Similarly to Saturday, spectators in Tukums, Jūrmala and Biķernieki showed that watching rallying is as popular in the summer heat as it is in cold and wet autumn! Unlike day one, Sunday’s stages mostly took place on gravel, with the only exceptions being SSS13 Jūrmala and SSS14 20th Rally Latvija. One thing to note is that in Rally Latvija, the drivers earned more points than in other rounds of the championship, and champions in both all-wheel drive classes – LRČ1 and LRČ2 – were yet to be determined heading into the event.

In the most powerful all-wheel drive class, LRČ1, Kalle Rovanpera (Škoda Fabia R5, co-driven by Risto Pietilainen) showed a consistent pace throughout the day, not giving other drivers any chance to beat him. The talented Finn was fastest in all five Sunday’s stages and earned the maximum possible 28 points in this event, making him this year’s champion. At just 16 years and 22 days of age, he has become the youngest Latvian rally champion ever!

“It was an interesting battle. The most exciting parts of Rally Latvija were the gravel stages near Tukums. Driving there was very interesting, and that is where we managed to avoid mistakes and increased our lead. I am not sure if I could drive any faster! With that, I am very happy with my performance and the championship title!” admits Kalle Rovanpera.

Sunday also contained an intriguing battle between Nikolay Gryazin (Škoda Fabia R5, co-driven by Yaroslav Fedorov) and the experienced Latvian rally driver Jānis Vorobjovs (Mitsubishi Mirage, co-driven by Artūrs Žeibe). Even though Vorobjovs started the day 29.28 seconds behind Gryazin, he had decreased the gap to just 5.68 seconds heading into the last stage. Even though Vorobjovs was faster through the final stage, Gryazin was still in front by 4.91 seconds!

Though, the table turned, when Gryazin received a 4 minute penalty after finish, for illegal modifications to the tyre tread, losing six positions and concluding Rally Latvija in eighth position. This moved Vorobjovs to second, and another Latvian crew, Mārtiņš Svilis / Ivo Pūķis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), up to third in the overall classification.

Jānis Vorobjovs also received the commemorative Alexander Karamishev trophy, given out to the Latvian driver who sets the fastest time of the last gravel stage of the Latvian Rally Championship. Vorobjovs received this trophy for the second time in a row and for the fourth time in the last six years.

“Driving in the forest was tough! We had to be very careful to stay on the road. On the second run through the long stage, the car began losing engine oil, so we were not sure whether we could reach the finish. Luckily, we managed to solve the problem on the way to Jūrmala. Overall, this was a real autumn rally! It was organized very well, for which I would like to thank Jānis Krastiņš and his team!

It is an honour to earn the Karamishev trophy, knowing what a legendary driver he was. I am happy to have done that and reached the finish!” says Jānis Vorobjovs.

LRČ1 season standings:

*crews are given points for their seven best rallies out of the eight total in the season calendar.

By setting the fastest time in all five of the Sunday’s special stages, LRČ2 class was won by Mārtiņš Svilis (Mitsubishi Evo X, co-driven by Ivo Pūķis), who, in addition to winning Rally Latvija, also became Latvian champions! Sergei Remmenik (Mitsubishi Evo X, co-driven by Mark Rozin) was 32.29 seconds behind, while Alexander Gorelov (Mitsubishi Evo X, co-driven by Igor Skuridin) was third, 1 minute and 13.01 seconds behind Svilis.

“Today was more difficult than yesterday. I am happy with my driving today, although I was lacking confidence in the first few stages. The stages today were narrow and slippery. Near the end, we just focused on being cautious and getting to the finish in order to earn some valuable points for the championship. I am very happy, and have fulfilled the goal set for this season!” LRČ2 class champion Mārtiņš Svilis is satisfied with his season.

