The A9 east of Liepāja is going to be a haven for rally car spotters around midnight on Friday. Latvia’s biggest motorsport event is on the move.
It is, in fact, moving on up. Up and out of the European and into the World Rally Championship for next season. The Liepāja-based event’s move was confirmed in February, but this weekend provides one final hurdle to clear from a sporting perspective.
And the busy road heading east? That’s all part of the plan. With one eye on 2024, event organizers have worked to include a much more Latvia-wide route, which includes the cities of Tukums and Talsi.
Event spokesman Jānis Unbedahts told DirtFish: “We know we still have work to do for next season and, of course, for this weekend’s European Rally Championship round.
“Part of the plan looking to the future is to work with Tukums and Talsi and the regions. It’s why we are going there on Friday night – it would be a long road section (100 miles) for Saturday morning, so we offer the chance to put the cars on transporters to go from the start [in Liepāja] to Tukums.
“The road will be busy on Friday night. We have some really important cargo travelling down there!
“Basically, we are trying to create a WRC-style day for Saturday, to demonstrate what we are capable of. At the same time, travelling to these places outside of Liapāja gives us the chance to show off Latvia and what a beautiful country we have.”
It doesn’t stop there. Next year, when the event will be known as Rally Latvia, the capital city Riga will also be involved.
“We have lots of plans for 2024,” said Unbedahts. “But this weekend, we are keeping our eyes on the ERC we have in front of us.”
ERC championship leader Hayden Paddon is looking forward to returning to Latvia this weekend, having tackled Liepāja for the first time last year.
“Last year was essentially an extended test with the Hyundai i20 Rally2 car we’d just taken delivery [of],” said the Kiwi. “Road sweeping is always a factor on the gravel events, so it’s important to qualify well on Friday which allows us to choose our road position on Saturday.”
With a 37-point lead at the top of the table, Paddon’s chasing a podium to bolster that advantage.
He added: “That’s what helps our bid to win the ERC title the most. If we’re in a position to fight for the win, we will, but it’s not a win-at-all-costs approach.”
The qualifying stage for Rally Liepāja runs on Friday afternoon before a brace of 17-mile stages open Saturday morning. Day one, which is split by a remote service in Talsi, includes four more stages – the final one being the Liepāja street stage. Sunday is more straightforward and based around Liepāja with two loops of two stages.
