Toyota driver Rovanperä started Saturday’s stages with a 15-second lead, but by the evening, he had extended his lead to a significant 42.5 seconds over his teammate Sebastien Ogier.
With his stunning performance, Rovanperä is now in a strong position for a big haul of 18 WRC points. At the end of Saturday, the first provisional points of the weekend are awarded to the top ten drivers. These points are credited if the driver finishes the rally on Sunday.
Toyota has taken a clear advantage over Hyundai, who lead the manufacturers’ championship. While Rovanperä and Ogier hold the top two spots, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is in fourth, and championship leader Thierry Neuville is down in eighth.
Rovanperä set the fastest time on six of the eight stages on Saturday. He capped off the evening with a superb performance, clocking the fastest time on the Liepaja City super special stage by a narrow margin of 0.1 seconds.
Ogier and M-Sport Ford’s Latvian sensation Martins Sesks had no answer to Rovanperä’s pace and ended up battling for second place. Ogier ultimately left Sesks trailing by 4.7 seconds.
Hyundai’s Estonian star Ott Tänak tried to join the fight for second place but had to settle for fourth. As it stands, Tänak is set to earn ten points from his fourth place on Saturday evening, which is a much better haul than Neuville’s three points.
Tänak had some drama on the final stage of the day, the Liepaja spectator stage, when he overshot a corner and hit a barrier. According to Tänak, the car’s driveshaft likely broke during braking after a small jump, preventing him from stopping his Hyundai.
Despite the mishap, Tänak managed to limp to the finish and held onto fourth place. Fifth-placed M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux is now 8.4 seconds behind the Estonian.
Elfyn Evans is sixth in the rally, ahead of his Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta, Neuville, Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi, and M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster.
The Latvian WRC round concludes on Sunday with four special stages. There are still plenty of points up for grabs, as the top seven drivers of the day will earn day-specific points. Additionally, the final Power Stage offers points to the top five drivers. The maximum haul for the day is 12 points.
Rally Latvia standings after SS16/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time | Points |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:58:55.6 | 18 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +42.5 | 15 |
| 3. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +47.2 | 13 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:08.0 | 10 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:16.4 | 8 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:34.3 | 6 |
| 7. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:46.0 | 4 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +2:33.9 | 3 |
| 9. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +3:11.1 | 2 |
| 10. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:40.9 | 1 |
| 11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +6:43.7 | – |
| 12. | Mikko Heikkilä | Toyota | +7:10.3 | – |
| 13. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +7:15.3 | – |
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