LRČ2 season standings:

In LRČ3, the champion’s crew of Mārtiņš Sesks (Peugeot 208 R2, co-driven by Reinis Vilsons) had a close battle with second placed Daņila Belokoņs (Ford Fiesta R2T, co-driven by Toms Freibergs), who even managed to set two fastest stage times on Sunday. Still, Sesks won comfortably, finishing 3 minutes and 48.59 seconds ahead of Belokoņs. Meanwhile, Lithuanian Jonas Pipiras (Škoda Fabia R2, co-driven by Ričardas Baubinas) received a five minute penalty for arriving early to a time control, and concluded Rally Latvija 8 minutes and 50.14 seconds behind the leaders.

“Yesterday must have been a bit too easy, as we could not get up to pace this morning. Still, the day was quite long and we improved on each stage. We are very satisfied with how this season went, and will aim for even higher goals next year!” admits Mārtiņš Sesks.

LRČ3 season standings:

The fastest RK1 crew to reach the finish was Petr Turkin / Vasily Mirkotan (Citroen DS3 R3T Racing), while Vasily Gryazin / Dmitry Lebedik (Subaru Impreza WRX STI) won RK2 class. Meanwhile, Mārtiņš Sesks was the quickest among Junior drivers.

In the Team championship, Vorobjovs Racing had already guaranteed first position before this event, and were the most successful in Rally Latvija as well, coming away with 40.5 points. Prospeed – Uralasbest earned 29 points and moved up a spot in the team standings. 20 points were earned by ASRT Rally Team, 18 points by Sports Racing Technologies, but Neiksans Rally Sport did not earn any points.

In the new for this year FIA Baltic Rally Cup, the final round was won by Jānis Vorobjovs / Artūrs Žeibe (Mitsubishi Mirage).

As opposed to the very eventful Saturday, the Historic Rally Latvija sports class crews were much more consistent and predictable on Sunday. Alari Sillaste (AZLK 2140, co-driven by Arvo Liimann) showed good pace on day two, increasing their lead over the nearest follower to 2 minutes and 22.20 seconds. Aldis Vilcāns (VAZ 2107, co-driven by Zigmunds Zuševics) was second, while Arnis Alksnis (VAZ 2107, co-driven by Armands Pārupe) finished third. To the delight of spectators, Ivars Velme (co-driven by Andris Velme) also took to the stages today, having managed to solve the technical problems in their Audi Quattro A2, setting the fastest stage times in all five of Sunday’s stages.

“A very nice rally! This is our first win! Many leaders ran into technical problems, us included, but we managed to solve them before it was too late. Rally Latvija provided everything that a rally can give – rain, night stages, asphalt, gravel… You can gain a lot of very valuable experience in such varying conditions. This is our second time competing in Latvia, and we hope to be back next year!” Estonian Alari Sillaste is satisfied after Historic Rally Latvija finish.

Minirally Latvija also took place today, with a total of 67 crews taking part – including 2016 FIA European Rally Championship bronze medallists Ralfs Sirmacis and Artūrs Šimins, although each of them competed separately. All crews had to take part in four stages in Biķernieki Complex Sports Base, and concluded the event with a city stage in Jūrmala, which brought the total stage distance up to 15.18 kilometres.

All event results are available on http://autorally.lv/, the official website of the Latvian Rally Championship, while Minirally Latvia results are on http://4rati.lv/.

On Saturday, the Historic Rally Latvija regularity class event took place, with the crews competing on seven special stages in a very large territory – spanning from Tukums to Ropaži region. At the race finish, after doing 148.15 kilometres, Youngtimer class was won by Kristaps Rikāns / Ingmārs Birks (Porsche 944), who received 89 “penalty” seconds, while the Expert class was won by Kārlis Miķelsons / Normunds Vuguls (Mazda RX-7), who received 98 “penalty” seconds.

Rally Latvia would like to thank its partner – Jūrmala city council – for their support in organizing the final event of the 2016 Latvian Rally Championship, and would like to thank sponsors Conti STL and DMACK. Thank you to supporters Autobrava, Hydroscand and Prodex. Informative support is provided by TVNET.

More information about the event, and the results of Rally Latvia, is available on the official Latvian Rally Championship website http://autorally.lv/, as well as on social media: Twitter, facebook, and YouTube.

Jānis Unbedahts, RA EVENT. Photo: Ģirts Freijs, Raimonds Volonts