For the first time, the country will host a WRC event, adding a historic touch. Although the Rally Liepaja is a traditional rally, stepping up to the WRC level is a big leap. For many drivers, it will be their first time in Latvia, though the race resembles the rounds in Estonia and Poland.
“Latvia is new to the WRC but we can expect similar demands to Rally Poland, with fast and flowing stages and a sandy surface, but the roads are maybe even wider and faster,” anticipates Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
Latvala foresees a significant challenge for the drivers, as many of the special stages will be run only once.
“The biggest challenge is that many of the stages will be driven only once, which is quite rare these days. That means there will be a lot of work for the crews with a lot of new pacenotes to be written, and when it’s a new event with new roads it’s always a great challenge,” Latvala summarises.
In the previous Rally Poland, Toyota achieved a one-two finish. However, Hyundai was once again the best on Sunday, so Toyota could only close the gap to the Korean manufacturer in the manufacturers’ standings by three points.
“We hope to pick up where we left off in Poland, where the performance was great, Kalle’s(Rovanperä) victory was fantastic and Elfyn(Evans) was driving consistently fast,” Latvala reflects.
Toyota is heading to Latvia with a large team, as in addition to Rovanperä and Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Sebastien Ogier will also be at the starting line. Although it has not been officially stated, Ogier has been called in to keep Toyota’s hopes alive in the manufacturers’ championship. Katsuta has not been able to perform well enough so far.
“Hopefully Taka can find an improved feeling in Latvia, and it will be great to also have Seb back with us there. The championship is so tight this year, it’s difficult to make any differences, so it’s important to have our full-strength line-up for this new challenge and keep up the fight,” Latvala states.
The Rally Latvia starts on Thursday morning with a shakedown. The actual competition begins on Thursday evening with a spectator stage in the capital, Riga. A total of 20 special stages are planned, covering around 300 kilometres.
