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)