Rovanperä once again set the fastest time in the Talsi special stage that concluded Friday. At the same time, Latvian driver Martins Sesks, driving a Ford, dropped over 15 seconds behind the Finn. In third place in the race is Sebastien Ogier, whose gap to Rovanperä is 21.6 seconds.
“It was the first stage today where I felt inside the car we were driving properly. Quite good day, not the perfect feeling in the car but no mistakes. Let’s see, I think Sesks will be really fast here but overall, I think we did a good job,” summarised Rovanperä.
“This one was a nightmare we had no tyres left, I think they are done! It was quite hard to manage everything. [The fans] are amazing, it’s so emotional today and yesterday. I think the next two days will be as well,” commented Sesks.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak lost important positions in the day’s final stage. Suffering from brake issues, Tänak dropped to sixth place as both M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta overtook him in the standings.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans continues in seventh place in the rally. Gregoire Munster, driving a Ford, who set a great time in the eighth stage, is in eighth place ahead of Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville.
Esapekka Lappi had a miserable day behind the wheel of his Hyundai. Lappi was the slowest Rally1 driver and is in tenth place in the race. The gap to the lead is almost one and a half minutes.
Rally Latvia continues on Saturday with eight special stages scheduled. The competition ends on Sunday.
Rally Latvia standings after SS8/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:08:44.5 |
| 2. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +15.7 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +21.6 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +33.2 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +38.5 |
| 6. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +38.8 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +52.7 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:10.2 |
| 9. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:23.2 |
| 10. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +1:27.4 |
| 11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +3:27.0 |
| 12. | Mikko Heikkilä | Toyota | +3:58.1 |
| 13. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +4:06.7 |
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
