Events of multiple championships will take place in Rally Latvija this year – rally, rallysprint, minirally, rally supersprint, and historic car event Historic Rally Latvija, split into two classes – regularity and racing for the fastest time. For spectators, this makes it possible to see a lot of different race cars competing over the weekend.

Rally start and city stages in Jūrmala

On Saturday, October 22, Rally Latvija competitors will gather by Jūrmala primary school in Kauguri, where the pre-start area and ceremonial start podium will be located. Regularity class crews will start at 10.00, while the other classes – Rally Latvija and racing crews of Historic Rally Latvija – are set to start their day at 14.15.

First two special stages, SS1/2 Ķemeri City Special, are set to take place in Ķemeri, Jūrmala. Starting from 9.00, this 2.87 kilometre stage will be tackled by rally supersprint competitors, followed by Historic Rally Latvija crews racing for the fastest time (at 14.35), while the first rally car will begin the stage at 15.00.

Rally Latvija will return to Jūrmala on Sunday, with a extensive programme set for SSS13 Jurmala. From 13.35, the historic cars will tackle the stage, followed by rally cars starting at 14.05, and finally the minirally crews from 14.50.

Parallel stage and service park in Biķernieki Complex Sports Base

Some of Rally Latvija stages will also take place in the Biķernieki track in Riga. The rally itinerary this year includes not only the circuit and motorbike track sections, but also parts of the new rallycross lap, where, only a couple of days ago, globally recognized rally drivers Petter Solberg and Sebastien Loeb raced at the FIA World Rallycross Championship event.

On Saturday, spectators will have plenty to see in Biķerieki, with recce taking place from 7.30, followed by a special stage for Historic Rally Latvija crews (both the regularity and racing for fastest time classes). Historic regularity competitors will have two special stages in Biķernieki, with the first one starting at 14.00, and the second one being the final stage of their event, set to begin at 19.40. Meanwhile, historic class crews battling for the fastest time will have a total of five special stages in Biķernieki, with the first one beginning at 16.15. SSS9 Conti STL is set to be very exciting, as it is planned as a parallel stage where two crews will start simultaneously! According to the itinerary, the last stage of Saturday will first be tackled by historic class crews battling for the fastest time (starting at 20.25), followed by rally cars (from 20.45).

In addition to the special stages, Biķernieki will also host the service park, giving spectators an opportunity to see that rally is not only about driving on the stages, but also requires a lot of preparation to make sure that your car is faster than those of the competitors.

On Sunday, October 23, Minirally Latvija competitors will have four special stages in Biķernieki, starting at 11.00. Afterwards, from 16.30, the final special stage of Rally Latvija, the 3.70 kilometres long parallel stage SSS14 20th Rally Latvija, will take place!

Sports Complex 333

For the first time, a special stage will also take place in the 333 Sports Complex. The stage will include parts of the supersprint, karting and rallycross tracks, thereby providing a unique challenge to the crews in joining very different road sections in a single special stage. This 3.33 kilometres long special stage will be done twice – SS7 Sports Complex 333 will begin at 19.05, and SS8 Canon IB Serviss is set to start at 19.18. Historic Rally Latvija crews will also tackle this special stage, with regularity class starting at 18.00, and cars competing for the fastest time entering the stage from 18.40. It is important to note that the embankments around the 333 track will serve as a fantastic spectating point, making it possible to see the whole special stage – from start to finish!

Gravel stages in Tukums

Even though half of the stage distance is done on asphalt, the gravel stages still play an important part. A total of three gravel stages are included in the event, all of them taking place on Sunday near Tukums.

The first two gravel tests are included in one section – SS10 Latauto (from 10.30) and SS11 Strabag (from 11.00). There will also be a Power Stage in Rally Latvija, where the fastest crews can earn bonus points. This year, the bonus points will be awarded in the 22.81 kilometres long SS12 DMACK.lv (starting at 12.45). In addition to that, this will be the last gravel stage of this rally season, so the fastest Latvian crew here will also receive a memorial trophy named after the legendary Latvian rally driver Alexander Karamishev!

“Joining together so many different championships and their competitors in a single event is not an easy task, but I hope that the spectators will value all the work put in to make this happen and will enjoy the last event of the Latvian rally season. I am happy that Rally Latvija will again visit multiple cities this year – Jūrmala, Tukums and Rīga – and hope that the fans there will watch not only the rally cars, but also historic cars, minirally and rally supersprint competitors.

It is also nice that we have been able to keep, and even increase, the proportion of asphalt stages in the rally. I am confident that this will be a great opportunity for rally drivers to gain experience on asphalt, which is very rarely used in rallies here in Latvia, though so popular around Europe!” says Rally Latvija organizer Jānis Krastiņš.

Rally Latvija special stages

* this information is subject to change

Rally Latvia takes place on October 22 and 23, and will host not only modern rally cars, but also historic cars. Crews competing with modern rally cars will be battling in three separate events – the Latvian Rally Championship, FIA European Rally Cup, and the Baltic Rally Cup. Meanwhile, those who are just beginning their rally careers, and are looking to compete in the longer distances in the near future, will be able to race in three events based on their current capabilities – rallysprint, rally supersprint and minirally! Historic Rally Latvia has also served up something special for this year – in addition to a regularity rally, historic cars will also compete for the fastest times on the stages.

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 autorally.lv/, as well as on social media: Twitter, facebook, and YouTube.