Ott Tänak fastest in Rally Latvia’s shakedown, Rovanperä fifth

Hyundai's Ott Tänak was the fastest in the shakedown of Rally Latvia on Thursday morning.
Ott Tänak
Ott Tänak. Photo: Dufour Fabien/Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
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The Estonian driver clocked the fastest time on the 3.58 km Cimdenieki stage with a time of 1:33.6. His teammate Thierry Neuville was second, three-tenths behind Tänak.

Neuville had quite a moment on his first run when his Hyundai dug deep into a ditch. However, the Belgian managed to recover from the situation and set a decent time on his second shakedown attempt.

The best Toyota driver was Takamoto Katsuta, who finished third in the shakedown. The Japanese driver was just 0.4 seconds off Tänak’s fastest time. Host nation driver Martins Sesks was fourth fastest. Elfyn Evans was fifth, 0.9 seconds behind the leader.

Rally favourite Kalle Rovanperä was the seventh fastest in the shakedown, 1.1 seconds off the top time. Sebastien Ogier matched Rovanperä’s time. Hyundai’s Finnish driver Esapekka Lappi finished eight(+1.7).

Rally Latvia officially starts on Thursday evening with an 11.13 km spectator stage at the Bikernieki motor circuit in the capital city, Riga. The rally comprises 20 stages in total, covering approximately 300 km.

Rally Latvia shakedown results:

 1. Ott Tänak        Hyundai 1:33.6
 2. Thierry Neuville Hyundai   +0.3
 3. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota    +0.4
 4. Martins Sesks    Ford      +0.7
 5. Elfyn Evans      Toyota    +0.9
 5. Kalle Rovanperä  Toyota    +1.1
 6. Sebastien Ogier  Toyota    +1.1
 7. Esapekka Lappi   Hyundai   +1.7
 8. Gregoire Munster Ford      +4.8
 9. Oliver Solberg   Skoda     +7.6
10. F. Zaldivar      Skoda     +8.3
11. Josh McErlean    Skoda     +8.3
13. Adrien Fourmaux  Ford      +8.7
14. Gus Greensmith   Skoda     +8.9
15. Mikko Heikkilä   Skoda     +8.9

Rally Latvia Itinerary

Thursday 18.7.

07:31 Shakedown: Cimdenieki (3.58 km)
20:05 SS1: Bikernieki Track (11.13 km)

Friday 19.7.

10:00 SS2: Milzkalne 1 (4.99 km)
10:45 SS3: Tukums 1 (27.56 km)
12:00 SS4: Andumi (17.86 km)
14:30 SS5: Milzkalne 2 (4.99 km)
15:15 SS6: Tukums 2 (27.56 km)
16:30 SS7: Strazde (17.44 km)
17:20 SS8: Talsi (20.52 km)

Saturday 20.7.

08:20 SS9: Pilskalns (18.87 km)
09:35 SS10: Snepele (17.52 km)
11:30 SS11: Ivande (23.04 km)
13:05 SS12: Vecpils 1 (12.64 km)
16:15 SS13: Podnieki (10.09 km)
17:05 SS14: Vecpils 2 (12.64 km)
19:00 SS15: Dinsdurbe (6.64 km)
20:15 SS16: Liepaja City Stage (2.56 km)

Sunday 21.7.

08:55 SS17: Krogzemji 1 (18.70 km)
10:05 SS18: Mazilmaja 1 (13.34 km)
11:55 SS19: Krogzemji 2 (18.70 km)
14:15 SS20: Mazilmaja 2 (13.34 km)

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