Relive the Latvia Rally in live text

“The” long-awaited novelty of the 2024 calendar of WRC is finally here! The first edition of Rally of Latvia at the world level takes place from July 18 to 21 on a dirt surface.

> You can follow the live evolution of the ranking via the official WRC Live Timing, available here.

Latvia Rally
Follow the Power Stage live with commentary

Ranking Rally Latvia 2024:

Drivers Championship:

Manufacturers' Championship:

• And 14! Kalle Rovanperä and Janne Halttunen (Toyota) won their 21th victory this Saturday July 14 in WRC on the occasion of the Latvia Rally, a new destination on the world calendar. An unknown terrain which did not disturb the Finnish duo, who held the lead from start to finish, from the 1st to the 20th special!
• Absent from the previous round due to a road accident during reconnaissance in Poland, Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais give Toyota the double.
• The fight for the final 3rd place kept the spectators in suspense throughout the weekend. Author of two fastest times, the rookie Martins Sesks held this position... until a devastating Sunday morning. Stressed by the challenge, the Latvian made several driving errors, but the final blow was dealt by a mechanical failure on his Ford Puma Rally1 hybrid, which cost him more than 1 and a half minutes. A mishap which dropped him to 7th place which does not reflect his level of performance!
• Ott Tänakb (Hyundai) therefore finished 3rd, not content with also pocketing the 5 points from the Power Stage as well as the points reserved for the winner of the Sunday stage. The 2019 champion took the opportunity to overtake Elfyn Evans (Toyota) in the championship in 2nd position.
• At M-Sport Ford, Adrien fourmaux scored a new top 5. The Frenchman made no mistakes and collected valuable points in the championship.
• In WRC2, Oliver Solberg (Skoda) was unbeatable. The son of Petter Solberg also dominated the debates like Rovanperä, being leader from A to Z. He is doing well in the championship because he takes the lead ahead of Sami Pajari (3rd in Latvia) and Yohan Rossel. The latter was absent in Latvia, so he will benefit from a greater number of rallies to compete in to rebuild his skills.
• Find out in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, analysis of the WRC in Latvia.

14h14: 🏆 It's good for Kalle Rovanperä, who won the Latvian Rally ahead of Ogier and Thank you ! Tänak comes away with the best time in the Power Stage.

14h10: Sesks falls to 7th place in the Latvian Rally. A result which does not reflect his level of performance in front of his audience. “I don't know if it's a differential problem, but from the first corner I understood that things weren't going well. We made people happy, it’s not just a question of timing. »

14h08 : ⚠️ Terrible disillusionment for Martins Sesks! His Ford Puma is driving slowly, the rookie loses more than a minute and will not finish on the podium!

14h06 : Ott Tänak takes the best time with 7 tenths ahead of his teammate Neuville !

14h06 : We were scared during the previous special, but Adrien Fourmaux regained all the power of his Ford Puma! The Frenchman sets the 4th fastest time but should finish in the top 5 of the rally. “It was survival, we don’t know the nature of the problem in the previous special. It was a difficult rally, we will see in Finland but we will come back stronger there. »

14h : Evans fails 4 tenths from the best time.

13h57: Takamoto Katsuta achieves the same time as Neuville! But as the Belgian did it first, it is the Hyundai which remains in the lead of the special.

13h54 : Thierry Neuville attacks to aim for points in the Power Stage, and takes the best provisional time with 4″ ahead of Munster. “I thank Hyundai for being patient and resilient. It's hard to accept, it's probably the worst rally in terms of gravel cleaning that I've faced. »

13h53: Lappi finished pitifully more than a minute behind Munster on this SS. He maintains a ten-second margin over the Ford in the general classification. “ The engine is dead. »

13h50: ⚠️ Esapekka Lappi drives slowly, the engine noise is harsh, everything suggests that one or two cylinders are no longer working!

13h46: Oliver Solberg wins the WRC2 category! This result allows him to become leader of the championship, but Yohan Rossel, who was absent in Latvia, will have more rallies to score points between now and the end of the year.

13h21 : Here is the specific starting order for this special. The WRC2s open the ball in the reverse order of the classification.

13h10 : Time for the Power Stage, the last special of the weekend! As tradition dictates, the fastest driver will pocket 5 additional points, the 2nd will benefit from 4 points, and so on until the 5th.

11H50: The weekend is one to forget for Hyundai in WRC2. After the mechanical failure which put Teemu Suninen offside on Friday morning, Emil Lindholm retired this morning. His co-pilot Reeta Hamalainen learned of the loss of a loved one during the event and is unable to continue her work:

We have decided not to continue the rally today. After receiving Reeta's sad news on Friday, our thoughts have been elsewhere. Condolences and strength to Reeta and her family on these sad times.#WRC #HMSGofficial #TetRallyLatvia
📸: Taneli Niinimäki pic.twitter.com/8bSkM1Nz2g

— Emil Lindholm (@Emil_Lindholm) July 21, 2024

Ranking Rally Latvia 2024, SS19:

General classification :

• The places for the podium are not yet determined on this 2024 Latvia Rally. While Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) and Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) are driving towards 1st and 2nd place, the last step of the podium is the subject of a bitter battle between rookie Martins Sesks (M-Sport Ford) and Ott Tänak (Hyundai).
• The Latvian missed a crossroads on the special and lost a lot of seconds. The very likely sign of the pressure falling on the shoulders of the 24-year-old beginner. Tänak is only 4 seconds from 3rd position.
• At M-Sport Ford, concern is gaining ground. Grégoire Munster and Adrien Fourmaux reported problems with their car, without going into further details.
• The Latvia Rally Power Stage is scheduled for 13 p.m. French time this Sunday.

