The fight for the top spot is currently between Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä and M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks.
Sesks continued his impressive performance on the fourth special stage of the rally, setting the fastest time for the second consecutive stage. Sesks edged out Rovanperä by a narrow margin of 0.1 seconds.
At the stage finish, the interviewer asked the home crowd favourite a very relevant question: “Who are you?”
“We are driving the same times as the world champions. I have nothing to say about that,” Sesks marvelled at his own pace.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä still leads the rally, but the gap between the Finn and Sesks has now narrowed to just 3.2 seconds.
Sesks also outpaced multi-champion Sebastien Ogier, who was the third fastest on the stage. In the overall standings, Ogier remains third, but his gap to Rovanperä has increased to 7.5 seconds.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is still fourth overall. His gap to the lead has grown to 13.7 seconds.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi’s troubles continued, and the Finn was frustrated at the stage finish.
“I don’t have any f***ing grip,” Lappi cursed, then speculated that there might be something wrong with the car’s suspension.
Lappi is still eighth overall and has fallen more than half a minute behind the leaders.
Four more special stages will be run on Friday in the Rally Latvia. The competition will conclude on Sunday.
Rally Latvia standings after SS4/20:
POS | Driver | Team | Time |
1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 32:54.5 |
2. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +3.2 |
3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +7.5 |
4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +13.7 |
5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +18.7 |
6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +22.0 |
7. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +22.3 |
8. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +32.6 |
9. | Greigoire Munster | Ford | +41.6 |
10. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +41.8 |
11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +1:25.9 |
12. | Mikko Heikkilä | Toyota | +1:49.7 |
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