End Of Friday’s Session
World rally champion Kalle Rovanpera claimed four of Friday’s seven stages to take control of Latvia’s maiden World Rally Championship round from impressive home hero Martins Sesks.
The Toyota driver delivered blistering pace and made a smart tyre decision to capitalise on a strong road position to lead the high-speed gravel rally by 15.7s.
Rovanpera’s nearest rival came in the form of Sesks, a two-time winner of the event in its European Rally Championship guise. The M-Sport driver turned heads by claiming his maiden WRC stage wins in the morning, in only his second Rally1 start.
Eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier ended the day in third [+21.6s] ahead of team-mate Takamoto Katsuta [+33.2s], while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five [+38.5s].
Hyundai’s Ott Tanak was the best of the title contenders that faced the worst of the road conditions in sixth [+38.8s], ahead Toyota’s Elfyn Evans [+52.7s], while championship leader Thierry Neuville cut a frustrated figure in ninth [+1m23.3s], behind Gregoire Munster [+1m10.2] and ahead of Esapekka Lappi [+1m27.4s].
End Of Saturdays Session
Rovanpera dominated Saturday’s stages to open up a commanding Rally Latvia lead over Toyota World Rally Championship team-mate Sebastien Ogier.
The reigning world champion set a rapid pace to claim six of the eight stages and transform an overnight 15.7s advantage to a 42.5s lead [18 provisional points] heading into Sunday’s final four stages.
M-Sport’s local star Martins Sesks started Saturday in second but narrowly lost a fight with eight-time world champion Ogier to end the day a highly commendable third [+47.2s – 13 points].
Hyundai’s Ott Tanak survived a strange run-in with a promotional arch to finish fourth [+1m08.0s], bagging 10 provisional championship points. Tanak fared the best of the title contenders as Toyota’s Elfyn Evans reached service in sixth [+1m34.3s – six points], while championship leader Thierry Neuville picked up three points in eighth [+2m33.9s].
M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux completed the day in fifth with Takamoto Katsuta eighth, while Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster rounded out the top 10.
End Of Sundays Session
Kalle Rovanpera maintained his control of Rally Latvia as the Toyota driver closed in on a dominant World Rally Championship victory on Sunday morning.
The two-time world champion was unable to relax with Super Sunday points on offer and managed to balance the need for points and to preserve his overall rally lead perfectly.
Kalle Rovanperä sealed a dominant start-to-finish victory at Tet Rally Latvia on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up his second triumph in as many high-speed gravel events.
Ott Tänak overtook local hero Mārtiņš Sesks in the Wolf Power Stage to complete the top three after Sesks’ M-Sport Ford Puma developed a transmission fault costing him over two minutes in the power stage. M-Sport’s full-time driver Adrien Fourmaux came home in a solid fifth spot.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans continued to hold sixth from Takamoto Katsuta and championship leader Thierry Neuville. The top 10 was completed by Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster.
