WRC’s NEWCOMER WILL BE THE PRIDE OF THE BALTICS
Latvia might be small in terms of population, but its stages are big on speed and popularity.
In RA Events, the company behind the country’s rise in rallying status, there’s no better group of people to make this WRC newcomer for 2024 a major success, even if they only get one shot. The Baltic state will become the 37th nation to host WRC action and will follow Czech Republic as the most recent addition to the global schedule. October’s all-new Central European Rally will start in the Czech capital Prague and will include a day in the country.
Initially titled Rally Liepaja Ventspils and run on snow and ice stages, the event became
Rally Liepaja in 2014 after Ventspils ended its involvement. The winter format was maintained until 2016 when unseasonably warm temperatures resulted in the event being postponed to the October of that year.
After two years as an autumn rally, a May slot was secured for 2019 before Covid-enforced delays resulted in an August slot for 2020 when a combined WRC/ERC event was planned, only to be vetoed at a vote.
It ran in July in 2021 and 2022 although this year’s 13th edition will take place from June 16-18 when its unbroken run as an ERC qualifier will continue. Craig Breen, Nikolay Gryazin, Jari Ketomaa, Esapekka Lappi and Oliver Solberg are among the event winners.
Like its neighbour Estonia, Latvia places a big onus on innovation when it comes to its rallying. For the first edition a ski slope was used as the venue for the deciding stage. Demo runs have taken place on Liepaja’s beach while the rally was included as a part of Latvia’s version of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
While Liepaja has an airport and a sea link to mainland Europe, hotel rooms are in short supply and the slog from Riga is a three-hour affair thanks to the lack of motorway. But these issues are trivial in comparison to what will be an excellent addition to the WRC.