The battle for victory and podium spots in Rally Liepāja is sure to be very exciting, with the aforementioned drivers joined by other champions – Polish champion Miko Marczyk, Romanian champion Simone Tempestini, last year’s ERC3 Junior champion Efren Llarena, and 2018 Finnish champion Eerik Pietarinen all taking part in Rally Liepaja, set to take place in August 14-16. The entry list is further expanded by exciting entries from young and talented drivers, who can surprise with their pace over a stage or even the whole event.
ERC1 class, where competitors drive R5 / Rally 2 class cars, will have 19 crews competing, with an uncharacteristically large representation of different makes and models – Škoda Fabia R5, the latest spec Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, Hyundai i20 R5, Ford Fiesta R5, Citroën C3 R5, and Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 – giving spectators a rare opportunity to see and compare nearly all currently available cars in this group during a single event.
In ERC2, Tibor Erdi Jr. is fighting for his third championship title. To take a step in the right direction, he will have to beat Italian Zelindo Melegari, who won the opening round of ERC2 class in Rally di Roma Capitale. Latvian fans will likely be most interested in the results of two crews driving Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X – one driven by Ainārs Igaveņš / Ralfs Igaveņš, and the other by Dmitry Feofanov / Normunds Kokins. In addition to that, for the second year running, the ERC2 class will also be contested by the rear-wheel drive Abarth 124 Rally cars, with three of these exciting machines tackling the stages in Talsi and Liepāja regions.
Latvia will also be strong represented in the ERC3 Junior class. Driving the newest specification Ford Fiesta Rally4 car, we will see Liepāja native and 2018 European Junior Champion Mārtiņš Sesks, co-driven by Renārs Francis, while two-time European Rallycross Champion Reinis Nitišs will be co-driven by Andris Mālnieks in the same specification Fiesta. Both Latvian crews will face tough opponents, including such rally talents as Swedish drivers Dennis Rådström and Adam Westlund, as well as Estonians Ken Torn and Gregor Jeets.
Rally Liepāja will also host two rounds of the Latvian Rally Championship, as well as a round of Rallysprint and Historic Sport class event, adding a total of 30 more crews to the entry list. In addition to that, on both Saturday and Sunday we will see 18 Regularity Rally competitors taking part in the historic car regularity rally Youngtimer Rally Liepāja. This brings the total number of Rally Liepāja competitors to 96 crews.
We would like to remind spectators that this year it will not be possible to buy tickets at the entrance of the special stages, so you should make sure to get them in advance at one of the Biļešu Serviss locations in Latvia or online. Also, before heading out to the stages, make sure to visit one of the ticket exchange points, where you can exchange your Biļešu Serviss bought ticket for a wristband. You will not be allowed to enter a stage without a Rally Liepāja wristband.
Rally Liepāja tickets are available HERE.
A ticket to all Rally Liepāja special stages, taking place on August 15 and 16 in the route from Talsi to Liepāja, currently costs 20 EUR, but that will increase to 30 EUR on the week of the event, starting from August 10.
For the first time in Rally Liepāja, a single day ticket is also available, making it possible to attend special stages in either the Talsi region on Saturday on the Liepāja region on Sunday. This one-day ticket costs 15 EUR.
FIA European Rally Championship event Rally Liepāja is possible thanks to the support provided by the Latvian government, rally city of Liepāja, as well as the Talsi region. We would like to thank our sponsors Neste, Pafbet Score, Ramirent, and SC Grupa, our car rental partner Sixt, as well as supporters Canon Business Center - IB Serviss, Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, Pafbet, and Swecon. Informative support is provided by news media DELFI and media partners JCDecaux Latvija, Kurzemes Vārds, Sporta Avīze, Talsu Vēstis, and Zebra. The rally would also not be possible without Rally Liepāja friends: Baltic Taxi, Flora, FN Serviss, Fristads, Jānis Pūce, Latvijas Pārtikas Ražotājs, Lofbergs, MB Grupa, Meža Dārzs, Red Bull, SignTech, Sportland, and Törley. Rally Liepāja is organized with the support of Aizpute, Durbe, Grobiņa, and Priekule region councils. A special thank you goes out to the Latvian Automobile Federation.
All news and information about Rally Liepāja is available online at www.lvrally.com, as well as on social media - Twitter @LVRally, Facebook /LVRally, draugiem.lv /lvrally, YouTube /RallyLiepāja, and Instagram /lvrally.