11h31 : Ogier fails just 9 tenths behind Tänak in this SS. This is the 2nd time.

11h27: ⚠️ Is Martins Sesks afraid of the challenge of a first WRC podium? The Latvian rookie loses 8″1 to Ott Tänak in this stretch alone! The Hyundai closes to just 4″ behind the Ford before the final special stage of the event! “I missed another intersection. Ott is a world champion, if he catches us, he will overtake us. We are trying to attack…”

11h25: Ott Tänak took the best time with a 2″8 margin over Evans.

11h22: ⚠️ Adrien Fourmaux didn't wait long at the stop point of the special, because he seemed to hear a "strange noise" in the Ford Puma! Let's hope that the Frenchman is not struck by too serious a problem...

11h18: Elfyn Evans beats Thierry Neuville by one second!

11h17: Toyota gives us some images of the first specials of the morning:

Two stages done, two to go on Super Sunday! #ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #RallyLatvia 🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/wXkHD4J4b6

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) July 21, 2024

11h11: At the cost of a big attack, Thierry Neuville took the best provisional time with 3 seconds ahead of Lappi. “It went very well, it was the cleanest stage I was able to complete all weekend! »

11h02: Since the start of the year, the WRC regulations have awarded additional points depending on the result on the Sunday specials. For now, Sébastien Ogier holds the lead ahead of Ott Tänak but the gap is very small:

11 a.m.: ✅ We are back for the second loop of the morning, Grégoire Munster leads the way with his Ford Puma Rally1 hybrid.

Ranking Rally Latvia 2024, SS18:

General classification :

• Ott Tänak (Hyundai) has not said his last word in this Rally of Latvia. The Estonian makes his effort to try to score as many points as possible on the Sunday stage, and why not, steal the last step of the podium in the general classification from rookie Martins Sesks.
• In WRC2, Oliver Solberg (Skoda) comfortably leads the way ahead of the Finns Mikko Heikkilä (Toyota) and Sami Pajari (Toyota).
• The next special, Krogzemji 2 – 18,70 km, is scheduled for 10:55 a.m.

9h38: Ogier finished 1″3 behind Tänak in this special.

9:34 p.m.: ⚠️  Watch out for Martins Sesks! The Latvian rookie loses 6 seconds on Tänak and only has a 12″7 margin over the Hyundai driver in 3rd place in the general classification… “We made a big mistake, I missed an intersection. »

9h31: Tänak easily beat Evans by 3″1 on this special. He also wants to take as many points as possible this morning with a view to the championship!

9h28: Fourmaux takes the 2nd best time, just 4 tenths behind Evans. “I attacked, the weather was good, we left Neuville a little further behind. »

9h15: Time for the special which will serve as the Power Stage at 13 p.m. French time. “ It's a different style of driving, the start is very dusty and winding in forests, then the road becomes faster, with a few chicanes and a finish in a type circuit rallycross to finish ", describes Grégoire Munster, who finishes in 7 minutes.

Ranking Rally Latvia 2024, SS17:

General classification :

• The first Sunday special of the Rally of Latvia allowed Sébastien Ogier to set the best time and isolate himself a little further in 2nd place in the event against Latvian rookie Martins Sesks. No change is to be reported in the general ranking.
• The next special, Mazilmāja 1 – 13,34 km, is scheduled for 9:05 a.m.

8h32: Kalle Rovanperä is content with 2nd place on this special, 1″4 behind Ogier.

8h29 : Sébastien Ogier finishes the special with the best provisional time and 4″3 ahead of Martins Sesks! Overall, the Frenchman trails the Latvian by 9 seconds in 2nd place. “We took the hard tires to save the soft compounds for later. I don't know if it was the right choice because the roads are slippery. »

8h23: It's Ott Tänak's turn to make his effort. The Estonian took the best time with 4″6 ahead of Neuville and Evans.

8h21: Elfyn Evans achieves the same time as Neuville within a tenth while Adrien Fourmaux is 3rd at 3″4.

8h15: Pirelli informs us of the tire choice for this morning. Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanperä are the only ones to start with 6 tires in the car. The three Hyundais are the most aggressive with only soft tires.

8h09: Thierry Neuville took the best time with a 9 second margin over his Hyundai teammate, Esapekka Lappi. His objective is to score points on Sunday so as not to lose too many points in the championship. “I was all in, but there are too many chicanes. The car does not turn or accelerate out of corners. It's a huge disadvantage to be one of the first to start in order. »

8h02: The starting order for the day is simple. This is the general classification, but reversed in Rally1, followed by WRC2:

We will give you the provisional general classification. Kalle Rovanperä leads the race ahead of his teammate Sébastien Ogier. The Latvian Martins Sesks continues to surprise and is aiming for a very first podium in the premier category:

8h: Hello to all rally fans and welcome to this page to follow Sunday's stage in Latvia! Here is the program for the day:

Sunday July 21 (64,08 km)
7:55 p.m. – SS17 : Krogzemji 1 – 18,70 km
9:05 p.m. – SS18 : Mazilmāja 1 – 13,34 km
10:55 p.m. – SS19 : Krogzemji 2 – 18,70 km
13:15 p.m. – SS20 : Mazilmāja 2 – 13,34 km