Rovanperä was 2.4 seconds faster than Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville on the 11.13 km special stage. Rovanperä’s teammate Sebastien Ogier matched Neuville’s time.
Tyre choices played a significant tactical role on the long tarmac section. For instance, Rovanperä used only soft tyres on the stage.
“I think it was okay, it is impossible to really say in these conditions which tyre to choose so we just chose one and hoped it would be okay. The guys behind will be fast, it’s cleaning a bit and coming onto the tarmac,” Rovanperä noted.
Host nation driver Martins Sesks impressively finished fourth, just 2.9 seconds off the best time.
“It was amazing, I think we lost a bit on the second lap with the soft tyre, I made some places too wide for sure. I think everyone loved that,” Sesks enthused.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans was fifth on the opening stage, ahead of Takamoto Katsuta and a mistake-prone Ott Tänak. Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux finished eighth ahead of Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi, who was 10.6 seconds off the lead.
“I think it is a disappointment, I was expecting it to be a lot better. I wanted to believe the temperature is high enough to use the hard (tyres) but I couldn’t use it properly it seems,” Lappi said.
“We tried to be clever for the tyre choice but we got it very, very wrong. Frustrating, but excited for the challenge ahead,” Tänak commented.
Rally Latvia continues on Friday with seven special stages. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Latvia standings after SS1/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 7:28.5 |
| 2. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +2.4 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +2.4 |
| 4. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +2.9 |
| 5. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +3.9 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +5.6 |
| 7. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +5.9 |
| 8. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +8.4 |
| 9. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +10.6 |
| 10. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +11.0 |
| 11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +16.6 |
| 12. | Roberto Dapra | Skoda | +24.2 |
Rally Latvia Itinerary (CET)
Thursday 18.7. 06:31 Shakedown: Cimdenieki (3.58 km) 19:05 SS1: Bikernieki Track (11.13 km) Friday 19.7. 09:00 SS2: Milzkalne 1 (4.99 km) 09:45 SS3: Tukums 1 (27.56 km) 11:00 SS4: Andumi (17.86 km) 12:50 Tyre fitting zone 13:30 SS5: Milzkalne 2 (4.99 km) 14:15 SS6: Tukums 2 (27.56 km) 15:30 SS7: Strazde (17.44 km) 16:20 SS8: Talsi (20.52 km) Saturday 20.7. 07:20 SS9: Pilskalns (18.87 km) 08:35 SS10: Snepele (17.52 km) 10:30 SS11: Ivande (23.04 km) 12:05 SS12: Vecpils 1 (12.64 km) 13:30 Service (40 min) 15:15 SS13: Podnieki (10.09 km) 16:05 SS14: Vecpils 2 (12.64 km) 18:00 SS15: Dinsdurbe (6.64 km) 19:15 SS16: Liepaja City Stage (2.56 km) Sunday 21.7. 07:55 SS17: Krogzemji 1 (18.70 km) 09:05 SS18: Mazilmaja 1 (13.34 km) 10:55 SS19: Krogzemji 2 (18.70 km) 13:15 SS20: Mazilmaja 2 (13.34 km) *Power Stage
