On Saturday’s third stage in Ivande, Tänak spurred his Hyundai to the fastest time. Simultaneously, the Estonian driver climbed to fourth place overall, passing Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta.
Leading the rally is Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä. The Finnish star’s streak of fastest times was broken, but Rovanperä still leads the rally by 33.4 seconds. Teammate Sebastien Ogier moved into second place with a narrow 0.2-second margin over Martins Sesks.
M-Sport Ford’s Latvian comet Sesks is fiercely battling for a podium spot in his first WRC rally with a Rally1 equipped with a hybrid unit. Tänak, in fourth place, is 9.9 seconds behind Sesks, so the Estonian will undoubtedly put everything on the line. Rovanperä is on a breakaway, but Ogier, Sesks, and Tänak will fight tightly.
In sixth place in the rally is M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, followed by Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
Hyundai driver Esapekka Lappi moved up to ninth place, passing M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster.
Oliver Solberg, driving a Skoda, continues to lead the WRC2. Competing in a Toyota, Mikko Heikkilä is second, 24.1 seconds behind Solberg. Sami Pajari is 5.3 seconds behind Heikkilä.
There are still five special stages to be run in Rally Latvia on Saturday. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Latvia standings after SS11/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:37:20.1 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +33.4 |
| 3. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +33.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +43.5 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +45.7 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:01.5 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:07.4 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +2:03.6 |
| 9. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +2:30.7 |
| 10. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:34.7 |
| 11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +5:18.6 |
| 12. | Mikko Heikkilä | Toyota | +5:42.8 |
| 13. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +5:48.1 |
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
